How to Insert Copper Wire Mesh in a Cabinet Door

How to Insert Copper Wire Mesh in a Cabinet Door

Copper mesh can be used as an aesthetic addition to cabinet doors or as a ventilating material. Copper mesh is attractive and lends a sheen and color to a plain wood door in china and curio cabinets or individual kitchen cabinet doors. Experience with a router makes installing copper mesh in almost any cabinet door a project that adds plenty of design detail for little effort.

1. Remove the cabinet door from the cabinet using a drill/driver. Place the door face up across two sawhorses. Place a clamp on each end of the door to secure it to the sawhorses. Place the wire mesh centered on the face of the door. The wire mesh should be at least 2 inches smaller on all four sides than the door.

2. Draw a faint pencil line around the perimeter of the screen. Place masking tape around the door on the inside of the tracing to form a perimeter that's 1/2-inch smaller on all four sides than the tracing. Drill holes through the door using a 1/2-inch drill bit at each corner on the inside of the tape perimeter.

3. Insert the tip of a jigsaw blade through one of the holes. Cut along the tape line to the next hole. Continue around the door with the saw, cutting from hole to hole. Place your hand under the center to brace and remove it from the door when you cut it loose.

4. Remove the clamps. Turn the door over and clamp it down. Install a 3/8-by-1/2-inch cutter bit -- with bearing at the bottom -- into a hand router. Place the router inside the door frame. Turn it on and slowly pull the router toward your body around the perimeter to cut a 3/8-deep by-1/2-inch-wide rabbet or lip along the inside perimeter of the door. 

5. Sand the edges of the routing and the door opening using 100-grit sandpaper until smooth. Color the edges to match the existing stain using a stain marker. 

6. Place the wire mesh inside the rabbet or lip. Staple the mire mesh to the lip using staples with a 1/4-inch leg and 3/8-inch crown. Place four staples evenly spaced along each side. Angle the staples at 15 degrees to penetrate into the corner of the lip.