Sliding doors in a TV cabinet

Re: Sliding doors in a TV cabinet

kneale brownson

Two doors would mean you never could access the middle fully.

I'd plan three doors and three grooves for best access.

Re: Sliding doors in a TV cabinet

Howard in Toronto

Thanks Kneale. And yes, I think 3 will be the way to go. Howard

Re: Sliding doors in a TV cabinet

Barry Irby

I recently built a MCM console cabinet to go below my son's TV. It is about 7' long and has drawers on the left and two sliding doors. Because of the drawers I used four boards for the front and kept them in order and continuous across the front.

A couple of things I learned....I used a groove for each door with a tongue (?) on the top and bottom. Cut a rabbet front and back to reduce the thickness of the panel so it would drop into the grooves. The lesson was, don't cut a rabbet on the front, It shows and must be very precise so the shadow line is very even and parallel top and bottom and door to door. If the rabbets were on the back only, this problem would have been eliminated.

Since the grooves were exposed they had to be very neat and very carefully finished.

Look into hardware for sliding/rolling doors. Could be much better and easier. There is an insert that goes into the grooves and wheels that mount on the back of the doors. The insert may negate the need for the groove to be perfectly finished. The wheels may negate the eventual wear on the edges of the doors and in the grooves.

Re: Sliding doors in a TV cabinet

Barry Irby

I did not see your question about the Lee Valley hardware. It does not appear to use a track or insert into the groove which may or may not be to your taste.

Rockler has a version that includes a track. go to Rockler and try "European Style Sliding Door Hardware".

Hafele makes a similar version available from The Hardware Hut.

Put "sliding door cabinet hardware" into Google and see lots of possibilities.

Not sure, but doing it again I might go for the version with the inserted track and wheels. OTOH my simple version may be more durable.

Re: Sliding doors in a TV cabinet

Jim O'Connor

I made one about the same size and used smoked glass for the three doors but I only made two grooves. the end glasses were both in the same groove with the center section in the front groove. I used a 1/4 inch router bit to make the grooves , about 3/16 deep on the bottom and a little over twice the depth in the top. These grooves were cut right into the base and top piece respectively. No complaints from the customer in over 15 years.

Re: Sliding doors in a TV cabinet

Clint Searl

I have only made overlapping two door sliders; grooves the full width of the doors. For three doors, I would consider hinging the center door to the one that's in the front groove so that it folds back flat when opened.

Re: Sliding doors in a TV cabinet

Howard in Toronto

These are great ideas.

Thank heavens I'm starting the planning early.

Thanks guys.