And the Results...

Well, the raised panel experiment turned out pretty well. See the results below. I put a coat of finish on the panels (front & back) so that the edges of the panels would have finish on them. When the panel contracts you won't see bare wood. I probably should have finished just the edges, but I got over zealous on the backs and finished the entire surface, so I felt compelled to finish the the entire panel fronts as well. This will help prevent an imbalanced moisture condition. And...it's exciting to see how the panels look with the finish on them.

I spent a lot of time on these panels. I wanted a "bookmatched" look, but I had neither the stock nor the means to resaw, so I had to make up the panels with what I had. This is one of my favorite parts of the process...composing with grain. I probably spent half a day working it out, but the results are worth it.