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Things You'll Need
Instructions
Lift Rail
Measure the space between the tambour grooves in the case, subtract one-eighth inch and cut the half-inch stock to finished length for the lift rail.
Mark two recessed cutouts in the front face of the lift rail and router with the cove bit to create hand grips used to raise and lower the tambour door.
Measure, mark and cut the top of the lift rail to create the final width of 1 3/4 inches.
Rabbet both ends of the lift rail to fit the tambour grooves.
Round over the top front edge of the rail with the router and the three-eighths-inch bit.
Slats
Cut the three-fourths-inch stock to the finished width of the lift rail between the rabbets.
Rout the leading edge of the stock top and bottom with the three-eighths-inch bit to create a curved slat profile.
Measure and mark five-sixteenths of an inch from the top of the slat and rip the slat free on the table saw.
Continue routing and ripping until you have the correct number of slats needed. Routing the profile on each slat creates a groove between slats that allows the door to flex.
Glue-Up
Cut a strip of canvas the length of the planned door plus 4 inches, and as wide as the slats. Measure and trim one-quarter inch from each side to keep the canvas out of the tambour groove.
Screw together scrap wood to make a frame whose inner dimensions are the length of the proposed tambour door and the width of the slats. Check all corners with the framing square to be sure they are 90 degrees. Lay the canvas on the frame with a 2-inch overlap at top and bottom, and secure one end of the length to the frame with wood screws every 2 inches. Pull the canvas snug to the opposite end of the frame and secure with wood screws.
Spread a thin coat of contact adhesive on the canvas with the roller, avoiding the screws but covering the entire area inside the stretcher frame. Let this dry until tacky; then, add a second coat.
Lay out the slats in number order and separate them into small groups of three to six. Tape both ends of each group with masking tape so that their long sides lie flush with each other. Turn each group flat-side up and roll contact adhesive onto the surface of all the slats. Don't worry if you get adhesive on the tape --- it's there to keep adhesive off the ends, because this would cause them to stick in the tambour groove and not slide freely. Let this dry until tacky and remove the tape, keeping the slats in number order.
Assembly
Lay the stretched canvas on a worktop, canvas-side down. Remove the masking tape from the ends of the first group of slats. At the end of the canvas that will be attached to the lift rail, lay slat No. 1 parallel to and snugly against that short edge of the frame. Do this very carefully, because once the adhesive-coated surfaces meet, the bond is instant and permanent --- they cannot be repositioned. If the first slat is not true, all those that follow will be, too.
Continue to lay slats in number sequence, checking every few slats with the framing square to be sure they are aligning correctly. Tap gently along the whole surface of each slat with the rubber mallet to remove any air pockets.
Remove the rail-covered canvas from the stretcher and trim the ends, leaving 1 inch of canvas at the end where the lift rail will be attached. Brush contact adhesive on the slatted side of this strip and on the back of the lift rail.
Match the two surfaces when tacky, being careful that the top edge of the lift rail aligns with the edge of the first slat. Turn the canvas over and brush adhesive on the 1-inch strip of canvas and on one three-fourths-inch surface of the rail support strip. Apply the rail support strip to the bottom back edge of the lift rail on top of the canvas by the adhesive-covered side and secure the piece together with evenly spaced 1-inch wood screws. This gives you something to grip when closing the tambour door.
Measure, mark and cut the bottom face of the combined lift rail and rail support strip to a 7-degree bevel so that it will sit flat on the case surface. Your tambour door is complete and ready to stain or paint and install.