Retired Set Designer here. What you just encountered is old fashioned stage craft. The carpentry and the paint job are fine examples of what we used to do when building sets for stage plays. Cheap, easy, and quick.
Set designers have a skill-set that is under appreciated in the builder, woodworking community. There are tricks and methods most of us will never know about.
Yep. Retired after 40+ years as a builder & trimmer. I used to do this when trimming ‘New Victorian’ homes. The quarter inch ply is a great idea and money saver, especially today. We would just use 3/4” AB paint grade for the panels for painting, and the more expensive hardwood when staining. Like Jrgunn5 I too built a lot of stage sets, and there are many tricks of the stagecraft trade that make the build easier to break down for storage and transport, but can also be used in residential.
Been a designer for 40 years now,based in London, but,worked all over the world. Am now doing houses/apartments for grandchildren of original clients. I did drop out of art school & did a general apprenticeship with some of the craft men that had worked for John Fowler - one of the great British Interior Designers - and this was a trick he'd taught them and I've used throughout my career, it works great with MDF,too. Tho only time I was surprised, was working on a big job in Dublin,Ireland where I'd done "sketch"(non technical)drawings for panelling below dado rails and for some 20+ pieces of furniture. Including 6 pairs of wardrobes, with varying details for clothes storage in some of the bedrooms. I'd explained to the boss of the chippys and the client, so there was no subterfuge. Everyone knew what I was suggesting, it also was a way of keeping the costs down. Two weeks later on my next site visit,I was amazed to see that they'd already built 4 pairs of the wardrobes and panelled two rooms,but,instead of MDF and applied mouldings,everything was done in the old traditional way! The lads were mainly from Poland & they were still totally proficient in real woodwork,they'd used a lot of seasoned pine and the smell on site was wonderful as was their work. In most jobs in London this technique is the norm now,unless you wa nt to pay a small fortune for the real thing. Very best to you&yours, have a happy holidays.
Why did he nail that first sheet of ply? 4 - 6 counter sunk screw would have held it in, and would make removal next time easier. Yep glue will make sure things are likely to break if ever it comes apart again.
Yup. It was a "framed" panel. The giveaway is the change in grain direction. The end product may actually look better because the color would be more uniform since there's less endgrain.
Nicely done panels, the eased edge on the center panel makes it look like a traditional solid wood raised panel. With that particular finish they went with makes it even tougher to spot.
That was awesome! I have made repairs like this. The plumbing has to go somewhere and if they made an access that’s even better. Sad for the next guy that has to break the glue joints, the original looked pretty tight.
Funny and fantastic to see this-- Our channel is about SET CONSTRUCTION and this is an old set builder's trick! --Making things look like something it's not, and doing it in the most efficient ways possible 😂😂
That is pretty awesome. Really makes that look affordable and doable for an at home craftsman. Would be interesting to see you do something with this technique in your shop, just to show us the process from start to finish. This gave a good idea of how it’s done. I think I will attempt something like this in my next project at home. Thanks for showing!
I love you did this vid, because back in the day before I had a shaper and a shop router table, I would buy “ Panel mould” at the lumber yard , cut the 3/4” birch ply squares to accept the panel moulding , I’ve also made raised panel on the table saw, not a method I promote.
The plumbing has leaked once. Maybe sometime the plumbing mite leak again. You glued all pieces back in place. If it has to be removed in the future, the pieces will not come out next time. Glue is good for permanent placement but is very hard to remove pieces in future. Whoever built it the first time, did good not to glue pieces in place.
It was actually glued when we removed it. If you look at the chair rail location before install you can see the old glue remnant. You can remove glued trim you just have to be extra careful.
I was thinking something similar, but I would have used hide glue because it’s easy to break down than pva is. But you can still remove the pva with vinegar, it just takes longer.
The glue will come off you can do it scorning the edge with a utility blade going from left to right,tapping a 15-in-1 with a mallet before you start prying
I've been following you for years I realy have benefited from your posts thank you sir for all your time teaching an old DIY guy to being a confident fitter these days
This is an awesome method of raised panels. It would be harder to hide with a wood that has a more pronounced grain, especially on the end grain sections that would be running perpendicular to the main panel
Could you make a video about taking complex moulding like this apart without damaging them? If they were cross nailed and glued, like you re-installed them, how would you get them apart so cleanly?
You know, when you talk about WHAT you are doing AS you are doing it you remind me of Gomer Pyle from Full Metal Jacket! "The bolt slides into the receiver. Yeah. Smooth. Just like that." 🤣🤣🤣 Great work, man!!
