Hinge Screw Holes

[Raymond Seward]

I use the small Brusso Box Stop Hinges. I always have difficulty getting the screw hole centered properly. I used to be able to eyeball it with a prick punch and that worked OK. As I am getting older, I have started getting tremors so that method is out now. I've used several different self-centering drills & punches like Vix but they are always off a bit, I I find the results unacceptable.
Can anyone point me in the right direction with another product or method? Thanks

[Edward Weber]

https://www.starrett.com/metrology/product-detail/819

Just a suggestion, I don't own one.

[Tom M King]

VIX bit. Many sizes, variations, and qualities.

[Robert Hazelwood]

Vix bits seem to work well for me as long as the taper on the nose fits the diameter of the hole. Do yours have slop in the mechanism somewhere, or are the bits dull so they try to wander?

[Andrew Hughes]

What I do is mark the hole your going to drill slightly off centered inward. So when you install the hinge the screw pulls the hinge into the mortise. The side have to be tight for a great fit.
When I dry fit the hinge I like to mark the hole with a sharp pencil. Then I can clearly see 1/32 inside the center line is about right.
Good Luck

[Kent A Bathurst]

Drawbore for hinges

[Maurice Mcmurry]

For any hardware that I have to install several of I make a carefully laid out template or jig fixture out of Lexan, Masonite, or Formica scraps. My templates generally have a 1/16 inch hole and a 1/16 bit is used used to create a locator hole for the pilot bit. I started doing drawer hardware this way to keep drill crumbs from getting into drawer slide ball bearings. The repeatable accuracy has led me to use a template for nearly all hardware. I prefer Plexiglass or Lexan as you can create an outline and centerline as well as the screw locations.
I thought I was doing a good gob with layout until the first time I used a center punch with a magnifier. They are a neat tool.

SPI 91-285-7 Fine Optical Center Punch (https://www.higherprecision.com/products/miscellaneous/spi-fine-optical-center-punch-91-285-7?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwhdWkBhBZEiwA1ibLmLdBxw2fpFqD4TVw13aF zl2bxKS-gBz5j6gAKThMt_NGflPFEdCySBoCuA8QAvD_BwE)

503302 503304

[Mike Henderson]

Amazon has what looks to be the same optical punch (https://www.amazon.com/HHIP-8600-4120-Optical-Punch-Set/dp/B01LTFDWPO/) for less money.

Mike

[Malcolm McLeod]

If simply transferring a hole pattern, it is hard to beat a set of transfer punches: use the exact size of the thru hole in the hinge. The punch will leave a precise, consistent, centered divot for the screw(s) (assuming draw-boring is not used).

[Warren Lake]

have both edward posted side by side in the tool belt. Used many times last days on site metal work and wood. Fast simple and accurate. Once made the mistake of buying a number of center punch things. Some was junk the stanley bought by mistake sent a photo to lee and told to keep it and they would send the money back. I drove down and returned it junk I didnt want in the shop. Starret stuff has been great.

[Bill Dufour]

Vix bit works good for me. But you have to be careful the hinge is held down exactly in place and the bit is exactly normal to the work. Also make sure the bit size is correct for the hole size and pilot size. The flutes tend to plug. Good idea to make sure they are clear before each hole. I have been known to wax the flutes and internal cylinder they ride in.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

Starrett seems to have discontinued their optical center punch. Here is a link to a cheaper version. They claim 0.002" accuracy to target scribe lines.
Bill D

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3186

[Patty Hann]

Amazon has what looks to be the same optical punch (https://www.amazon.com/HHIP-8600-4120-Optical-Punch-Set/dp/B01LTFDWPO/) for less money.

Mike

The "no name" Amazon one has no replacements parts , and from what one reviewer said, the punch itself is not hardened steel.
The SPI one (Swiss Precision Instruments) has both the punch and the lens available separately, at least from Penn Tool (and maybe others)
SPI Optical Punch (https://www.penntoolco.com/spi-fine-optical-center-punch/)

ALso you can get the SPI one through Walmart (~$45) shipped from MSC (free shipping-- at least to my address)

SPI Optical punch Walmart (https://www.walmart.com/ip/SPI-91-285-7-Optical-Center-Punch-Set-with-Crosshair-Lens-120-Center-Punch/1423266107?from=/search) ***

*** looking up the SPI version on the MSC website.... made in India

Fowler makes one also...I emailed Fowler to find out where theirs is made.

[Raymond Seward]

Great ideas folks! Thanks so much. The template for each hinge makes sense but the transfer punch idea....why didn't I think of that? 🥴

[Maurice Mcmurry]

A good self centering punch or self centering drill is usually very acceptable. The gentleman I apprenticed with had me lay out some holes with a scribe, ruler, square, and punch before he brought out his Starrett optical punch. Marks that looked and felt perfect were reveled to be way off under magnification.

[Keegan Shields]

Yep this. ^. The correct size Vix bits work great as long as your hinge doesn’t move in the process.

Just finished 8 butt hinges (24 holes) and the Vix bit worked flawlessly to place the initial hole in each one.

[andy bessette]

For accuracy, the transfer punch is vastly inferior to the Vix bit. Even if you get the punch prick exactly right, differences in density of the grain can deflect the drill. Not so with the Vix bit.

[John Kananis]

I agree with the vix bit. Hold everything in place, use the correct sized bit and I tend to tilt my drill 1° towards the inside.

[James Jayko]

WRT to Vix bits…I bought the Snappy ones and they work great (assuming you use the appropriate one for the hole). Bought a cheap set on Amazon as well…unusable. YMMV.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I bought a Ryobi self centering bit from the orange borg. It works ok for door hinges. For smaller hinges it's pretty useless.
I also picked up a 3 bit set from Rockler & they work a lot better.

I did notice that if you drill one hole, then snug a screw into it & drill the other holes - instead of drilling them all at once, it turns out a lot better. That and using a Milescraft 1368 DrillMate drill guide. I'm really bad at drilling freehand & keeping the drill straight.

[andy bessette]

...I'm really bad at drilling freehand & keeping the drill straight.

The use of a long extension helps with that. Also placing the corner of a square block of wood alongside the drill bit helps, as a guide.