Hinged door that slides in....best one-line explanation I can do.

[shmokes]

Okay, I'm curious if there is any hardware that will alow me to make a bottom access panel on the front kickplate of my cabinet that will hinge outward at the top and then slide back into the cab, kind of like old-fashioned garage doors.  A picture (albeit a very crude one) tells a thousand words.

[Generic Eric]

That kinda reminds me of those fancy armoirs that have the doors that open and slide in.  I am sure you can buy that hardware at home depot or lowes, but i don't know if the hardware will be on a small enough scale.

[shmokes]

Yes...you are at least thinking of exactly the action I'm looking for.  It's like the armoirs that are made to put a TV in them, but you can then slide the doors in so they don't block the TV from people who are sitting at the sides of the room, rather than directly in front of it.  That actually gives me a little more hope.  I knew I had seen modern applications of this, but couldn't come up with anything but the old garage door scenario as an example.  

Thanks.

(p.s.) if anybody else can go even more specific, such as if you know precisely where the hardware can be purchased (especially for a small scale; the door will only be about  12-15" wide) or what the name of it is I will appreciate it very much.

[Tailgunner]

The doors on a amiore are called pocket doors. The hardware for them are called pocket door slides.  Here's a source for a reference pic, though to buy from them you'd have to buy 20 sets. Having the door open upwards will complicate things a bit, you'll have to come up with some way to hold the unhinged edge in a raised position.

http://www.hardwareresources.com/categories.asp?CatID=7&SubCatID=38

[Buddabing]

Why not just put small hinges on the inside to hold it on? You could rig up something to hold the door open once it was up.

[PacManFan]

I just picked up a nice cabinet that has a hinged door at the bottom. The hinge is at the bottom of the cabinet, and the door opens down. It acts like a kickplate. When the door is open down, the powersupply and PCB board are mounted on a board that you can slide out to work on. It's kind of nice.
When the door is closed, It's secured with locking clamps to keep it closed.

-PMF

[shmokes]

I think you mean, why not make the door open inward instead of outward.  I don't think I have the clearance inside to open it that way.  Otherwise that might work, though this sliding method will be the more impressive if I am successful, I think.

[Zathras]

Is this to hide/reveal pedals?

Maybe you could do something with drawer rails along the side of the opening (assuming it will have side walls) facing backwards and attach the front to the drawer part with some sort of hinge.   You could use a couple of pegs in the side to keep the front part raised when recessed.

Oh well maybe that doesn't make sense I am not awake yet

[ErikRuud]

You want to build it like a Lawyer's (or Barrister's) bookcase.

I have plans at home for one that does not require any special hardware.  You will need a router to cat a dado (slot) though.

There is a dado on each side of the cabinet.  The door has a pin at each top corner that acts as the pivot and slides in the slot.  Just behind the door and under the dado is another pin to hold the door up when it is open.

Here is a quick sketch.

[Ken Layton]

Justget an old Stern Bagman upright cabinet.

[Stingray]

Clever design Erik.

-S

[ErikRuud]

Thanks, Stingray, But I cannot take credit for that design.  It is has been around for at least 100 years, probably a lot longer.

[Stingray]

I guess that gives you a pretty good idea of how much I know about carpentry. There's a good reason why I chose to convert a cab instead of building one from scratch.  

-S

[NoOne=NBA=]

Erik beat me to my post about the "budget" barrister's bookcase.
I am planning on using that ALOT in the desk unit I'm going to build to go with my arcade cabinet.

The only change I would make to his design is that you need a stop at the bottom to keep the panel from getting kicked IN when it's closed.
Also, you want to make the pivot dowel, and dado slot significantly smaller than the width of the wood you are using, so that it will stop flush with the front, and not split the wood when in use.
I haven't actually built one of those yet, but I'm guessing 1/4" dowel/slot would be sufficient for a 3/4" thick panel.

I probably wouldn't build it out of MDO either.
I think you'd run some real risks of splitting the wood over time.

[eightbit]

Erik beat me to my post about the "budget" barrister's bookcase.
I am planning on using that ALOT in the desk unit I'm going to build to go with my arcade cabinet.

The only change I would make to his design is that you need a stop at the bottom to keep the panel from getting kicked IN when it's closed.
Also, you want to make the pivot dowel, and dado slot significantly smaller than the width of the wood you are using, so that it will stop flush with the front, and not split the wood when in use.
I haven't actually built one of those yet, but I'm guessing 1/4" dowel/slot would be sufficient for a 3/4" thick panel.

I probably wouldn't build it out of MDO either.
I think you'd run some real risks of splitting the wood over time.

I have one of those cheap lawyer bookcases and they made it without cutting any slot. All you need is the pivot hinge and a hook on the lid to catch it when its down.

Heres a expensive but easy way to do it from rockler- http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/showdetl.cfm?offerings_id=1874&objectgroup_id=283&catid=6

[ErikRuud]

My sketch was just a rough sketch to get the idea across.  Nothing in it was to scale.  The slot should probably only 1/4" as stated by NoOne=NBA= and there should a stop or catch for the bottom.

Eightbit, I don't understand how your door would work. If its on a hinge, how does it slide back into the bookcase?

[shmokes]

Eightbit's would work.  After you click his link, click on the PDF spec sheet and it shows a diagram.  It took me a minute of looking at the diagram before it clicked, but it looks like a good method, if it's small enough for my application.   I haven't made exact measurements yet.  I think my door may be under 10" tall which would preclude me from using that.