Appliance garage tambour door instructions

[Frank]

Greetings,

We just installed new Diamond kitchen cabinets and have a corner cabinet appliance garage with a tambour door. The tambour door became detached from its mechanism during assembly and we don't know how to put it back together properly. I've searched the web for instructions and googled this group as well as rec.woodworking without success.

The tambour mechanism is very similar to the one shown on this page:

As you can see, the door hangs from a wooden dowel suspended from two brackets and the tambour slats fit between two plastic tracks. There is a cam and a spring on the dowel.

For one thing, we are unsure of the function of the spring. Does it assist in opening the tambour, or does it help shut the tambour after it has been opened? How much tension should be on the spring and how is it wound before attaching the tambour?

If anyone knows how to reassemble this kind of tambour mechanism, we'd appreciate your assistance.

[Chris Perdue]

pretty easy situation...the spring is in effect a "torsion" spring similar to those used on a vehicle garage door...you need to disconnect the rollup door from the shaft(dowel) and make sure *both* ends of the spring are attatched at the proper point, usualy a screw on the dowel and a screw in the bracket that holds the dowel...you need to preload(wind) the dowel/spring assembly in the direction the dowel moves when closing the door....the spring is there to assist in opening the door and keep it open....so you need to wind it at least as many rounds as it takes to roll the door up, plus a couple extra rounds for some tension..you then reattatch the door to the brackets(plasitc usually) on the dowel....then it will wind up the door...i install cabinets and just had to do this very thing about a week ago, as the springs seem to be getting thinner and thinner and more prone to breaking at the mounting screws...

[Frank]

Thanks, Chris, for the clear and understandable reply.

-Frank

[willshak]

I had to fix one, but it was about 10 years ago. What had happened was that the cloth backing on the tambour tore in some places and I had to take it out to repair it. I don't know if yours is the same as mine, though. In mine, the spring helps to lift the door so that the door rolls up and also to keep the door from falling down when it is rolled up, similar to a window shade (but without the ratchet action). The spring should be fully compressed (coiled), or even more than just coiled, when the door is wide open and should uncoil as the door is lowered. There are also nodes inside the plastic track near the bottom to act as a friction stop to keep the door down. Don't ask how it all goes together. I don't remember and I am not about to take it apart to see. As I recall, it took me quite a while to figure it out and get it all back together, especially when I was trying to work on it with either my head or my hand inside the door (both would not fit). A small mirror might help if you are used to working with mirrored images. :-)

[Joe Bobst]

Most manufacturers have a customer service department. Have you called them?

Joe

[Chris Perdue]

you are welcome Frank...i hope it helps you fix your problem...

[Frank]

Worked like a charm :)

Thanks again for the prompt and helpful info.

-Frank