Building Tambour Doors with Larissa Huff
Take a break from large, demanding projects and rediscover the joy of play through box making.
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3 hours of video instruction
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Content available on-demand
About This Course:
In "Building Tambour Doors," Larissa Huff walks through the process of designing and building a cabinet with a tambour door from inspiration to finished piece — sizing the slats, finding the radius for the track, and demystifying the track system that intimidates most woodworkers.
From there, you'll learn how to build the door itself, including milling the slats to ensure that they are straight and parallel, beveling the edges, and finishing with a clamping jig, canvas backing, and hand-fit tenons for smooth travel.
Explore alternatives using veneer for continuous grain looks.
What You’ll Learn:
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The anatomy of a tambour cabinet, including key design and planning considerations
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How to lay out and rout a precise tambour track using a template and guide bushing, and how to refine the track for smooth glide
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How to build in an exit ramp for installing and removing the door
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How to determine slat width and thickness, and mill for flat slats
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How to build a clamping jig for door glue-up, and apply a canvas backing with properly masked tenon zones
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Considerations for pulls, handles, and waxing the track for long-term performance
More About Building Tambour Doors
Whether you just want to learn a new technique or add a signature detail to your casework repertoire, this course gives you a complete, repeatable system for tambour doors that work — and keep working.
There isn’t a tool list, and the techniques demonstrated in this course could be done with power tools, machines, or hand tools. Larissa leans heavily on a table saw and router throughout the course, as well as finessing the fit of things with hand tools.
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
LARISSA HUFF
Larissa is a woodworker and instructor based in Philadelphia. She’s a former math teacher, so her process and designs are often inspired by patterns. Larissa builds furniture from Pennsylvania hardwoods with traditional joinery and techniques, but enjoys incorporating at least one element of special intrigue into each piece. Most recently that has been secret drawers, tambour doors, or hot-pipe-bent details. When she is not in her workshop, she’s on the road teaching at shops and craft schools around the country. In recent years, she has completed a residency at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and a fellowship at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. Her days outside of the shop are surrounded by artful woodworking as part of the team at the Wharton Esherick Museum.
