Advice on type of hinge

[Jim VanBramer]

I'm having to do some modification to the router table I built last year, due to an 'unfortunate' :D visit to Rockler after Christmas. They had a table of basically junk marked 50% off the current price ... so of course I was perusing to see if any of that 'junk' might wanna come home with me. It didn't, so I turned to leave but something caught my eye ... an Incra LS positioning system. They had it marked down from $340 to $300 ... and then they were taking the 50% off of that ......... just couldn't let that one go home with someone else!!! I know! I know! Pictures to follow once I get 'er all mounted up! Anyway, back to my question ... in order to take advantage of the full length of the system I'm having to add an extension piece on to the top of the table. What I was planning on doing was attaching this piece with some sort of hinge(s) so that when I wasn't using it I could fold that piece (with the Incra mounted to it) down so it might still be a 'little' smaller since my shop needs all the space it can get! What I'm looking for is advice on what type of hinge would hold up best under these conditions. The extra wing is two pieces of 3/4 MDF - 14" x 24", which is fairly hefty all by itself. Then take into consideration the Incra on top of that. Also, what type of screws would work best for holding in the MDF? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[aaron allen]

What's wrong with a little retail therapy anyways...;)

I recently mounted some 4 1/2" door hinges under a flip up table top for a gift wrapping area for a customer, it sounds about the same. You used 2 pcs of 3/4 for the top I am assuming the the thickness of the router table end will be built to the same thickness, then you can mount the hinges underneath. Sorry I didn't take pictures of my winged extension.

4 1/2 hinges use a # 10 screw and at 1 1/4 deep ( you could use 1 1/2 screws if you can file down any protrusion) it should give plenty of bite in MDF because you are going in cross ways to the 'grain' just predrill the correct size hole. If you find there isn't enough bite down the road, drill out the hole a couple of size larger and yellow glue in some hardwood dowel rod cut off flush and again predrill the correct size hole. We just use wood screws with full thread. If you use MDF for box/cabinet construction try using/ learning about confirmat screws.

[Chris Gregory]

I would use 216 (I'm going off memory I think that is the right #)Soss hinges, they are a little tricky to install but when the leaves are closed you will have a nice tight joint and the mortises should hold everything together without worrying about the screws loosening up and tearing out over time. If you are going to laminate the top you could add solid wood edging at the joint and use a piano hinge too. Either way I think your biggest problem may be keeping the top flat when it is in use.

[Jim VanBramer]

...I think your biggest problem may be keeping the top flat when it is in use.

I thought what I might do is attach a couple braces that hinge out and press on wedges mounted on the underside of the wing. Anybody else have ideas in that regard???

[Doug Shepard]

I had some of the same concerns as Chris when I first read this. My first thought was maybe not using a hinged leaf but maybe something like a table leaf extension - like putting pullout supports underneath the table then setting the extension on the supports, with some type of suitable lockdown scheme so the extension is fixed on the supports. Might not be as convenient as a hinged scheme, but it might be more stable and flat. I haven't done either method though, so this is just my instinct telling me the hinge method might have too much sag.