Hand Plane Cabinet Hinges?

[Steve Mathews]

The hand plane cabinet shown below is my first cabinet making attempt. The inset door with a glass panel still needs to be installed but I'm having a hard time deciding which type of hinge to use. I put together a sample european style hinge and a butt hinge and it seems the former has some advantages, especially with my limited skills. The only problem I see with it is it takes up some unsightly space inside. I like it's adjustability and easier install though. The butt hinge sample didn't go well and I can see it will be difficult to fit properly. Since this is my first cabinet build and most of the wood used was left over scraps and undesirable local lumber yard plywood would it be better to go the easier european hinge route or tough it out and get some experience with the butt hinge?

The hand plane cabinet design is by Craig Bentzley and obtained from Woodcraft magazine. It seems like it is capable enough but my original plan was to wall mount it above my work bench. Unfortunately it will be too high to reach some of the planes so it will probably have to sit on the bench. I may make another one with better materials with a slightly different design so it can be wall mounted.

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[Steve Mathews]

I forgot to mention the small space immediately above the drawers seems oddly small and ill suited for any practical storage. I would probably eliminate it on my next go around.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Very nice looking cabinet. I would not want to give up bench top space for a tool cabinet. Butt hinges might be a bit fiddly, but they fit this style of cabinet. mark and chisel carefully. Try a practice run on some scraps. A shop tool cabinet is a great project to try this on. I would not recommend European hinges for this project, too modern for a hand tool cabinet.

[Jim Koepke]

Since this is my first cabinet build and most of the wood used was left over scraps and undesirable local lumber yard plywood would it be better to go the easier european hinge route or tough it out and get some experience with the butt hinge?

Something a teacher said to a classroom of students back in the early 1960s has stayed with me over the years. In discussing organizing homework they said to do the hardest parts first. This way if some things ended up being rushed, they would be the easiest things.

With the hinges, you will likely learn more by installing the butt hinges on this project. It should be easy to hold the door in place with shims top & bottom. Then mark where you want the hinges to be and transfer the hinge dimensions to the door & frame.

jtk

[Joe A Faulkner]

Butt hinges could also be a reason to acquire a router plane if you don’t already have one.

[Andre Packwood]

Hi Steve,

Have you considered a brass piano hinge? That would be very easy to install and very sturdy. Also the look would be classy.

Regards, Andre

[Norman Pirollo]

I also debated this and settled on brass piano hinges. At first I thought they could not support the weight of the fully-loaded doors, but I was wrong. They are incredibly strong by spreading the load across the full length (vertical) of the hinge. Pic attached. Don't mind me, I can't seem to find any other pics at the moment :)

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[Scott Winners]

My counsel is to install the harder hinge now to get the experience so they come out even better next time.

[Steve Mathews]

Hi Steve,

Have you considered a brass piano hinge? That would be very easy to install and very sturdy. Also the look would be classy.

Regards, Andre


No, I didn't consider a piano hinge. Would they have to be mortised like the butt hinge? I used a couple of piano hinges for the till, which raises to access the area behind it. These were not mortised, just surface mounted.

The plans called for H style hinges that are surface mounted. That might be an option to consider again.

As mentioned before I did practice the butt hinge install on some scrap wood. It didn't turn out well. The gap between the mock up frames was uneven and if translated to the actual door would've looked terrible. I used marking gauges, a chisel and a router plane along with guidance from a Rob Cosman video. I should probably practice more and try to get this right but wanted to get done with the project.

[mike stenson]

The butt hinge is a better learning tool. The continuous hinge is stronger.

[Andre Packwood]

No, I didn't consider a piano hinge. Would they have to be mortised like the butt hinge?

Hi Steve

No absolute need to mortise the hinge, but surface mounting would leave a gap between the door frame and the carcass. If this is objectionable because of dust getting in, you could stick a strip of felt or other material around the perimeter of the back side of the door. I can't tell from Norman's picture above if he recessed the hinge, but his construction made it much easier to do than yours.

Regards, Andre

[Robert Engel]

I took the doors off of mine within a few days of loading it up. Too aggravating.

[Jim Koepke]

As mentioned before I did practice the butt hinge install on some scrap wood. It didn't turn out well. The gap between the mock up frames was uneven and if translated to the actual door would've looked terrible.

Often this can be corrected by installing a shim under one of the hinges.

jtk

[mike stenson]

Often this can be corrected by installing a shim under one of the hinges.

jtk

I've even used cardboard, hardboard, and just paper to do so.

[Charles Guest]

Lost me at glass doors for a piece of shop furniture.

[Steve Mathews]

Lost me at glass doors for a piece of shop furniture.

Just following the design and plans from a more experienced woodworker than me. It wasn't made with the best of materials so it won't bother me to try something different after gaining some experience with the cabinet. I thought the glass panel was a good idea to display what was inside. I'll see how it works out. I especially liked the idea of closed cabinet to keep dust at bay and hopefully to help with rust prevention. I'll be inserting some desiccant containers inside for that.

[Norman Pirollo]

My piano hinges are surface mounted. The hinge assembly is a thin profile so I didn't see an advantage to mortising even one leaf. The gap between door and case is very small. I do like the idea of placing a gasket around, might steal that idea :) In about 1 year, I haven't had any dust enter whatsoever since there is no airflow in that area and I don't generate as much dust anymore working using mostly hand tools. Also forgot to mention there are embedded magnets installed to keep the doors shut. This makes the doors quicker to open without a latch.. and keeps them positively shut. Norman

[Joe A Faulkner]

Piano hinges make sense for a door that doubles as tool storage and therefore needs to carry a bit more load, but for your traditional style cabinet with inset cabinet doors, butt hinges make the most sense to me. If the doors were overlay, I might suggest knife hinges, but for this cabinet, I think butt hinges are the way to go. My tool cabinet uses piano hinges, but the doors are similar to Norman’s cabinet and double as storage compartments\chisel and saw racks.

[steven c newman]

Piano hinges, aka Continuous Hinges...
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One of the 2 doors on my Tool Cabinet....both filled with tools, both use the "Piano Hinges"
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Plane Til...the glass in the doors is PlexiGlass...both doors use piano hinges...
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Closed up...and....
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The Tool Cabinet...

[Joe A Faulkner]

. …
The plans called for H style hinges that are surface mounted. That might be an option to consider

The H style hinges also go by the name non-mortise. They are easier for setting an inset door so you have a uniform gap at the top and bottom than using mortised hinges. You might even find some with an oval hole on the jam side of the hinge so you can adjust top to bottom before drilling for the fixed holes. Side to side is just as fiddly as a mortise hinge. Essentially the gap on the hinge side will be the thickness of the hinge and the gap opposite the hinge depends on the door width. If the handle side gap is too small, you just plane down the door width, but if it is too large, you either live with it or make the hinge side gap wider by using some type of blocking(shim of some type, maybe even flat washers).

[Richard Coers]

Read the title, thought pulling a curl off a hinge would be tough!!!

[Robert Engel]

I took the doors off and mounted them either side.

MUCH more functional!

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[steven c newman]

AND...dusty...why I keep mine closed....and, I have a LOT less room in my shop...

[Steve Mathews]

I took the doors off and mounted them either side.

MUCH more functional!

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I really like the looks of your cabinets and it doesn't look much taller than mine. Do you find the planes difficult to reach? What is the height of them and how high are they mounted above your workbench?

[Joe A Faulkner]

I’m going to guess that is not a workbench, but rather a counter top, and Steve has the luxury of a bench he can access from all sides. Looks like a vise handle just opposite the base cabinets and counter.

[Jack Dover]

Are those MHG chisels next to Narex mortisers?

[Jack Dover]

It seems like it is capable enough but my original plan was to wall mount it above my work bench. Unfortunately it will be too high to reach some of the planes so it will probably have to sit on the bench. I may make another one with better materials with a slightly different design so it can be wall mounted.


