tambour door kit

[flanajb]

I want to make a lightweight tambour door for a camper conversion, but want to make it from timber rather than buy one of the pre made kits specifically for camper vans.

If anyone has made tambour doors for a tv cabinet I would love to hear what router cutter you used and how you did the rolling mechanism.

Thanks

 

[MMUK]

The last time I made a tambour I used 1 1/2" x 3/8" planed birch with bullnose on both edges. The guides were made from oak IIRC with the slot routed in. I then used a couple of old ratchet strap webbings stapled onto the back of the slats to join them together.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Here is a tambour making description I put together not too long ago. It may help. No special router cutters were used, just a 1/4" diameter cutter for the groove in the cabinet, although in this description this was used in a CNC machine. To do the same job with a hand held router, one way is to make an MDF pattern that controls the path of a guide bush which is attached to the router's base. Slainte.

 

[n0legs]

I don't know if you want vertical or horizontal but Richard Jones (Sgian Dubh on here) built a cabinet with tambour doors.
He did a write up of it on his site that may be some help :-
http://www.richardjonesfurniture.com/Ca ... mbour.html

Ha ha, Richard beat me to it :lol:

 

[flanajb]

That's perfect! Enough information for me to get started making them and without having to purchase expensive hardware.

Richard - that is a cracking piece of furniture.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Enough information for me to get started making them and without having to purchase expensive hardware.

I'm glad the information helps. As you note, there are no special router cutters required. The key to it all is accurately made cabinetry with matching mirror imaged grooves, and similar attention to detail for making the tambour. I suspect your plan is for something smaller and probably less complex, e.g., a single tambour, which simplifies things somewhat. Slainte.

 

[cerdeira]

I have used the following pattern on the slats to avoid seeing the backing canvas (I've actually used leather instead of canvas) when they run on the curved section of the groove. the sharp corners were then rounded as well:



a detail of the tambour on the cabinet: