Blacken a Brass Hinge?

[Matt Meiser]

I'm looking for hinges for the desk I'm building. Its light maple and the knob on the outside is brushed nickle. I'm planning to use a "butler tray hinge" but all I can find is brass. I thought I found stainless, but they arrived today and after seeing them in person, they weren't exactly the same style I thought and won't work. I'm thinking if I could use brass and somehow turn it black that would still look good. I don't really want to paint because I don't think that will hold up well. I'm thinking more of a chemical process. Any ideas?

Or another option would be if there's some kind of home plating process I could do to leave a silver colored finish.

[Tom McMahon]

Most solid brass hardware is coated with lacquer when you buy it. To darken the brass you need to remove the lacquer first. Once removed ammonia fumes will turn the brass dark or you can use gun bluing. You can get brass quite dark either way but not pitch black. After darkening re-lacquer. To use ammonia, I use a plastic container with a snap on lid, put a block of wood in container to keep brass off the bottom, put ammonia in the bottom, set brass on the block so it is only exposed to the fumes not the liquid, put on lid, the longer exposed the darker it gets up to a point. Household ammonia works but the stronger stuff that janitors use works faster. With gun bluing just use the cold blue sold for gun touch up. The gun bluing I have used did not get the brass as dark, but it might be dark enough. Be careful with ammonia fumes use good ventilation.

[Paul Murphy]

Matt, Horton makes really nice brass hinges, and one finish is very dark. I have hinges in this dark finish, and they look great.

http://www.horton-brasses.com/store/hinges/specialtyhinges/butlertrayand

http://www.horton-brasses.com/resources/finishinformation
Dark Antique finish: Often called “oil rubbed bronze,” this is a dark, nearly black finish.

[Matt Meiser]

I hadn't thought about an oil rubbed bronze finish. That would look good with the maple. Their butler tray hinge won't fold past 90 degrees like the one I saw at Woodcraft, but their drop leaf table hinge looks like it will work. And bonus, its 1/2 the price. But also they have it in steel. I need to give them a call tomorrow with some questions.

[Paul Murphy]

Matt,here are some desk hinges, like for a slant front desk:
http://www.horton-brasses.com/store/hinges/specialtyhinges/brassdeskhinges

[Orion Henderson]

Matt-give me a call at 800-754-9127 if you like. I can help you with this.

A butlers tray hinge will not work on any drop front desk I have ever seen. They stop at 90 as said above. If the hinge folds past 90, and it is barrel side down, then it is typically either a sewing machine or some type of counter hinge. These usually won't work on a desk. If you are trying to use a butler tray hinge on a keyboard drawer-that will work.

Traditional desk hinges have barrels that stand proud-which I am guessing is what you are trying to avoid. Correct? Test it out with a piece of paper or scrap wood at the hinge location. I get this question a lot and the hinges are rarely in the way in normal usage.

Finishes: Yes, we can do the dark "oil rubbed" finish on any hardware. But for a better match we can have any of our hardware plated in a custom satin or polished nickel finish. This includes butler tray and desk hinges of course.

-Orion

[Orion Henderson]

Logged on as me today-I own Horton Brasses. So no one is confused about who is who.

[Conrad Fiore]

Matt,
This is what I used for my desk hinge and I believe all the hardware was from Horton Brasses. Nice stuff that Horton Brasses.

[Prashun Patel]

Matt-
I heard that you can use oil and a propane torch to blacken brass. Different oils have different effects, and I think you have to get the brass pretty hot. I think yr supposed to then topcoat the oxidation.

Anyway just another option.

[Cody Colston]

This issupposed to blacken all metal except aluminum and stainless. I haven't used it, just saw it recommended on another forum.

[Matt Meiser]

I talked to Orion and they can send out the hinges I'm looking at, which are different that what I thought I wanted, for plating. Percentage wise its pretty expensive option (almost doubles the price of the hinges), but doesn't add much to the cost of the project so I'm going to go that route and have brushed nickle. to match the brushed nickle knob on the front and on the other furniture.

[Horton Brasses]

Nice speaking with you today Matt. Glad our custom nickel option works for you. IMHO everything should match. As you say, it is expensive, but compared to the total budget its not so bad.

Gun bluing, browning, and blackening solutions (Selenium) will darken brass and steel pretty easily. Rub the parts with a little mineral oil after dipping to give it a warmer rubbed appearance. There is no need to use a blowtorch with brass. Steel-maybe-if you want to shape it as well as color it. Put too much heat on any metal and you can have problems.

-Orion

[John McClanahan]

Once again, its nice to have owners of companies that SMC members buy from as active members.

John

[Matt Meiser]

Sure is! Placed an order tonight.