Hello Knots,
I’m planning some shop cabinets and I want to use flipper doors, the kind where you tilt the door up and slide it back into the cabinet.
The doors will be about 15″ tall and ~32″ wide, (3/8″ Baltic Birch plywood?).
Rockler has the slides, and hinges are sold separately. I’ll have at least four of these doors and I’d rather build them myself. Problem is, I can’t find any plans. It was hard enough to know to call them “flipper doors” when I searched for them, let alone find plans or sketches.
Question 1: Does this sound like a reasonable idea for a relatively inexperienced woodworker to tackle, or shall I bite the bullet and get out the credit card?
Question 2: If it seems doable, does anyone have suggestions on where to look for plans or sketches?
Thanks!
–jonnieboy
Replies
The mechanisms I'm familiar with all use regular Euro cup hinges, which need a 35mm bore at least 13mm deep. That means you're going to need either plywood that's at least 5/8" thick, or make frame and panel doors which is what I'd do.
I think that trying to imitate the flipper mechanism on your own is time you could spend better elsewhere. Either bite the bullet and buy the slides, or change the design to make different doors.
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?lang=e&id=1
jonnie,
A quite adequate flipper door can be homemade. A pair of dowels extending from the ends of the door near its corners, engaged in grooves cut into the cabinet, will get the job done. Takes up less room than the slick rack and pinion hardware, but the door must be advanced and retracted mindfully to avoid binding. The grooves or slots stop near the face of the case, where the dowel pivots at the end of its travel. Must have a stop of some kind to keep the pivoting edge of the door from flopping around- usually a sub- or secondary- end (or top, if the door is to open vertically like a garage door) serves that purpose, and makes a pocket for the door to hide behind when open.
Ray
hey jonnieboy ,
Your plan is sound , I've done them even wider .
The flipper door hardware comes with all you need to plan , just make sure the depth is adequate . Remember you lose about 5" or so in depth to the hardware . So depending on the depth of your shop cabinet may tell you if ready made hard ware will work in this application . The door like a garage door may hng out front a tad .
There is one called a 1 2 3 its either Accuride or KV and is simple to use .
I would never use less then 3/4" , the hinge cups bore in a 1/2"
Look at what is called a "Barristers Book case " framed glass fronts pivot up and slide back in .
regards dusty
Jonnie,
Almost every installation of flipper doors I've observed developed some problem after a time. The mechanisms, or maybe people's misuse of the doors, contributed to sticking, binding, coming off the track, or not lining up correctly when closed.
In many cases the homeowners simply decided to leave the doors open all the time instead of dealing with these issues.
In a dusty shop environment where the doors are repeatedly opened and closed, that type of situation might lead to failure or problems rather quickly. Besides, it's kind of a hassle to operate such doors in the first place - as opposed to simply swinging them open on a (low-tech) hinge.
Plus they're pretty spendy for a shop item..
Just my opinion..
Zolton - not a huge fan of flipper doors.
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Thanks for the input!
I'm worried about racking and binding. In light of most of your opinions, it looks like I'll go with another design. I don't really want to pay the money for the mechanisms for shop doors, and anything shop-built runs the risk of being defective or ill-fitting before I even install it.
The thing about regular hinged doors I was trying to avoid is the door hanging open. There's not much room to maneuver on the shop, so I want to keep things as open and clean as possible. Still, using a couple of them might be fine.
Now I'm tending toward some sliding doors.
--jonnieboy
yup sounds like bypass sliding doors may be your best bet
Yeah, it looks like some sliders are in my future. They work well though, so it's not like I'm having to settle for something less.
Thanks, Dusty.
--jonnieboy
Look for plans for a Barrister's Bookcase. They've been around for years and don't require any fancy hardware, just some dowels.
Dick
Dick,
Alright, I'll take a look. Thanks!
--jonnieboy
jonnie,
Just to add to the confusion for ye:
View Image
Gotta use every dang inch ye know.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
Oh, I see. That's a great idea. Portable groups of tools. I'll be using that idea, thank you very much.
Thanks for posting it.
Nice tool cabinet ,too.
--jonnieboy
Bob, The tool cabinet looks great. Very functionally laid out. When are you going to finish the drywall? Just tweaking you...ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolton,
Drywall, what drywall? You should see the north side, it has no drywall at all! Hey I bet Jeff Heath still has walls without drywall. Hope he doesn't clobber me with his hockey stick. :-)
I've got the drywall downstairs for most of it. I'll prolly wait till it gets down below zero, ye know?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
I know where you're coming from. My drywall is all up, but a lot of it hasn't been painted. Some hasn't even been taped and mudded. And, because I moved stuff in right after the drywall went up, it probably will remain the way it is in perpetuity. Kind of a low priority at this point I guess.
My wife and I are headed up to NH in a few weeks to visit my stepdaughter on the coast. By then the leaves will all have fallen, I'm sure. Timing never was my strong suit...
ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolton,
Except for 18" kneewalls the rest of two walls is all roof (gambrel shape) and the other two abutt rooms on either side. I desperately need some windows/skylights or sumpin. Not happening at least till next spring, then I'll finish the drywall. Then I got at least 5 years before painting, right? :-)
You're coming to NH!? Well if ye get a minute I'm only about 170 miles away! Enjoy yourselves on the coast and don't forget to get some lobstahs. Recommend the lobster pound (forgot the name) in Portsmouth. Tell your stepdaughter to get a big pot ready!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
Portsmouth's actually exactly where we're headed. She lives in Kittery and works across the bridge in Portsmouth. And don't worry about the lobster consumption thing. I've got it covered; you can bet on that..