That's a really nice effect. The styles and rails look spot on, but the giveaway for me was the grain direction on the moulding that gives the illusion of a raised panel... the vertical moulding has a vertical grain, but the panel had a horizontal grain. Even so, still very nice!
The keyboard warriors and arm chair carpenters are amazing, The man makes a video to show a technique he has not encountered yet and everyone wants to comment on his technique of reassembeling lol. Truth be told most of you would have never attempted this job. NICE JOB RICHARD FOR POSTING YET ANOTHER VERY INFORMATIVE VIDEO !!!!!!!!!
Most true comment in this video. Most would have not even attempted to bid the job, and the rest that made it that far would have destroyed that panel to the point of no return 😂
I came across some trim in a modular home on a bar made just like this once. I thought it was a neat idea but seeing it on a luxury application is really cool. Thanks for sharing.
The quick way to figure out if its built like this is to look at the grain direction of the center panel. Follow the grain to the end of the board where the coved edge is. If the coved edge of the board crosses the grain of the panel it is an applied molding.
We bought out current home off a guy who was a structural engineer by trade. He designed and built every cabinet in our home, all the way down to the crown mounding. He built the cabinet doors exactly like this.
That's a very common way of making raised panels for high end commercial jobs. If you go into a board room of bank that has premium grade style and rail paneling your not going to see end grain on the panels. It's just not allowed by most architect's or the AWI (architectural woodworking institute) quality standards. Veneering a core for a 36" x 60" raised panel also takes care of expansion and contraction issue's.
How are they matching the plywood face to the older moldings... a wood veneer? Or is the "grain" just done with stain/paint? (Edit: Nevermind, I watched a second time and indeed you said it was an applied veneer.)
Would be curious if you could do a price comparison between this "illusionary method" versus the real thing. Would love to see you attempt making this.
I have seen similar techniques in 300 year old houses in France. Anything to save time and still look right is OK, even 300-400 years ago.... Also in a 17th century Dutch canal house I restored in Amsterdam...
I would have liked to have seen how you took it apart, not knowing how it was built. How did you decide what was glued? Nailed? Where to pry or pull, etc.?
I'm planning a bedroom wall makeover. Now that I've seen this "fake" raised panel method, I'm thinking I'll do that instead of just moldings but I haven't seen that piece that is attached to the plywood in the big box stores.
Thank you for exposing how scammers rip off home buyers. I guarantee you that the price per square foot on that home was increased by over $200 per square foot, as if all that paneling was the real deal. That is called fraud.
Nice job kid , you do good work. But that sort of foe finish from the 50’s or 60’s should of been a giveaway. My grandma’s house was full of partical board, msg monstrosity’s that every one swore was solid mahogany! LoL
They used Ply for the panels because it is dimensionally stable compared to solid wood panels which would shrink and expand a bit on panels those sizes. So overall it makes a better job.
That is a great way to do bars. I have done them in a simple recessed flat panel as well so we could more easily bend and build the curved portions. It would of been a job and a half if it was true raised panels. I'm just finishing up seven months of a solid pine kitchen, bath and laundry. Cope and stick panels with ogee doors, a cove and bead face frame, dovetail drawers on wood slides and set brass butt hinges. 1400 bd ft of old growth VG clear white pine to do all the cabinetry. Damn expensive kitchen for the customer
I’ve never done anything with theis method of build ups. But, I saw it in a Taunton publication, cant remember if it was Fine Homebuilding, or Fine Woodworking, thirty years ago.. The article was on paint grade, and feau finished panels, which they did out of MDF. (Must of been Fine Homebuilding.). If I remember correctly, they did a “library”, and a stairway.
Deceptive is an appropriate word. The owner of the home probably was sold on the luxurious woodworking falsely represented by the real agents and the buyer ended up paying more than he ir she should have. It reminds me my motto “the line of sight of a real estate agent is from the tip of their nose to the end of their commission”
Blue painters tape isn't good for long term adhesion on alot for surfaces in the home. It will pull that finish off the panels if left on too long. Use yellow frog tape designed for delicate surfaces. It won't pull off the wood grain or paint on drywall like blue tape does..
Retired Set Designer here. What you just encountered is old fashioned stage craft. The carpentry and the paint job are fine examples of what we used to do when building sets for stage plays. Cheap, easy, and quick.
Set designers have a skill-set that is under appreciated in the builder, woodworking community. There are tricks and methods most of us will never know about.
That plywood wouldn't be a cost saver these days! Awesome insight by the way, a set designer has been a dream job of mine.
