Replies

1. 
   joinerswork | Jul 27, 2010 08:30pm | #1

   Bruce,

   The slats in your tambour will be reinforced by the canvas backing, which will help keep them from flexing as much as an individual slat would do.

   If they will only be bending in the one direction, as they will in retreating under the top, and down the back of your cabinet, they need not be bevelled on their edges at all, as they will be bending away from one another.  An "S" curved channel, requires the bevelled edges, as in going around the returning curve, you need the clearance provided by the bevel.  However, for appearance's sake, you still may want to work the edges of the slats.

   Typically, in tambours of the size you are contemplating (think roll top desks), the slats are 1/2" or so thick.  Ordinarily, they are about 3/4" wide. Instead of a 30 or 45* bevel, many are rounded over, so that in section they are half-round.  The radius of the curve they need to navigate pretty much determines the width they need to be.  Narrower is better, but I've seen wider  or thicker,slats with narrow tongues, like little  tenons,  worked onto their ends, that fit into the channel. 

   As far as the channel, and the radius of the curve(s), you will need to make a drawing of the application, and see what you can fit (hide) in the space demanded by the design.  There is usually a valance, or skirting board across the top of the opening, behind which the tambour makes its bend to retreat under the top.  The width of this board is determined by, (or determines, depending on your design parameters), the curvature of the channel for the tambour. A tighter radius needs narrower slats.  Making up a mockup in scrap wood with the radius of the channel, and the proposed width and thickness of slats, glued together into a mini-tambour, goes a long way toward avoiding one of those "oh, crap!"  moments in your actual project.

   In making up the slats, plan on getting out more of these than you need.  There will undoubtedly be some that warp, twist or otherwise (color, grain) will be un-acceptable for your purpose, especially as long as these are.  Make extra, so that you can pick and choose the best for the job at hand.

   Make up a jig from plywood, mdf or similar flat stuff to lay out the tambour upside down. Tack a strip along the bottom and one end so that the cut-to-size tambour slats will be held straight and square.  A parallelogram-shaped tambour will not work, unless the cabinet is also that shape ;-)  Wedge or clamp the slats together (you may want to finish the show side and edges first), and coat the back side with glue.  Lay the canvas in place (cut it back an inch or so from the ends that fit into the channel), and press it down, smoothing out any wrinkles or folds.  White or yellow glue can be ironed down ( use a low heat settting), hastening the set of the glue, and preventing the edges of the canvas from curling away.  Hot hide glue can be gently "hammered" down, like veneer. 

   Ray

1. 
   brucedcla | Jul 27, 2010 11:25pm | #2

   WOW - Thank you for the great response! 

   So, you don't think 1/2" thick slats will flex too much on a 56" span?  You are right that they will only be bending one direction, so I'll just have to run some test cuts to see what looks best on the edges.

   When you lay the canvas down on the slats to glue, does it need to be stretched?  If so, is it easier to tack the canvas down, and glue the slats down on top of it?  Which glue is your glue of choice?

   Thanks again!

1. 
   joinerswork | Jul 28, 2010 08:04am | #5

   Bruce,

   1/2" thick ought to

   Bruce,

   1/2" thick ought to work fine, as long as you aren't sitting on the tambour ;-)  I use a fairly substantial fabric for the back.  It is called "cotton duck" , not as thick as blue-jean mat'l, but heavier than the muslin that is used for upholstery. If you are concerned about it sagging in the middle of the span, just make up a narrow (6 or 8" wide) section first, and see how stiff it is.  Good practice for the real thing, too.

   I don't stretch the fabric, just smooth it out so there aren't any wrinkles.  I have used both yellow (franklins titebond, elmer's carpenter's glue) on new work, and hot hide glue on repairs, with good success.

   Ray

2. 
   ring | Jul 28, 2010 03:14am | #3

   and...

   Ray's answer is spot-on perfect and covers just about everything.  Just one little thing...you will be making a jig to guide the router for the channel.  Make it so you can flip it over to use for both left and right sides.

1. 
   oldusty | Jul 29, 2010 09:30am | #10

   Show me yours and Ill show you mine

     David ,  hey how about a look at that reversable jig ?

                       Maybe if we show the OP what our simple jigs actually look like the mystery will be gone .

                    I'll try and post one later , boss is calling

                        regards , dusty

3. 
   swenson | Jul 28, 2010 07:08am | #4

   cable pass-through access.

   A salesman at a Scan store once told me about a customer who bought a large piece with horizontal tambour doors.  He cut a large hole in the back for cable pass thru and when wired up he couldn't close the doors.  You guessed it...  big hole right thru the tambour door.

4. 
   brucedcla | Jul 28, 2010 11:22am | #6

   Thanks for all the great information.  I appreciate you guys taking the time to answer.  I'll post back to let you know how it turns out.

5. 
   bduffin104 | Jul 28, 2010 10:07pm | #7

   Careful, they are going to be heavy

   Bruce,

   I had my Director of Antiquities search the catacombs for these photos of a couple of Tambour doored entertainment centers I built long ago.

   I use heavy canvas for backing. It's important to wash and dry the canvas before you use it to shrink it otherwise it will get loose on you. Clamp the tambour strips tight in a jig before gluing the canvas to the back and also stretch the canvas tight but not too tight. Hold the canvas shy of each end so it doesn't run in the track. There is definitely a learning curve on these tambour doors. I built a lot of them and had it down pretty good.

