tambour doors. How to?

[Markem]

Of course before you commit to wall mount, DAGS pop up tv mount?

Just stirring

Mark

[Han]

Markem wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I have no intention for that. It would mean fudsing with the existing 3- door sideboard that I want to incorporate.

Fine! You got my answer anyway! :)

[Han]

Swingman wrote in news:u5adney0cZEJgtbQnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Thanks Karl and DadiOH.

I'll let everyone know what spouse and I decide on.

[Upscale]

I'm conflicted here. Tambour doors can look good, but he's dealing with a large TV. Considering the TV size, tambour slats can warp, look uneven or just appear overwhelming in appearance. If he can buy them premade then possibly they might work out, but that's just a maybe. Cutting your own with a TV this big is going to be a lot of work, a lot of sawdust and I suspect, a lot of aggravation and swearing. I think tambour doors are not as stylish now as they used to be.

Folding and pocket doors can look good in almost any size. Yes, they can be a bitch to adjust, but much of that is dependent on the quality of the hardware.

I'd suggest that down the road, both of these methods would be a waste because the tendency would be to leave tambour or bifold doors open most of the time because of the aggravation of opening and closing them several times a day. These doors, however they're constructed will likely look good when company is over, but that's the only benefit to them in my opinion. I went through a very similar phase with 46" TV and my articulating wall mount I bought from Lee Valley Tools. Within a few months, I got tired of pulling the TV out and angling it for my preferred sitting location. Now it sits inserted in its slot and I watch it as it is.

[Han]

"Upscale" wrote in news:V1L2p.631756$ [e-mail]:

I am not really rushing to a decision, and appreciate your comments. Right now we are indeed leaning away from both a huge tambour and from pocket doors.

I showed Afina a picture of an entertainment center with huge sliding doors, and she is somewhat enamored of that approach. In fact, I am too.

Now how to make sliding doors with an oak veneer that are light and sturdy and won't warp. 2 doors each 48" high and 22-24" wide ... Seems to me that 3/4" plywood is too heavy and thinner plywood might too easily warp or get damaged. Or ... ??

[dadiOH]

Rollers

[Upscale]

Put up a link to this picture so we can make comments on it, or post it to ABPW.

Need more information. Such as, how big is this cabinet that the TV is going to sit in or on? Will there be open spaces on either sides of the TV? Just off hand, I'm thinking about folding doors that fold right around the exterior sides of the cabinet. Hardware exists for just this purpose. I've seen similar cabinets that use this method and they've looked fairly decent and operated very smoothly. The downside to such a construction is that you'll need that mostly dead space around those exterior sides and eventually as I've suggested previouwsly, it might become inconvenient to open and close them on a regular basis.

And a question about these sliding doors you're thinking about. If it incorporates tracks at the bottom then they might look a little ugly in my opinion if they're open to view. Consider how you might hide lower tracks. If you just go with the doors hanging down from an upper sliding track, (which is easy to hide) then it's usually advisable to use some sort of guides at the bottom so the doors don't sway at all.

The best advise I can offer to you is to go window shopping for the exact type of cabinet and doors you'd like to buy if you had an unlimited imaginary budget. If you can't then figure out the best method for you to build it yourself, post some pictures of it to ABPW and someone will tell you how to construct it. On the off chance that you get some sales person objecting to you taking pictures of their furniture, just explain that you're going to show them to the rest of your family. Essentially, that will be true since we're all part of your extended woodworking family.

[Upscale]

A solution to the size and weight would be rail and stile door frames with panel inserts. If you feel that +/- 48" high inserts are still likely to warp, then break them up with additional rails. Another thing to consider with doors that high is where are they going to roll to so the TV is fully viewable? It occurs to me that they might roll in front of some inset side cabinets. Done properly, open or closed, they can look very nice and natural.

[Robatoy]

I just finished planing a bunch of cherry to build this thing for a client. The corner joints will be different as will the vertical sides. (A slight taper towards the bottom.) The back is hollow, built like a torsion box with raceways for cabling and the whole thing comes apart for ease of shipment. When installed, there will be no visible wiring. I have orders for 6 of these once the prototype (this one is for a 60" plasma) is approved. I am now trying to find some decent grommets.

[Robatoy]

[Upscale]

I use a variety of these when I'm doing my leatherwork. Not sure how well they'd work with cabling. You might need a heavier, commercial type grommet.

[Swingman]

Tell that to my old 60" wide rolltop desk. As far as warping, if pigs had wings ... large doors will warp sooner than pigs can fly, maybe.

As far as "can look good" ... beauty, as always, is in the eye of the beholder.

[Han]

"Upscale" wrote in news:mxT2p.629961$ [e-mail]:

Thanks, dadiOH, Rob and Upscale. (what are your real names, btw? Never regstereed in my addled brain, sorry).

The picture I showed Afina is this, from Rockler:

would be similar ...

[Upscale]

Yeah, but this is a desk and an old one as it appears. Tambour door were and alway have been a natural for desks. That's why they call them rolltop desks. Nothing ever since has been more appropriate for a raised back desk with curved sides than a tambour door.

[Robatoy]

et.http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/search/site+search+results.aspx?se...I was more thinking of these types. I know Lee Valley has some, Doug Mockett has a lot of very nice cabling solutions, all of them expensive. Mockett is one of the more interesting companies.

[Upscale]

That makes it easy for you. Four rails on each door so they're unlikely to warp at all. The doors appear to be hinged and when they're open, they're covering the bookshelves exactly. The only concern you'd have in construction is making the backside of those doors as finished as the front if they're hinged doors. If you went with sliding doors, then fully finishing the back of them is not nearly as important.

[Upscale]

180 degree hinges and just make them so they swing to cover the bookshelves. Just a thought to simplify things.

[Lee Michaels]

"Han" wrote

There ya go. One set of doors for two different functions/positions. You just have to make them as pretty from the back as the front.

You do realize, of course, that this would compromise your ability to read and watch television at the same time.

[Upscale]

Yeah, for some reason, I was thinking of grommets for running wire cable, not data cable. ~ Not at all what you were talking about. BTW, thanks for the Mockett link. He's got some very nice stuff.

[Upscale]

You're making the same mistake I made. They're sliding doors, not hinged doors.