Used it when building a couple of bars in the 90`s
Ditto! Thanks for the video share
All the worlds a stage and we are but builders… each with his skill set and craft. Shakespeares Cousin who was in construction.
Yep. Retired after 40+ years as a builder & trimmer. I used to do this when trimming ‘New Victorian’ homes. The quarter inch ply is a great idea and money saver, especially today. We would just use 3/4” AB paint grade for the panels for painting, and the more expensive hardwood when staining. Like Jrgunn5 I too built a lot of stage sets, and there are many tricks of the stagecraft trade that make the build easier to break down for storage and transport, but can also be used in residential.
Been a designer for 40 years now,based in London, but,worked all over the world. Am now doing houses/apartments for grandchildren of original clients.
I did drop out of art school & did a general apprenticeship with some of the craft men that had worked for John Fowler - one of the great British Interior Designers - and this was a trick he'd taught them and I've used throughout my career, it works great with MDF,too.
Tho only time I was surprised, was working on a big job in Dublin,Ireland where I'd done "sketch"(non technical)drawings for panelling below dado rails and for some 20+ pieces of furniture. Including 6 pairs of wardrobes, with varying details for clothes storage in some of the bedrooms.
I'd explained to the boss of the chippys and the client, so there was no subterfuge. Everyone knew what I was suggesting, it also was a way of keeping the costs down.
Two weeks later on my next site visit,I was amazed to see that they'd already built 4 pairs of the wardrobes and panelled two rooms,but,instead of MDF and applied mouldings,everything was done in the old traditional way!
The lads were mainly from Poland & they were still totally proficient in real woodwork,they'd used a lot of seasoned pine and the smell on site was wonderful as was their work.
In most jobs in London this technique is the norm now,unless you wa nt to pay a small fortune for the real thing.
Very best to you&yours, have a happy holidays.
I would not want to be the person who has to get back behind that wall after you glued and nailed it! Thank you for this interesting video.
I was thinking the same thing, the nails wouldn’t be too much of a problem but the glue will be a problem
I would have broken several pieces trying to take that a part. After the reinstall with the glue, I know I would be breaking it.
I was thinking all the pin holes left by the nail gun.
Why did he nail that first sheet of ply? 4 - 6 counter sunk screw would have held it in, and would make removal next time easier.
Yep glue will make sure things are likely to break if ever it comes apart again.
Yup. It was a "framed" panel. The giveaway is the change in grain direction. The end product may actually look better because the color would be more uniform since there's less endgrain.
Very interesting!
Nicely done panels, the eased edge on the center panel makes it look like a traditional solid wood raised panel. With that particular finish they went with makes it even tougher to spot.
I agree. Works even better with that finish. Would work great with paint too.
That was awesome! I have made repairs like this. The plumbing has to go somewhere and if they made an access that’s even better. Sad for the next guy that has to break the glue joints, the original looked pretty tight.
Funny and fantastic to see this-- Our channel is about SET CONSTRUCTION and this is an old set builder's trick! --Making things look like something it's not, and doing it in the most efficient ways possible 😂😂
Thanks for posting, HAPPY birthday Marine and HAPPY veterans day. Semper-Fi
That is pretty awesome. Really makes that look affordable and doable for an at home craftsman. Would be interesting to see you do something with this technique in your shop, just to show us the process from start to finish. This gave a good idea of how it’s done. I think I will attempt something like this in my next project at home. Thanks for showing!
The above 👆🏼post Sure seems like a scam. Sad they’re doing this on RUclips now 😝
I love you did this vid, because back in the day before I had a shaper and a shop router table, I would buy “ Panel mould” at the lumber yard , cut the 3/4” birch ply squares to accept the panel moulding , I’ve also made raised panel on the table saw, not a method I promote.
I've been a woodworker for the past 40 years, yes your right this is amazing what a clever false raised panel application.
Boom !!!! The color matching is amazing !!!
Thank you! I just saw this as I'm planning on finishing a room in my basement. This will look classy and disguise all the wire and plumbing.
The plumbing has leaked once. Maybe sometime the plumbing mite leak again. You glued all pieces back in place. If it has to be removed in the future, the pieces will not come out next time. Glue is good for permanent placement but is very hard to remove pieces in future. Whoever built it the first time, did good not to glue pieces in place.
I had this exact same thought
It was actually glued when we removed it. If you look at the chair rail location before install you can see the old glue remnant. You can remove glued trim you just have to be extra careful.
I was thinking something similar, but I would have used hide glue because it’s easy to break down than pva is.
