Question for you learned cabinet builders

[Ken Garlock]

Over the past couple months I have been slowly building a base cabinet in my garage replacing the POS plastic laundry tub that was put there by the contractor. It is 2' X 3' X 9-1/2'. Pictures when completed(thank you Tyler.)

I have been learning to make 8 rail and stile doors. I bought a back cut panel raising bit and a rail & stile pair from Eagle America, and they really work nicely. So far, so good.

I had routed a stepped cove pattern on the edge of the drawer fronts, and thought if good enough to put on the door edges. The routing went without problems. Then I got to thinking about the European hinges.

NOW the problem. The routed edge is deep enough into the door edge that if I drill the 35mm hole for the hinge cup, it will split through the door edge. No I didn't do it on a finished door, but rather a sample cut.

The solution I am thinking about is the simply reverse the hinges. Instead of the cup being recessed in the door, put it in the inside wall of the cabinet. (These are frameless cabinets.) The hinges would need to be staggered a little to prevent the cups from interfering with one another through the cabinet wall. Has anyone tried this hinge reversal, and are there any unforeseen problems?

[Chris Barton]

Hmm, I have never tried that Ken but, there are euro-style henges that don't require the inset cup method and are simply internall surface mounted. Why not just use those?

Something like this:

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/hardware/hinges/00b0401g1.jpg

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I want read the results after you mock up a sample frame side and door and let 'er rip.

Off hand I can't think of a serious problem. The Center axis of the hinge (bend point) may be an issue causing your to relocate the positions of the cup relative to where the instructions say it oughta go - like less or further in the side frame component.

[John Miliunas]

Ken, I agree with Chris. You may as well get and use hinges which are properly designed to do the job you need done. The type which he refers to are really as nice as the cup-type you're probably more used to. :) :cool:

[Lars Thomas]

Ken, you should use the hinges that Chris included in his post. But to anser your question about flipping them around. With the cups drilled in the cabinet side, you couldn' put them back-to-back in frameless cabinets unless you off-set them (the cups would hit each other and keep them from fully seating in the 35mm hole.) Lars

[Ken Garlock]

Thanks for the quick response gents.:cool:

I was not aware of the non-cup hinges and they are certainly an option. Outside of having 8 packages of the cupped hinges on hand, they look like the correct answer. I bought the cupped type from our friends at Rockler over the net.

Because I have the hinges on hand, I think I will do first is to make up a test case of a wall and door to see if there is a problem.

I just drilled the first hole for the cup. The way the hinge is constructed, whatever the cup is in is the door. I am using 1/2 lap doors. The hinge construction is such that the only way to get a panel to properly screw down on the other end of the hinge is to have the door as a half inset into the cabinet when mounting the cup on the cabinet wall. I hope this makes sense. It took me a minute or two to figure it out....

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of KGFU.:rolleyes:

[Lee Schierer]

It is kind of hard to wrap your brain around this without having the hinges in hand, but I don't think you can do waht you want to do. If your hinges are for an overlay door, then the relationship will change when you reverse the hinge so that the door will no longer swing clear of the frme. I think the same would be true, though maybe less so for an inset door.

Still I'd like to know how you make out as you never know when I might find my self in a similar pickle.

[Ken Garlock]

Lee, you are correct. The Blum hinge is made such that the hinge end with the cup is always the door. Any playing around, short of putting a 1/2 inch thick trim around the back of the doors, comes up looking terrible. I can get terrible without doing it on purpose. Even the trim piece would look kinda strange because the door would be 1-1/4" thick.

[Steve Clardy]

I use salice cup hinges all the time. About all I use.
1/2 overlay is my standard.
Just dug out a hinge, stuck the cup side to a shop cab.
Nope. No go. The cup will protrude out of the cab about a 1/3, in order to get the door mounted.

[Dave Tinley]

Ken-
If you have not routed the doors yet, just dont do the hinge edge, but route your profile on the rest of the door edges. Sounds ugly, but I have seen some pro doors done that way, its not bad.

Second option is glue a 1/8 inch piece of plywood (1.5 x 1.5" square) to the inside of the door where the cup hinge bores. You should then have enough adjustment to allow the door to close all the way, and not breakout thru the profile.
Hope this made sense???

Of course the third option is to try the hinges as were earlier sugested.



Dave

[Steve Clardy]

BOING!!!:eek:
Just remembered. Someone makes a cup hinge that the cup is only 3/8" deep, instead of the usual 1/2".
Cannot remember the manf. name at the moment.

[Steve Clardy]

Page 2


http://www.wooddigest.com/pdf/hinges.pdf#search='3%2F8%20deep%20euro%20hinge'

[Mike Goetzke]

I used these once for a similar reason to yours:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5265&SearchHandle=DADBDADJDADADDDGDGGFDCGFDJDHGDDACNDJG GDEDJCNDEDAGBGECNGCDCGBDDCNDGGBDCDHDEGGDEDHDFDJDHD FDADADADBDADADADBDAGNGJGOGJCAGIGJGOGHGFDADADADEDAD ADADADADADADBDFDADADADBDADADADADADADADADADADADADBD ADADADBDAGNGJGOGJCAGIGJGOGHGFDADADADBDB&filter=mini%20hinge

Similar produce as steve suggests.

After I had the problem I went to MLCS and bought a european drawer bit that is designed to allow the use of pocket hinges:

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_door.html

[Ken Garlock]

Thanks for all the suggestions and alternatives.:)

After a couple Emails with Chris Barton, I went ahead and ordered the hinges in the picture shown in his original post above. Good old Lee Valley came through again.:cool:

The doors are done and ready for the hinges, painting and everything. Next is to get an RMA from our friends at Rocker in order to return the hinge sets I can't use. (Heck, who saves packing slips. I ain't going to return no hinges:mad: yea, right....)