   I've never built any as wide as you are planning. Even those that I built were heavy and could come crashing down once they go past the balance point. Yours might be heavy enough to take off a finger! A counter balance that engages before it slams down might be a consideration.

   Good luck, Bret

   
6. 
   brucedcla | Jul 29, 2010 12:16am | #8

   I hadn't thought of the weight - good point.  What kind of counter balance did you have in mind?

1. 
   bduffin104 | Jul 29, 2010 07:39am | #9

   I was thinking something like a sash weight or sash spring but as I said, I haven't actually built one this big.

   Maybe Dusty's idea of doors that slide horizontally would be the answer. A pair that meets in the middle would cut the weight in half and no concern about falling would be needed.

   Bret

7. 
   brucedcla | Jul 29, 2010 10:49am | #11

   I may be a little dense, but can you elaborate on what you mean by this:

   "Works perfect but you will need about 3 - 4" rail on top for horizontal applications."

   Also, the span top to bottom will be 40" - do you think 1/4" thick slats will be stout enough? 

   Thanks.

1. 
   oldusty | Jul 29, 2010 11:32am | #12

   speaking in terms of the standard horizontal tambour

     Bruce , if you want the tambour to fit without a gap where it goes behind a face frame or fasia it needs to go higher then the opening so the radi or turn will not reveal a gap at the top .

             The slats when glued to a backer will not really sag in a straight up and down application without  any curves horizontal or vertical .

           regards , dusty

8. 
   WillGeorge | Jul 29, 2010 01:47pm | #13

   I would think tambour doors that slide side-to-side would be a better choice.. But what do I know?

1. 
   brucedcla | Jul 30, 2010 12:56am | #14

   Thanks again for the replies. Vertical slats seem the way to go. I'm going to create a false wall on the cabinet that the door will hide behind as it works it's way across the side of the cabinet, and around part of the back. My next question is how much space needs to be left between the routed groove, and any material, like cabinet walls?

9. 
   brucedcla | Apr 26, 2011 04:28pm | #15

   Finally....

   I realize that I'm resurrecting an old thread, which may be a no-no, but I've finally finished the entertainment center and got it installed this last weekend.  It has the large vertical sliding tambour doors, which are working great.  It also has several bays for A/V equipment approximately 18" wide by 8" high. These bays have small tambour doors that can be closed to hide the equipment (a requirement from the customer - my wife). My problem is that these tambour doors don't always want to stay up and keep dropping back into the closed position. I didn't even think about this during the design phase, and now that it's completed, I need to come with a method for making them stay up. Right now, I just have strips of wood that can be wedged in the opening to make sure the doors stay up during use.

   Anybody have any creative ideas for developing a mechanism to make these stay up?  Keep in mind this is after full assembly, so it's going to need to be some kind of retrofit.

   
1. 
   tadieu | May 05, 2012 07:14pm | #16

   magnets...?

   Funny! I'm glad you posted your pics. I'm at the end design stage for making a very similar setup (except in cherry and part of a desk/AV combo). I've never done tambour doors before (plenty of pocket/flipper, but they take up more space) and I've been worried about the weight affecting the slide action horizontally... what did you use for track? and did you make the tambours yourself or did you buy the pre-fab sheets?

   If those pesky lower vert doors aren't too heavy, it seems you might be able to install a magnetic catch at the back end of their travel....

   
1. 
   brucedcla | May 07, 2012 10:29am | #17

   I've thought about magnets, but more than a year later, still using wood shims that my kids have learned to just stand up and wedge in to hold the doord up.  Someday maybe...

   As for the large doors, I simply routed the track into the top and bottom pieces.  I used "Slip-It" compound in the lower track, and have only reapplied once so far.  The doors are heavy, but slide fairly easily.  No complaints from anyone in the house, and my wife is very happy that the TV can be closed off. 

1. 
   gsheely | Nov 20, 2012 12:58pm | #18

   tambour door backing

   Hello. I'm new to the site, but wanted to ask a question on the tambour door. I'm redoing some doors in my boat that are fairly small in size. 14" by 15" and wondered if anyone has tried using a good quality cloth duct tape for backing. I have tried it on my sample pieces of aluminum slats and also wood slats and it seem to flex real good and adhere to the material well also. Any thoughts.

   Thanks,

   Gordon

2. 
   gsheely | Nov 20, 2012 12:59pm | #19

   tambour door backing

   Hello. I'm new to the site, but wanted to ask a question on the tambour door. I'm redoing some doors in my boat that are fairly small in size. 14" by 15" and wondered if anyone has tried using a good quality cloth duct tape for backing. I have tried it on my sample pieces of aluminum slats and also wood slats and it seem to flex real good and adhere to the material well also. Any thoughts.

   Thanks,

   Gordon

1. 
   Westchester | Nov 20, 2012 03:39pm | #20

   Tambour Doors

   I think you're better off gluing the wood tambours onto a canvas backing.

   SA

2. 
   RalphBarker | Nov 20, 2012 06:17pm | #21

   methods

   Although the cloth duct tape may seem to be working now, I'm dubious about it lasting - particularly after a couple of seasonal changes.

   One tape that might last longer is called gaffer's tape. It is used on photo and movie sets and is like duct tape on steroids - super sticky.

   In the long term, I, too, think the traditional approach with glue and canvas is likely to endure longer.