Roll out the barrel (hinge)

[Prashun Patel]

I am making a small wall cabinet and would like fully concealed hinges.

Does anyone have experience with SOSS barrel hinges?

I know they're better suited to small boxes, but this will be a light gauge, decorative cabinet. My doors will be 18"x6"x5/8".

[Steve Wurster]

I've used these, which are the non-barrel style. It was a pain to install for my application, primarily since I used the smallest one and the location was non-typical.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?p=62129&cat=3,41241

[peter gagliardi]

In my experience, you will never get a door hung on SOSS hinges to maintain accuracy of perimeter gap. If that isnt important, disregard and go for it.
They are, all things considered, a poor hinge by design for the given task, though i understand the allure of invisibility.

[Prashun Patel]

Great feedback, guys. Peter, what would you use? I am planning on full overlay for the door, not an inset. Also, to be clear, it's Soss BARREL hinges I was planning on - not the double-mortised hinge commonly known as THE Soss Hinge.

[Dick Mahany]

I used Soss hinges on a raised panel room entry door that I needed to be able to fold in half and also use it like a normal room door. They worked extremely well and had zero gap between the halves when the door was unfolded. I used the elongated hinges rather than the barrel hinges, however the quality of the hardware was excellent.

[Glenn de Souza]

If you've already built the cabinet, it may be too late for this advice, but some builders with your goal build the cabinet so the door overlays the carcass sides and insets into a "ledge" on the top and bottom. In this application you can use knife hinges, either straight or offset, like the nice Brusso type. They are almost invisible. Most of the Krenov followers build their cabinets using these knife hinges, it's a very quiet and elegant look.

[Robert Payne]

I've used 14 mm barrel hinges on a cabinet top that folded back -- pretty sure I got them from Custom Service Hardware and they worked very, very well. The ones I used allowed the leaves to fold back fully so they were flat.

[peter gagliardi]

Great feedback, guys. Peter, what would you use? I am planning on full overlay for the door, not an inset. Also, to be clear, it's Soss BARREL hinges I was planning on - not the double-mortised hinge commonly known as THE Soss Hinge.
Without seeing the actual setup, i couldnt recommend anything. With Soss, barrel or mortise makes almost no difference , as it is the same sandwiched and pinned pivoting finger style that is at the heart of the issue.

Im not trying to be a kiljoy, but if that cabinet is going to get any appreciable amount of use, i just think there must be better options. If it is a rarely opened piece, you may be fine.
I have yet to see a SOSS hinge used on anything that was over a year old that didnt exhibit issues maintaining original placement.

[Mike Null]

A few years back I made a few "Book" type awards out of walnut and maple and used the soss barrel hinges.. the idea was to simulate a book with various items mounted inside the covers. That was about 3 computers ago and the pictures seem to be lost.

Bottom line is that they fit flush, were easy to install and closed flush. I may have used something else if they would have been subjected to heavy use.

[M Toupin]

On the other side; I've had good luck with the SOSS hinges. I'm not sure I'd try them with a inset door but for a bi-fold application they work very well as Dick said. Here's a TV cabinet I build about 5 years ago. I don't recall the exact dimensions but it's about 40"H X 60"W and heavy as all get out with 1/2" flat panels and M&T maple frames. It's installed in a gym and it needed to protect the TV when the troops were playing basketball. It's held up very well and and took a number of shots from errant basketballs over the years with no ill effects. It's opened and closed daily, sometimes multiple times a day. I had the opportunity to check on it a few months ago, the doors are still aligned and it still works just as well as the day it was installed. I used 3 SOSS 208 hinges in each panel not that it needed it for the weight, but I figured the middle one might help out with a impact dead center of the bi-fold. I Used 3 Blum 270deg hinges on each side due to the weight. The Blums adjustment made for perfect alignment.

Mike

330362330361

[Jerry Miner]

Prashun--

I've used Soss hinges on several projects. They work well but are very fussy to install.

"My doors will be 18"x6"x5/8". "

I hope your doors are 5/8" thick x 6" Wide x 18" Tall, and not 18" wide x 6" tall (doors are typically "called out" as W x H, not H x W). If not, don't try it!

I don't get how a Soss hinge (barrel or otherwise) would work in an overlay situation---I've only seen (and used) them in flush door applications. Got a drawing?