But you can still remove the pva with vinegar, it just takes longer.
@@trinitytoo Not when the attitude is "That future problem is not my problem now."
The glue will come off you can do it scorning the edge with a utility blade going from left to right,tapping a 15-in-1 with a mallet before you start prying
I've been following you for years I realy have benefited from your posts thank you sir for all your time teaching an old DIY guy to being a confident fitter these days
They did some fantastic things back in the day. Awesome.
Very impressive Richard, thanks for sharing it!
Pretty amazing actually. Thanks for sharing 👍😀👏
This is an awesome method of raised panels. It would be harder to hide with a wood that has a more pronounced grain, especially on the end grain sections that would be running perpendicular to the main panel
Great video Richard, who would have guessed that it was put together that way. Surprised me as well.
Could you make a video about taking complex moulding like this apart without damaging them? If they were cross nailed and glued, like you re-installed them, how would you get them apart so cleanly?
I would like to know this too.👍🏼
Mee too
You know, when you talk about WHAT you are doing AS you are doing it you remind me of Gomer Pyle from Full Metal Jacket! "The bolt slides into the receiver. Yeah. Smooth. Just like that." 🤣🤣🤣
Great work, man!!
That's a really nice effect. The styles and rails look spot on, but the giveaway for me was the grain direction on the moulding that gives the illusion of a raised panel... the vertical moulding has a vertical grain, but the panel had a horizontal grain. Even so, still very nice!
What I find amazing is how you DISassembled everything without doing any damage. That must have been nerve-wracking.
Me too! How did you get that apart?
I see a lot of damage. Hope the painter is good a blending
@@smurph1153 You do not.
No a secret door !! Cool
The keyboard warriors and arm chair carpenters are amazing, The man makes a video to show a technique he has not encountered yet and everyone wants to comment on his technique of reassembeling lol. Truth be told most of you would have never attempted this job. NICE JOB RICHARD FOR POSTING YET ANOTHER VERY INFORMATIVE VIDEO !!!!!!!!!
Most true comment in this video. Most would have not even attempted to bid the job, and the rest that made it that far would have destroyed that panel to the point of no return 😂
Nice job enjoyed watching thank you
years ago I did a ceiling using the same method it saved a massive amount of time.
Super cool. I’ve always been intimidated by raised panels because the work load. But this would make it so much easier.
I came across some trim in a modular home on a bar made just like this once. I thought it was a neat idea but seeing it on a luxury application is really cool. Thanks for sharing.
I actually studied about this years ago, the same technique is used on some furniture as well.
Thanks Richard, great video !!!!
That was great.
Thanks for sharing.
I would have chickened out on
That.
Nice! Can’t wait for the podcast. Your partnership with Brent is unique. You better keep him around for awhile
That is a class piece of work thanks for sharing
The quick way to figure out if its built like this is to look at the grain direction of the center panel. Follow the grain to the end of the board where the coved edge is. If the coved edge of the board crosses the grain of the panel it is an applied molding.
We bought out current home off a guy who was a structural engineer by trade. He designed and built every cabinet in our home, all the way down to the crown mounding.
He built the cabinet doors exactly like this.
THANK YOU for sharing your really cool, recently obtained knowledge!
That’s pretty cool. Makes sense to do it that way being that is applied to a solid backing. The plywood is smart too. 👍
Thanks that is fantastic. I will be useing that.
That's a very common way of making raised panels for high end commercial jobs. If you go into a board room of bank that has premium grade style and rail paneling your not going to see end grain on the panels. It's just not allowed by most architect's or the AWI (architectural woodworking institute) quality standards. Veneering a core for a 36" x 60" raised panel also takes care of expansion and contraction issue's.
Wouldn't the glue lock it it now making it impossible to take back off?
Exactly, I left a comment about that.
@@adventurebegins1 ur right and more precise didn't see yours sorry
Dat's absolutly mind blowinggggggggg man, yeah!!
Can you explain why you needed to remove the panel and in what year do you believe this to be build?
That was brilliant. Fast(er) and easy(er)...
Very good youse of an second flx nail gun
This is always how I approached design....."A passion thru craft"
I remember my father doing this in our hours 45 years ago and I have used it hundreds of times since.
How are they matching the plywood face to the older moldings... a wood veneer? Or is the "grain" just done with stain/paint? (Edit: Nevermind, I watched a second time and indeed you said it was an applied veneer.)
Great video as always.
thanks for sharing
Welcome to stagecraft class. As a fellow set designer would say. Cheap and peppy.
Lets get it Richard!!