Hinged doors over a workbench will drive you crazy pretty much on the first day. My conclusion is that hinged doors should be reserved for shops with lots of space. Swinging doors require unobstructed area in front of the cabinet and also to the sides of the cabinet when there are tool holders on the doors themselves. Same applies to drawers, it's kinda aggravating when you need to get that special marking gauge or something from a drawer, which is blocked by a piece being built right on a workbench.

[mike stenson]

This is why I went to a chest. I still have the drawers under my bench, but they get used for storing other things. Next bench, will not have anything under it. It was a huge pain, all too often I'd find I had to remove my work from its workholding to grab a tool I'd forgotten to take out before hand. I can't leave things out, the dust just causes rust.

[Jack Dover]

It's not dust I think, it's temperature changes and humidity. Metals have a higher specific heat capacity, so they stay cold longer than surrounding air and that causes condensation. Leave a tool in a drawer for sufficiently long time and it will rust too. Lie Nielsen tools rust like crazy when new until an oxide layer forms on a surface (maybe that's why they provide so many rust inhibiting socks, covers, etc.).

However there's a good remedy: a rag-in-a can type of applicator, lightly oiled and a dab of paraffin. "Lightly oiled" means a few drops of machine oil a few days ago, mostly to dissolve paraffin. Just wipe a tool, esp. places where it might have been in contact with skin, and it won't rust at all. It also won't get into wood if you forgot to wipe a tool before using - an advantage compared to oily rags.

I have about a dozen of these applicators around the shop. A few heavily oiled with a good dab of paraffin is in my storage, but the one on a workbench is dry to a touch. Apparently paraffin creates a film only a few molecules thick, but it's enough to prevent moisture contact and hence inhibits rust.

Eventually a tool will oxidize, but that's a different type of oxide: it's black as opposed to red rust and it's stable. So if your favorite chisel or a plane has darkened, don't shine it up, it actually provides better protection.

[mike stenson]

It's dust for me. Trust me.

My grandfathers (and their brothers) were all tradesmen (fishermen, heavy machinery mechanics, millwrights, and cabinetmakers) , I was raised with an oiled rag used every time you touch a tool. One exists in every tool box in my shop, and is always used. If the dust sits, it doesn't matter. Dust contains salts, salts cause rust with moisture and there's always moisture. Keeping dust off of tools is why we have tool boxes. I'm also well aware of the dark rust that is general iron and steel patination.

[Norman Pirollo]

Speaking of glass doors on a tool cabinet. I would never use glass since the thought of striking a tool or board against glass is scary. What I did instead was to insert a clear lexan panel in one tool cabinet. Lexan is the way to go as it is as clear as glass, is virtually unbreakable and meets the criteria of having the contents of the tool cabinet visible. Norman

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[glenn bradley]

Butt hinges with finials are nice. I would use the narrow gap above the drawers as you show plus I would keep all the additional irons and such that come along with hand planes there. Mine currently hang from a peg in plastic cases but I would rather they lay down in a gap like you have. Nice job on the cabinet BTW :).

[Jack Dover]

I was raised with an oiled rag

Yeah, oil isn't the best protector, try waxed. Not sure whether it will handle salt, it's a different chemical reaction. But oil creates a film that's easily damaged. Also, most oils contain some amount of water and corrosive agents. Just look inside an old oil can, it's all rusted.

I have mentioned oil just as a simple and available dissolver for paraffin, since regular polishing wax might be too hard to get on a rag. People used to mix it with turps or kerosine to make it soft, almost like cream consistency. That also works. Once a set of chisels were left in a rain - had to drive away, quickly threw tools into a tote and it rained. Got some flash rust, but one could tell where it was waxed and where wasn't.

But I guess if you live on a shore, it might be not enough. Also, if you grab your tools at the end of the day to wax them - it's not too much for to just put them into any sort of a box. Mine are on the walls and in open holders, it's already a habit and I use these rags-in-a can during actual work, e.g. mortising or planing. So there's that

[Tom Bender]

Looks like you could fit another block plane in if you moved the dividers. Those could be installed with hot melt glue for easy respacing.