Replies

1. 
   highfigh | Feb 15, 2005 12:59am | #1

   Rockler sells tambour door material, but I'm pretty sure it's not 60" wide. You may be better off by orienting it vertically and having it go around to the sides. This is done pretty often and if you look around, you may find something that looks like it goes up but is sliced so it goes horizontally.

   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
2. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Feb 15, 2005 01:43am | #2

   You can buy infrared repeaters which allow your remote to control electronics which is completely hidden.   They have one small sensor peeking out of the cabinet.  It feeds a splitter box which feeds little emitters which are taped to the front of each component in front of its sensor.   Google with "infrared repeater".

3. 
   highfigh | Feb 15, 2005 03:50am | #3

   The remotes may or may not work. It depends on how strong the IR signal is and how transparent the glass is. What are you going to use for remotes- the original ones or a universal? Zantech makes most of the IR repeaters out there. They're sold by a lot of other companies, though. Just a different name screened on.

   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
4. 
   notDusty | Feb 15, 2005 04:34am | #4

                    Bob ,

              I use the 48" wide every now and then in lieu of pocket doors in front of the TV it saves several inches on each side. I have not had any problem with sagging in the 48" widths , I usually end up cutting the width down a few inches to suit the size needed . On roll top desks when the tambour is wide often they are made from thicker slats . You can make your own , there are several systems that have been used for eons . Some of the old desks had a rather thick slat with a small cable running through them , and the most common has a fabric material contact cemented on the back . This also can be done with strips , say 4-6" wide of fabric instead of a whole piece .The vertical system as advised above is also a super way of handling tambour if the application calls for it. Making the track is much easier then you would think . Once I learned how to make my own track I stopped using the store bought type that had plastic tracks and a dowel rod and spring , cheesy compared to the real thing and the track you make costs maybe an hour of time and a bit of material.I may have some photos of the track being made with the jig I use if you are interested and if  I can figure out how to post the pics , I would be happy to do so .

                       good  luck  dusty

1. 
   DougF | Feb 15, 2005 01:57pm | #6

   Dusty,

   I would love to see the pics of the track if you can post them.

   Doug

    

1. 
   notDusty | Feb 15, 2005 06:36pm | #8

      Doug ,

              I will see if I can find them , and if I do will post them , give me a day to try .

                                          dusty

1. 
   DougF | Feb 15, 2005 07:13pm | #9

   Thanks Dusty.

2. 
   notDusty | Feb 17, 2005 06:19pm | #10

    Doug,

            Here is the tambour track and router template , the way I do it .

                                   dusty

   
1. 
   DougF | Feb 17, 2005 06:38pm | #11

   Dusty,

   Thanks for the photo.

   Doug

1. 
   notDusty | Feb 17, 2005 06:53pm | #12

   Doug ,

                Here is more of them , I forgot to re size them , the first time.

                           dusty

   
5. 
   migraine | Feb 15, 2005 07:33am | #5

   There used to be a company that is in SanDiego, Calif that does custom tamabor for a lot of distributers.  One place that I bought 8'wide lenghts of tambor was Louis and Company In Brea (Main branch).  Another was Californian Panel and Veneer in Cerritos or Artesia, Calif.  Another company called MTS Hardware in /near Riverside calif, might be able to help also.  Another to try is Anderson International Trading in Anaheim Calif.

   Sorry, I don't have Ph# right now

6. 
   joinerswork | Feb 15, 2005 05:15pm | #7

   Bob,

   60" is pretty long for tambour slats, but I don't think it's impractical. I recently recanvassed a roll top desk that had a tambour that long.  You can likely do it yourself.  Select clear straight grained stock for the slats, and let it acclimate to your shop.  Dress to thickness.  I don't think 3/4" to 7/8" is too thick.  Rip to width, maybe 3/4". Usually the first slat is wider, sometimes it's thicker, especially if you need to accomodate hardware. Be aware that the wider it is, the gentler a curve it will need in its track to ride around.  Make lots (20%)of extra slats.  Set them aside, and let them relax.  Discard those that move a lot, esp if they twist, or bow in an up and down direction.

     Some times you'll see short (1/2") tenons worked on the ends of thick slats, so you don't have to rout a wide groove for the tambour to run in.  Let's say a 3/8" thick tenon to run in a 7/16" groove.  You might want to mold the face of each slat to a half round shape, or bevel the edges, for looks,(if there is an inside, or concave, curve in your design you have to do this, so the slats can flex backward) or work a pair of beads on the face to make them look narrower. Sand them at this point.

   Take a nice FLAT piece of 3/4" plywood, or something similar, and screw a batten to the long edge, and another at right angles to it, along a short edge.  Fasten another batten at the other long side, about an inch from where the assembled tambour will end.  Assemble the slats inside this frame, holding to the near edge, and the square side batten.  Clamp a strip along the top of each end of the assembled strips to keep them from buckling, and use several pairs of wedges at the far edge to take up all the slack between the slats.  You don't want any cracks beween them to take up glue. 

   Get a piece of cotton "duck cloth" (canvas) at a fabric store, and cut it 3 or 4 inches narrower than the length of the tambour, and about that much longer than its width.  Roll on a coat of glue, and lay the cloth in place.  Smooth out any wrinkles, and run a warm iron over it to set the glue (I use Titebond) . Trim the excess. I've seen large tambours for roll top desks that had additional strips (2-3" wide) of canvas glued on top at each end and in the center. I figure it can't hurt. 

   Regards,

   Ray