Thread: TV Cabinet with roller front

Never made one but my old man has a roll top desk and its door would have to be close to 1m wide with no problems opening and closing.

Just had a thought, if the door did have a tendency to skew then some counter weights on the back might keep it straight.

Should be OK Bodgy, as long as the slats don't have any gap between them and the tracks are wide enough to let them move freely around the corners, but not so wide that they can slop around. Is the tambour going to run up & down or side to side?

Hi Bodgy you lucky bastard.

What brand and model did you get? I'm trying to convince SWMBO that a plasma is a necessary investment. Not much luck so far!

Also keep in mind that the plasmas punch out a stack of heat. While I know the roller will be open when the screen is on (unless you have xray vision), you might want to keep it open until the screen cools.

A kitchen guy I was talking to a few months ago reckons that he will stop selling the roller cupboards that people hide the kettle and toaster behind as the residual heat warps the slats in the roller over time and he has to go out and replace them all the time.

Trav

Trav

Lucky bastard, that's me.

I found a 42" Plasma inc speakers and stand for $2500 at Retravision. It is some unknown brand, Conwa, or something, but did some research and discovered there are few manufacturers of these things, but many 'badgers'. (Just like power tools)I believe its actually made by a well known Korean electonics company.

I got the last one, but they may have more shipments.
*******
Thanks for other responses. I was initially planning to slide the doors horizontally but thought that that would raise the potential problem of 'grabbing'. It may be possible to 'hang' the top part of each slat from a mechanical slide, sort of curtain hook - haven't thought this thru yet. Prefer the traditional roll top look, I think.

I had considered the heat, and intend to vent the back. I think the problem in the kitchen would have exacerbated by all the moisture which wouldn't happen with the TV.

Another option would be 2 x bi-fold horizontally opening doors, easier to do, but would look rs, as you couldn't hide the gaps.

Final option would be 2 x conventional hinged doors that would slide back into each side of cabinet when open. Problem is that you'd need 500mm depth in cabinet and these screens are only 100mm deep, but the DVD player etc would have to be housed too. Still don't make 500mm tho.

I'd much prefer the roller thingy (tambour?), but there's a bit of timber involved and I dont want to end up with $1oo's worth of firewood. The risk seems high.

Seems the critical part is the design and width of the slides. If the timber slats are dressed to 10mm and you know the radius of the top arc, you should be able to calculate the size of track. You also bring down the width of the slats to take a sharper bend.

I think this is starting to get all too hard.

Originally Posted by Bodgy

I think this is starting to get all too hard.

Don't throw it in yet Bodgy.
I reckon the tambour would look great, and it's not too difficult. Just remember that you'll make a fair bit of sawdust cutting the slats. Also, you need to have somewhere hidden at the back to feed the tambour in through. You might want to use something a bit lighter than canvas for the backing.

Bodge, dont throw it in... make it from crapiarta 1st as a tester if it works the way you want then just copy it with some nice matching the decor wood!

Hey Bodgy,
I have as book with plans and dimensions for tambour doors...angles spaces etc.

If you want them, let me know and I will them up for you.

cheers,
conwood

Originally Posted by Bodgy

We recently got a widescreen Plasma TV, mainly for the Tests. Whilst watching sport is a truly enhanced experience,

I have one too (JVC 42") But it doesn't make the cricket any better

It's been mentioned but I'm amazed how much heat the screen throws out, and also inside. Airflow would be the biggest concern I think.

Conwood

That would be outstanding. Yes please. More beer debts acrrue!

I am getting progressively more nervous about this project, and consequently the TV seems more and more out of place, it really sticks out like a dog's bollocks. Need's nice timber jacket.

Thanks to all for advice and encouragement. Will make prototype out of crapiata.

Will post piccies when complete, we all need a little amusement in our lives. All toyed - sorry - tooled up and no more procrastination.

Be very attentive to the heat created and the ventilation requirements of plasma screens. Some of the 42's I've seen have 4 80mm fans in them.
It is expected to leave atleast 50mm clearance behind them some prefer more. make sure you can get plenty of airflow and space arround the unit particularly above & below.
have a look at hafle they have some roll up & lift up door systems that are uber funky.

the one trap with tarditional roll tops is the top has to go somewhere so you end up buggering the access, space & structure behind the space.
have you thaught of a panel lift door where the door lifts straight up.

or perhaps putting the plasma on a lift so it comes up out of the counter top or pulls down out of the cupboard above.

just remember plasma's don't bounce.

very cool.
cheers

Soundman

I had considered how to vent the hot air, but didn't think there was so much of it. I'll pay closer attention to the heat produced by TV tonight, probably as Hayden is walking back to the pavillion after a magnificent 14, whilst Hussey watches from the shed.

Re the tambour, as the cabinet must be sufficiently deep for the assorted amps, DVD players etc, there should be room for the door to flow around the back of set (100mm deep only).

An ascending screen would be 007 cool, but lacking a metal lathe I'd have trouble with the hydraulic lift manufacture (sure)

What do you mean by ascending panel lift door? A bi/trifold hung vertically? If so may be an option. Or do you mean similar to the garage doors with 2-3 hinged panels that slide sort of up and over?

Is the TV cabinet going to be placed next to an internal or external wall. If internal all the junk can be hidden in the room behind, perhaps a bedroom or kitchen cupboard. You can recess the TV, amp etc in to the wall in the TV room so you only see the front of all the equipment. That would look pretty flash.

Another idea is to wall mount the plasma and just put all the other gear in a cupboard below. You could put a nice timber frame around it to match your existing furniture. Rather than worry about the plasma being unsightly when you are not using it, plug it into your computer and have a nice pic or run a slideshow on it when you are not watching TV.

Great suggestions Jack, but not practical in my circumastances. The room in question is dominated by a seriously big open fire - pig roasting size. This is great in winter, but places major limitations on the room layout. I would love to mount the screen on the wall, however the only appropriate place is over the fire, and it would probably melt.

As it sits in a corner, it needs to swivel to allow room wide viewing, a cabinet on castors does this.

Good thinking re using the plasma as a display when there's no sport. Bill Gates bought broadcast rights to half the Louvre collection and displays his art on screens around his mansion (s) changing works every 3 months.

In my case, my mission is to stop my idiot child spending time in front of a screen, not encourage with computer games etc. Also the plasma screens have a far more limited life than other TVs and LED screens, so constant use is a bit profligate.

Thanks for yr input. Our next house maybe - thats if the warders will allow it.

The vertical lift door is a specila mec', think paralellograme. the door pulls out & up, as it passes its centre point it continues up and mooves in to park in front of the panel above. the door stays paralell to the original position at all times.

For a somple lift a mechanism like a sash window or those blackboards would do the job. jus be very carefull about the counterweight and it would need to be well damped.

In the US ther is a company called AUTON who make some very funky AV equipment lifts.

on the bracket front. there are some very funky wall bracket for LCD & plasma TV's available. pull out, tilt swivel. a good tilt swivel for a 42 will cost you a few hunderd though.

At a recent trade show NEC had some plasmas with clip on escutcheons (surrounds) for those who don't like black or silver.
A timber surround is cretainly reasonable.

I'm working on a housing to take 4 x 42" plasma screnes at the moment I one of the issues is airflow. It is for a public area and has to be partly recessed into the wall. Problem. where to mount the fans, where to source the air & where to discharge it.

If you want to know how much heat you unit produces look at the spec plate. it should tell you how many watts it consumes. that will all end up as heat.

cheers