I have done beaded drawer fronts in paint grade, where a beaded trim was mitered and attached to the outside of an mdf front. I figured the mdf wouldn't move so no problems with expanding and breaking the miter joints. Seems solid wood could be a problem? I have an upcoming job that is requesting this in oak. Any thoughts?

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We do this, using a veneered central panel.

I would not put the solid bead trim around a piece of solid oak. At least not where I live. Too much seasonal movement.

Thanks. That makes sense. Unfortunately this job is in reclaimed oak, so might have to get creative.

I just bead the face. I have a small tool to carve the inner miter. That way it's the same pc of wood.

Just resaw a veneer off the oak and glue it to MDF. No way to put that wide of trim around solid wood.

Or build it like a door with tiny frame - groove the center around the edges and make the bead trim with a tongue, or vice versa. It would be a lot more trouble, but the right clients would pay for it...

Thanks. Resawing the reclaimed was what I was thinking as well. Leo, can you explain a little more about your method?

I use a 1/4" beading bit. I set it up in a router table and do a start/stop run on the 4 face edges. You stop when the inside shoulder/quirks meet. That will leave a small radius that needs to be chiseled out. I made my own chisel out of some 1/16" thick steel. You'll need to shape the inside corner with a chisel or utility knife. The outside corner I just round over with the sander while sanding the edges.

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