Freud rail and stile set offers plenty of options

Freud has unveiled its Premier Adjustable Rail & Stile System, allowing the user to build any style cabinet door in a wide range of door thicknesses and sizes.

{loadposition position10}

The basic set can create extended tenons; cabinet doors in thicknesses from 5/8" to 1-1/4"; and panel-groove adjustments to fit undersized plywoods. There are optional cutters for the production of glass, screen and double-sided profile doors up to 1-1/4" thick.

"First and foremost what this rail and stile set allows you to do that no other set does is to make doors with mortise-and-tenon joints with tenons that you choose [the length of]," says Cliff Paddock, Freud product manager. "Every other rail and stile set, including our other ones, make a very short tenon, usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 3/8" to 7/16" long. This set will allow you to do that if that's what you choose to do. But for some applications, like larger, heavier doors, perhaps panel-glass doors, you may need a stronger joint.

"Up until now, if people wanted to reinforce that joint, they had to dowel it or use some other secondary method. With this set you can make a true long tenon - actually as long as you choose to make it. We normally recommend half the length of the stile width, so if you have a 2-1/2" stile you make a 1-1/4" tenon."

The system has several other important features. The stile bit has two cutters instead of one, creating a groove that can be adjusted from 7/32" to 3/8".

"Another thing we have done is play with the geometry of the cutters a little bit so you have far less chance of any sort of tear-out on your stiles," notes Paddock. "That's always been a problem, especially with woods like red oak or something that has a lot of figure in the grain.

"The whole point of this set was to increase the versatility and really address every option that we could think of that people might want to do with a cabinet door system and do it all in one set so they don't have to buy separate sets. You can do everything with this one set and that was the goal. Versatility is exactly what this one is all about."

Freud's two-piece rail and stile set sells for $119.95 and is available in four profiles: roundover, ogee, roundover bead and bevel. The optional double-sided profile cutters are priced at $99, while the glass/screen door cutter costs $37.99.

Contact: Freud Tools, 218 Feld Ave., High Point, NC 27263. Tel: 800-334-4107. www.freudtools.com

This article originally appeared in the April 2010 issue.