As to shop windows, my own shop, with its vertical walls (unlike your sloped ones) has very few windows. I love natural light, of course. But windows take up wall space and I'd rather be able to hang a few more cabinets or create wood storage. Fluorescent lights are cheap, and inexpensive to operate.
ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolton,
Mounting cabinets on the sloped walls just doesn't work - everything falls out all the time. :-)
I changed over to CFLs about a year ago and they work quite well. I was able to orient them by task/area so I don't need all of the on at the same time. I do think I will need to augment them, over the bench area at least.
I have a couple of metal clad sliding door sashes that I've been tempted to let into the top slope on each side. Kinda like big slylights. That section of the pitched portion of the roof is way above 8'
Fear of leaks has kept me at bay, for now anyway. I agree with you, natural light, the more of it the better.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 10/27/2009 10:52 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob
I had skylights in my last house. Leaks and condensation PITA.
New house I put a light tube in over the stair well. It gives a nice light and does not leak.They can be used on angled walls and ceilings. Natural light is the best.
Bob,
Have you heard of that great Chinese drywall? They used it to build about 100,000 US homes and it eats copper and brass, gives off noxious fumes, you name it, if it's bad, it does it.
If your saw stops running and you look in the outlet box and the wiring's gone, maybe you should wait to install the rest of that sheetrock.
Not to overwhelm you, but here's a snippet:
~~~
ELIZABETH SHOGREN: EPA officials say their tests aren't conclusive. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is heading the federal investigation, and it says it has no proof that the Chinese drywall harms people or appliances, nor do state health officials. One of the companies that sold the product says it ran tests and found no risk to people.
But Chuck Stefan says he knows the problem is real. His construction company, Mitchell Homes, used Chinese sheetrock in at least 45 houses in Alabama and Florida.
Mr. CHUCK STEFAN (Mitchell Homes): One home had such a severe drywall problem that we had to replace the refrigerator, the washer and the dryer because the wiring had corroded and ruined these appliances.
SHOGREN: Stefan told a Senate hearing in Washington that the houses smell like rotten eggs, and air conditioning units need unusually frequent repairs.
Mr. STEFAN: Once a year, you have to change the coils. It's a very thin copper, and it eats right through.
Senator SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (Democrat, Rhode Island): Ordinarily, how often would you have to change the coils in a regular home?
Mr. STEFAN: We have plenty of apartments after 20 years with the same coils still operating in the air handler.
~~~~
Scary, huh?
-jonnieboy
Hi jonnie,
Yes it is scary, and it is not just drywall .The U.S. is allowing China to ship building products to this country that are absolutely not meeting health standards , the china plywood syndrome is the only the tip of the iceberg.
The part that bothers me is china will not allow these same products to be sold there because of health risks , what about us ?
I'm no economist but the sad part the way I see it the U.S. is so far in debt to china that any sanctions we put on them will cost us one way or another .
We need to stop buying these questionable products period, if the government won't help we need to boycott at least the plywoods.
regards dusty,won't use formaldeply ever
Dusty,
It seems these were imported around when Katrina hit. Suddenly we needed big supplies of it and had to go overseas.
Talk to you soon.
--Jonnieboy
dusty,
Have ye picked out a new gofl cart yet? I hearyou canget 'em really cheap, and they are road safe, i.e. can be registered. Hell you can get a bigger discount than the Clunker program, great name for it.
I have my theories about all this but I'm sure the OP doesn't want the discussion closed. Oh, and I have a theory about that too.
Why would anyone want flipper doors, any doors for that matter, in the first place? If it's to keep dust off tools then methinks you've got other issues that need to ba addressed. Security- I'm prolly not the right one to respond to that other than there is a lock on the woodshop door now. PITA!
I will say I don't hanker to walk around like a school janitor with a 100 lb. key ring.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Dick,
I'm hoping this picture will copy:
It didn't.
I found a .pdf of a barrister bookcase that uses brass rods as small dowels that slide in grooves. The rod/dowels are attached at the upper right- and left-hand sides of the doors. The grooves are in the case itself.
The particular plan I found uses glass panels in the doors, but that's eaisly changed.
I'm still not altogehter convinced they won't bind. It seems 'easy' enough to do a mock-up and get a better feel for it.
I might just try it, Dick. If that goes well, I might even build some of these bookcases for my bedroom. They're stackable! Wait. No, shop cabinets first, shop cabinets first.
I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks for talking me into further investigation.
--jonnieboy
Dick,
I did some looking here on FWW and came up with three different options for flipper doors. They're in the .pdf of this project of Jeff Greef's. I'm going to try the third option since it looks easiest.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/.../ProjectsAndDesignPDF.aspx?id=2262
--jonnieboy
Look for plans for a "Barrister Bookcase". Those have the lift-and-slide-back doors.
And once you have a plan for a barrister bookcase, you should be able to modify it for your cabinet needs.
I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)
Ikea sell a line of cabinets that have a plastic roll front. You might be able to buy the roll front separately or at least try to track down something similar.
Don
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