Would be curious if you could do a price comparison between this "illusionary method" versus the real thing. Would love to see you attempt making this.
Very cool.
Perhaps the end grain running in the opposite direction to the grain on the top of the raised panel might have given it away? 😁
One trick you could try is to tint the tite bond glue with acrylic dark brown paint. A few drops go's a long way. Thx like your channel bro
I have seen similar techniques in 300 year old houses in France. Anything to save time and still look right is OK, even 300-400 years ago.... Also in a 17th century Dutch canal house I restored in Amsterdam...
I would have liked to have seen how you took it apart, not knowing how it was built. How did you decide what was glued? Nailed? Where to pry or pull, etc.?
Why did you glue it ? Won't it trim pieces break if they need to pull the panel out again ? Cool trim trick.....say that 3 times. lol
I'm planning a bedroom wall makeover. Now that I've seen this "fake" raised panel method, I'm thinking I'll do that instead of just moldings but I haven't seen that piece that is attached to the plywood in the big box stores.
Not much will be left if you have termites around.
Sweet!
Where can you get all that molding from to make it up ?
PS: I think we are both in the Dallas area?
Really awesome!
Thank you for exposing how scammers rip off home buyers. I guarantee you that the price per square foot on that home was increased by over $200 per square foot, as if all that paneling was the real deal. That is called fraud.
Nice job kid , you do good work. But that sort of foe finish from the 50’s or 60’s should of been a giveaway. My grandma’s house was full of partical board, msg monstrosity’s that every one swore was solid mahogany! LoL
Is there a video of the removal? That seems like a harder job.
Wot if you need to remove the panels in the future and now with all that glue .is it possible without braking it now ?
Do the rails/stiles have faux cope/stick molding similar to the panels? Or is it just routed rails/stiles Thanks.
They used Ply for the panels because it is dimensionally stable compared to solid wood panels which would shrink and expand a bit on panels those sizes. So overall it makes a better job.
It's stable, new to you.
I've seen this style before in Chicago. Much more old homes have this.
Learn something new everyday and its not a wasted day.
Awesome
Nice!
If you needed to disassemble for internal repairs again would the glue might remove/or tear out other adjacent pieces?
Your reaction was so cute
That is a great way to do bars. I have done them in a simple recessed flat panel as well so we could more easily bend and build the curved portions.
It would of been a job and a half if it was true raised panels. I'm just finishing up seven months of a solid pine kitchen, bath and laundry. Cope and stick panels with ogee doors, a cove and bead face frame, dovetail drawers on wood slides and set brass butt hinges. 1400 bd ft of old growth VG clear white pine to do all the cabinetry. Damn expensive kitchen for the customer
brilliant.
gluing it all back in ensures the next dude that needs to do maintenance can't open it 🤣
I’ve never done anything with theis method of build ups. But, I saw it in a Taunton publication, cant remember if it was Fine Homebuilding, or Fine Woodworking, thirty years ago.. The article was on paint grade, and feau finished panels, which they did out of MDF. (Must of been Fine Homebuilding.). If I remember correctly, they did a “library”, and a stairway.
Sounds like a Fine Homebuilding article.
are all of the panels built the same?
Bring back the DeWaukee hoodies!!
That was really cool! Thanks for sharing. I've already signed up on Patreon. Looking forward to it!
Appreciate that! Looking forward to it as well!
The bar area of he trailer I grew up in was built like this.
When was that made, is it historical?
Make the panel into a hidden door for future access.
Beside watching your channel whats the best way to learn finish carpentry? Should I find a contractor to work for ?
I felt my anxiety rise when I saw you glue with so many pins, what’s the next guy going to do ?
What makes it convincing is the staining.
One day we’ll see each other on a job site. I have made a career in Southern California out of finish cabinetry and carpentry!
Nice.
Lack of endgrain should have alerted you to the nature of panels build
Deceptive is an appropriate word. The owner of the home probably was sold on the luxurious woodworking falsely represented by the real agents and the buyer ended up paying more than he ir she should have. It reminds me my motto “the line of sight of a real estate agent is from the tip of their nose to the end of their commission”
Can I borrow that Martinez nail bar?
Hmmmmm...I wonder if the home owner was charged for conventional raised panels? Would there or should there be a difference in pricing?
Wow i like this find !
I’m super happy that I came across this. It feels like an unlocked mystery!
Blue painters tape isn't good for long term adhesion on alot for surfaces in the home. It will pull that finish off the panels if left on too long. Use yellow frog tape designed for delicate surfaces. It won't pull off the wood grain or paint on drywall like blue tape does..