# tambour door bits



## rickey canyon (Dec 20, 2014)

Want to build some bread boxes and have never done the tambour door bit. Is the Amana set best or MLCS set? Consider the price difference too. Will probably only build 6 or 8 of them. Thanks for your help. John


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

rickey canyon said:


> Want to build some bread boxes and have never done the tambour door bit. Is the Amana set best or MLCS set? Consider the price difference too. Will probably only build 6 or 8 of them. Thanks for your help. John


I have the Amana bits... 
there's folks here that like the MLCS bits but I won't go near them...
which ever you choose there is a lot of tweaking involved...
Rockler has them also....

consider going this way...

Lee Valley Tools - Item Search


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

http://www.whitesiderouterbits.com/ToolTestRouterBits.pdf. In this router bit test from 7 years ago MLCS didn't do very well. Rockler did well as did Lee Valley and some others you probably aren't familiar with. The big name maker that scored better than good was Whiteside who won.


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum John.


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## Roy Drake (Feb 10, 2014)

Welcome, John. Glad you're here.


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

Welcome, John.
I wish I could write from experience. I have the Amana set and I am convinced that they are the way to go. For those not familiar with the Amana set, once cut the slats can assembled into a tambour roll top without any kind of added backing. The MLCS set on the other hand requires a cloth backing after the slats are cut and assembled. The Amana set is designed for pieces that are (at least as far as I know) a nonstandard size; i.e. boards in the recommended size are not readily available off the shelf so they need to cut and planed to the correct size. 
I prefer the Amana set because I want the satisfaction of "I built that", and I am a purist. I don't even use glue unless that is the only way whatever I make will stay together. So while it might be more economical to buy the Lee Valley pre-made tambours, where's the fun in that, and besides I intend to push the limits of the recommended sizes when I build the desk I am planning.


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

Stick486 said:


> I have the Amana bits...
> there's folks here that like the MLCS bits but I won't go near them...
> which ever you choose there is a lot of tweaking involved...
> Rockler has them also....
> ...


Stick, I am somewhat surprised at the vehemence of your statement about the MLCS bits. Why such a strong statement?
Thanks.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

mftha said:


> Stick, I am somewhat surprised at the vehemence of your statement about the MLCS bits. Why such a strong statement?
> Thanks.


vehemence is a bit on the strong side...

brazing failure and the carbide hit me in the ear....
what a mess...
that bit replaced the two that were out of balance...


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

"brazing failure and the carbide hit me in the ear....
what a mess..."

certainly justifies a "vehement" response.

While I have no experience with the MLCS tambour bit I have never had anything like that with any of the other MLCS bits I've used, and nearly all my bits are MLCS.


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## AUSSIE WOOD (Mar 9, 2015)

I bought an interlocking tambour set from the US a few years ago, it's a 4 step process. The end result is amazing, one guy who writes for one of the Australian Wood Magazines made an outdoor chair using this set.


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

Stick486 said:


> vehemence is a bit on the strong side...
> 
> brazing failure and the carbide hit me in the ear....
> what a mess...
> that bit replaced the two that were out of balance...


Brazing failure? Good grief Charlie Brown, what will they think of next. I trust that you had a word or two to say to the company about that.

But the big question, did it improve your already stunningly good looks or not? >


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

cocobolo1 said:


> Brazing failure? Good grief Charlie Brown, what will they think of next. I trust that you had a word or two to say to the company about that.
> 
> But the big question, did it improve your already stunningly good looks or not? >


they just offered to replace it...
otherwise it was no big deal to them...

nice accent but no real improvement...


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