Changing a Wood Panel to Glass

After removing the door and its hardware, place the door facedown on your worktable. Drill an entry hole for your jigsaw blade, then slice out the central portion of the door panel, leaving a perimeter of approximately 1 inch around the door's framework.

Stand the door vertically, supporting it in a vise if possible. Drive a chisel along the grain of the panel to split the wood. Be careful that the chisel tip doesn't scar the door's rail. Make a second split about 1 inch from the first one. (Plywood doesn't split as easily as solid wood.)

Solidly clamp the jaws of your locking-grip pliers onto the wood between the chisel marks. Hold onto the pliers, and give them a strong smack with a hammer to complete the splits and yank out the piece of wood. To avoid damage, make certain the hammer's path is parallel to the door. Also make sure the pliers or your hand won't hit the opposite rail when the chip is freed.

After you've removed the first piece of the panel's perimeter, getting out the remainder is relatively easy. If you wiggle the pieces, move them side to side only so you won't accidentally split the door frame. Always pull toward the panel's center. Placing a carpet remnant or scrap of carpet padding between your worktable and the door will help prevent scratches.

With the door panel removed, you can accurately measure the depth of the groove in the door frame. Chuck a 1/4-inch straight bit into your router, and use an edge guide with your router to remove the rear lip. This will convert the groove into a rabbet.

A sharp chisel easily squares the corners of the rabbet. Inspect the entire perimeter of the rabbet and employ your chisel or a sanding block to smooth away any irregularities or puddles of finish that seeped into the groove.

Apply finish to the rabbet so that it matches the rest of the door. Take the doors with you to the glass shop to ensure an accurate fit. Consider double-strength glass, which measures 1/8 inch thick and is only slightly more expensive than single-strength. Many glass shops also can cut plastic glazing materials to fit the opening.

Select retainer clips that will hold the pane firmly. The selection in the photo includes models that reach in to meet the glass, ones designed to secure glass that's flush with the wood, and a screw-adjust version that handles virtually every thickness -- even bulky leaded-glass panels. Retainer clips, also called glass clips and glass retainers, are available from woodworking dealers and at hardware stores.