Dale Coons
09-18-2012, 12:22 PM
I'm making some walnut recipie boxes for my girls. I've always struggled with little hinges, figured some of you box experts could help. These are 3/4 x 5/8 brass, the 5/8 dimension is split into the two leaves that are screwed to the box. The walnut is barely 5/16, so these hinges just fit. I've been putting them between the top and the bottom of the box, rather than flat on the back--looks nicer.
I made a little jig to rout the recesses in the top of the box and the bottom of the lid--basically they are clamped together in the open position, and the router cuts the slots--all this works fine. I'm using a self-centering bit for the pilot holes for the screws.
Here's my problems:
-Lining the suckers up. After cutting the mortices, I've been drilling the holes in the bottom of the box and screwing the hinges in. Then put a piece of carpet tape on the top of the closed hinge, and set the lid down to try and stick the hinges in place. This would work ok I think, except sometimes the hinges are tight enough to pull away from the tape. I also have to put some cardstock between the leaves to hold the hinge open enough that the tape will contact the top of the box. I've also tried a drop of CA instead of tape--seems to work a little better for me, since it keeps the hinges from pulling loose when I open the lid back up, but worry about getting the lids lined up. Is there a better way to do this? I have several more boxes and would love to spend a lot less time playing with the hinges on the rest of them.
-Second question--the first box closes perfectly. The second doesn't quite close in the front. It can be pushed closed easily, but springs open about an eighth to a quarter inch. I think this might be because the second hinge set (from a difft mfr bought a long time ago) I used is a little less tall when closed than the first set, and I think the lid is binding because the mortice is too deep. I think I have two options--one is to put something thin under the hinges to raise them up, the other is to plane a tad off the the box so the mortice isn't so deep. Is this a correct diagnosis? The hinges were supposedly the same size, but different mfrs and bought at difft points in time--it looks to me like they aren't exactly the same height when closed. Which leads to ....
-Final question--how can I determine the correct depth of the mortise? I've just been routing on two pieces of scrap--trial and error--and sliding the closed hinge into the slot formed by the two mortices. I figure if the pin side just slides in when closed that's about right. If I just rout the thickness of the leaves on these little hinges, the back of the box won't touch when closed--so I think the mortise needs to be the depth of half-way up the pin.
Thanks!
I made a little jig to rout the recesses in the top of the box and the bottom of the lid--basically they are clamped together in the open position, and the router cuts the slots--all this works fine. I'm using a self-centering bit for the pilot holes for the screws.
Here's my problems:
-Lining the suckers up. After cutting the mortices, I've been drilling the holes in the bottom of the box and screwing the hinges in. Then put a piece of carpet tape on the top of the closed hinge, and set the lid down to try and stick the hinges in place. This would work ok I think, except sometimes the hinges are tight enough to pull away from the tape. I also have to put some cardstock between the leaves to hold the hinge open enough that the tape will contact the top of the box. I've also tried a drop of CA instead of tape--seems to work a little better for me, since it keeps the hinges from pulling loose when I open the lid back up, but worry about getting the lids lined up. Is there a better way to do this? I have several more boxes and would love to spend a lot less time playing with the hinges on the rest of them.
-Second question--the first box closes perfectly. The second doesn't quite close in the front. It can be pushed closed easily, but springs open about an eighth to a quarter inch. I think this might be because the second hinge set (from a difft mfr bought a long time ago) I used is a little less tall when closed than the first set, and I think the lid is binding because the mortice is too deep. I think I have two options--one is to put something thin under the hinges to raise them up, the other is to plane a tad off the the box so the mortice isn't so deep. Is this a correct diagnosis? The hinges were supposedly the same size, but different mfrs and bought at difft points in time--it looks to me like they aren't exactly the same height when closed. Which leads to ....
-Final question--how can I determine the correct depth of the mortise? I've just been routing on two pieces of scrap--trial and error--and sliding the closed hinge into the slot formed by the two mortices. I figure if the pin side just slides in when closed that's about right. If I just rout the thickness of the leaves on these little hinges, the back of the box won't touch when closed--so I think the mortise needs to be the depth of half-way up the pin.
Thanks!