Replies

1. 
   medicinedog | Mar 17, 2009 06:37am | #1

   If I understand you correctly I don't think this is going to work the way you want it to. The stress/friction is all going to be on the bottom of the tambour dorr. Its sort of like trying to make a window shade work sideways with the bottom edge running along the sill. At least I think I would cut the tambour door into two separate pieces that met in the center. Like a right and left tambour door that meet in the center of the corner. Never tried it though, maybe your way would work.

1. 
   JimmyJo3 | Mar 17, 2009 07:54pm | #5

   Thanks for your input. That is a good point.

1. 
   medicinedog | Mar 18, 2009 01:45am | #6

   I stand corrected. Please let us know how it turns out. 

2. 
   forestgirl | Mar 17, 2009 06:44am | #2

   I've seen horizontal tambour in factory-made furniture or maybe cupboards, but I don't know how they dealt with the stresses mentioned above.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
3. 
   Jimurock | Mar 17, 2009 06:51am | #3

   Horizontal tambours are perfectly feasible, though a store-bought one might be on the flimsy side.  The setup is a bit more complicated than routing a groove at the bottom -- even the groove has to be widened at the corners to prevent sticking.  There's quite a good discussion of the various ways to do it in Joyce's Encyclopedia of Furniture Making, p. 260 of the revised edition.  The writing's a bit old-fashioned, but the information might save you some grief.

   Jim

4. 
   oldusty | Mar 17, 2009 07:04am | #4

       JJ .

            I have made pieces with vertical tambours exactly the way you want .

             You make a top and a bottom track the same usually you can make the tambour removable from inside . These two tracks need to be accurately the same .

       Making the track with a router and template fitted with the correct bit and template guide bushings is one way .

          Rub some paraffin wax in the track grooves after it is finished and the tambour will glide effortlessly .

         You can make a lead strip on each half fashioned like handle  . You fit the two leading edges to suit .

                            regards       dusty

5. 
   ctsjr | Mar 18, 2009 10:55pm | #7

   JJ

   Amana Tool makes a tambour router bit kit that will make a tambour door any size you want. The slats fit together and there is no canvas. Tom

   "Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
1. 
   JimmyJo3 | Mar 19, 2009 04:24am | #9

   i noticed that router bit but have no idea how it would work. I will definately consider that idea further.

   Thanks,

   jim

6. 
   rwdare | Mar 19, 2009 03:12am | #8

   John and Thomas Seymour used horizontal tambours in their cabinets 200 years ago. Some of their single tambours span as much as 21".

   Dick