# Amana tambour door router bit set - slick idea



## lew

Thanks!!

I, too, have always wanted to make a roll top desk. When I saw this bit advertised, I thought that might be the way to go.


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## Kindlingmaker

Thank you! I too have been looking at this bit and ponerdering…


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## GaryK

I remember seeing those a long a time age. If I ever needed a tambour I will take a second look at them.


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## a1Jim

Thanks for the review I've wondered how well these work also.


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## Splinterman

The three fluted router bit sysytem would run smoother and with better control.


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## woodman71

I to have always want to build tambour door but was never crazy about the building process and i seen the review in woodsmith router table secrets like the review.thanks for your input and info i guess like anything there is always a leaning curve .


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## cabinetmaster

Thanks for the review. I have been contemplating this for a while. I was wondering how well it would work. I might have to talk the boss into this set for the shop. We do a lot of tambour units.


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## Martyroc

Hi Brandon, New to LBJ's but not to woodworking, i had been looking at the tambour door bits from Amana and wanted to get an opinion from someone who actually used them first before I made the purchase as like any good tool or accessory I will gladly pay the asking price if it does what it supposed to. The insight to what the directions says regarding the measurements, and what you say is helpful and I am glad a fellow LBJer like you got me the skinny on that. Love the desk and the use of different woods was a good choice. Keep making sawdust


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## Benno

I just built an office addition off our dining room and I want to construct a tambour door (window) between the two rooms (similar to a food service counter window). The opening is 7' wide and 54" high. The idea is that it will be open most of the time but able to be closed in order to provide more privacy in the office and also lockable for security. My question here has to do with the radius of turn allowable with this type of non-canvas and non-wired tambour. I need to hide this 54" door within a 24" space below the ceiling. I don't want it to follow a gentle slope and hang under a large swath of the ceiling. Rather, I want it to either turn with a relatively small radius and store in an upside down U shape or in a scroll pattern. I'm coming to the conclusion that this type of tambour doesn't allow a small enough radius for my needs, so I'll probably need to use wires with something like the Rockler tambour router bit set. Can anyone confirm or deny?


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## NuBeRick

As my user name suggests I am new to wood working (sort of) and need a lot of advice. In an early post to this thread Brandon said " I would recommend an extra 1/32" to 1/16" on the stock in order to obtain the best of both." I assume anyone past newbie level would be able to figure it out but for me I would like some clarification as to which dimension to add the extra 1/32" to 1/16" to. Do i add it to the 1/2" or the 1 15/16" dimension? Also if you have time can you explain why I should know which one it is. He did mention that it was "on the stock" so I would appreciate knowing what "on the stock" means.
Thanks for any help.
Richard


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## beevee

Hi NuBeRick and welcome to the forum! This router bit set is real neat because it creates a "ball-n-socket" that readily allows multiple materials to be used. "On the stock" means the blank that you will cut first before milling the tambour profile. The extra material would be added to the 1/2" dimension. If you look at the picture on the right, you will see the first ones that I milled with the stock dimensions at the instruction specified 1/2". You will see on the left, in order to obtain a clean cut on the face profile, that the "ball" is too narrow to properly fit the "socket." The piece on the right shows that in order to get the "ball" the correct size, that the face profile is flat. By adding the extra material to the stock, you will be able to achieve both the face profile and a proper sized "ball" to fit the "socket." I hope this helps clarify your questions. I have the set for sale if you are looking to tackle this ;-)


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## NuBeRick

Hello Brandon. Thank you for responding to my question which I now realize was not worded very well but you answered it anyway. What I was trying to ask was, to which dimension did you add the 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch and although I thought I knew what is meant by "On the stock" I was not sure if in fact it meant the thickness or width of the blank. I just received my new bit set and will play with it before making my final doors. I never thought of looking for a used set on line but thanks for the offer.

You also mentioned using different woods. That was going to be my next question which is. Is it best to use hard woods or soft woods. I'm guessing they were using soft wood in the video because of the feed speed and chip size but that is only a guess.

Richard


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## recipio

I'm thinking of trying these bits - however ….........no one mentions how they look in the groove. I understand they ride fully inserted in a 9/16" groove without any tenon or shoulder.That's fine but its not as neat as the traditional 'flat tenon' setup and I wonder if dirt will accumulate in the gaps between the slats. ?


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## NuBeRick

Greetings recipio. I have not made my tambour doors yet but mine will be sliding horizontally. I plan on making the upper grove deep enough so that I can easily lift the doors out of the bottom grove for removal and installation if cleaning were ever required. I would guess that dirt accumulation would depend on how clean the area where the door is installed will be.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "how they look in the grove". Does the video of the bread box not help you visualize the end result?

Richard


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## recipio

Thank you Richard. Good idea to make the tambour removable although I think a lot of designs have a removable back to do just that.
I'm probably being pernickety but if there is no 'shoulder' for the tambour to abut the side you are going to see into the little voids between the tambours. Its a trade off in aesthetic terms as the tambour will of course function just fine. In fact its probably easier to simply mill a 9/16" slot than trying to mill perfectly accurate flat tenons on the ends of the tambours. I wonder if inserting a small dowel in the ends of the tambours would allow you to make the tambours in the usual way. ? Anyway the router bits are on order and I will experiment next week.

cheers

Brian C.


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## NuBeRick

Let me know how it goes Brian. Include some pictures if you can.

Richard


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## recipio

Just watched Norm ( Abraham ) making a roll top desk. The slats fit straight into a groove so I take it that fitting can be either with or without tenons. I would think that vertical tambours particularly would be easier to make just sitting in a groove. Food for thought.


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## NuBeRick

The only concern I have with the vertical slats is the fact that all the weight is supported at the bottom thus the friction on the bottom will be considerable compared to the top which will have virtually none. That fact may present a problem when trying to open or close the doors causing them to twist and jam. I'm hoping to surmount that problem by placing the handles in a location closer to the bottom than the centre. We'll see!


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