Piano Hinges

[John Keane]

Tomorrow I am going to install my first set of piano hinges. 36", two doors.

Any tips to preclude this from becoming an annoying PITA will be appreciated.

Thanks, Jack.

[Jim Becker]

The one piece of advise...do everything and anything you can to make sure that the hinge is dead on the line and is not in any way bent as you fasten it down. Any distortion will result in poor performance. The better quality the hinge, the less chance of issues...thicker metal is better... ;)

[Jamie Buxton]

First, get a self-centering bit (Vix is the common brand name). This ensures that the screw is centered in the hole. Unless you can find a very small-size Vix, the drill bit will be too large to drill the pilot hole for the #4 screw which is usual for piano hinges. Just use the Vix to start the hole at each screw location. Then drill the pilot hole with a smaller bit.

Second, countersink the screw holes. The piano hinge material is so thin that if you don't countersink the holes, the bottom surface of the screw's head will hit the wood before it tightens on to the hinge.

[Lee Schierer]

I usually mount the hinge to both sides of whatever it is going on with just a few screws to check for fit and alignment, then mark the remaining holes before I drill the screw holes for the rest of the screws.

[John Keane]

Thank you gentlemen. I incorporated all three advisories, and the results of my first effort are ok. I need to do some tweaking , but I am well ahead of where I thought I would be. R/Jack