Hanging Inset Door Hinges and Spacing?

[Alan Tolchinsky]

How much clearance around the door do you allow for an inset door? This door is going to be 3/4 plywood. Besides plain leaf hinges what other hinges are good for this? It would be nice to use something easier than leaf hinges. Thanks.

[Reg Mitchell]

Hi Alan
I use a penny (about .050) for clearance all around for inset doors. A 3/4wrap around hinge would be good for that or even a face frame mounted hinge according what look your looking for. Thats a pref thing as I see it. Or if your looking for something strong. according to the use and size of doors.
Reg

[David DeCristoforo]

Hey Reg, I used to work with an "old guy" who used a dime (a penny was too "fat" for him). He use to laugh at the guys who couldn't work to this tolerance and called then "five cent carpenters" because their reveals were about a "nickel" wide....

One thing tho for the OP to consider. The hinge you use should be factored in. When the hinge is closed, the leaves will usually not be in contact with each other. There will be a small gap between the inside faces when the leaves are parallel to each other. Hinges are designed this way to avoid binding. Whatever that gap is, that is what your clearance is going to be on the hinge side of the door. Of course, you can vary this slightly by letting the hinge leaves in a bit deeper or shallower but ideally, you want the face of the hinge leaf to be flush with the wood. So, often times, it's that gap that will determine the clearance on the other edges the door so that the reveals are even.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Thanks David and Reg,

Does anybody know if there are hinges with some adjustability in them to dial in the door fit?

[Peter Pedisich]

Alan,

Amerock makes some hinges for inset doors with a tiny bit of vertical adjustment - woodcraft sells them.

Pete

[Jamie Buxton]

You can use cup hinges for inset doors. They are adjustable after installation.

For a more-traditional look for inset doors, I like lift-off hinges. (For instance, http://www.horton-brasses.com/products/hinges/butthinges/41) They have exposed knuckles, but you can mount and demount the doors without tools. This is very useful if you're tuning that tight clearance around the edges.

As for the gap, it depends on how much control you have. If the cabinet is a built-in and the door is big, you may need a bigger gap, because the house will move with the seasons and deform the opening. On the other hand, if you're building a small box, you may be able to get away with a smaller gap.

[Reg Mitchell]

Hey Jamie
That is the type of hinge I have been looking for for the cabinets ......thanks for the link
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d99/male_man/cradle076.jpg
Reg

[Jim Becker]

Since they are plywood doors you can choose the spacing you prefer that works with your intended hinges. If you were using solid wood, you'd need to calculate movement/seasonal expansion-contraction to determine the optimal average for the season you're constructing the piece in and climate conditions where you live. (or the piece is going to live...)

[Ralph Wiggum]

Another option is these http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=7694 The fold flat

[Terry Hatfield]

Alan,

I do a lot of inset doors. I usually use these type hinges from Lee Valley....

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&cat=3,41241,41257,41984&p=41984

Way cheaper than the Woodcrraft ones. I just used these hinges in the plain end partial wrap style on a 16 door pantry cabinet for our dining room. They have some adjustability which really helps. I typically make the doors the same size and the opening and hand plane, joint or edge sand until I get the gaps right. It's super hard to make the door and the faace frame exactly right...it is for me anyhow. If the door or the face frame is the least bit out of square your toast iif you are trying to make the door fit exactly. If you leave the door a bit big you can cheat a little one way or the other when you are in the fitting stage.

The hing leaf is approx. 1/16th so I just try to continue that gap around the door. You can be right on with the ply doors. As Jim said, you have to allow for seasonal movement if you are using solid wood. I typically leave them a little tight as they almost always shrink a bit once they are in the house for a while like these have. I'll recenter them after another month or 2.

Here's the pantry........

66386

66388

Hope that helps,

Terry

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Thanks for all the info. Those are some interesting choices. I'm going to edge band the doors with 1/4" solid wood strips to hide the ply. I'm going to do this without using nails(I love my air nailer) so I can adjust the fit after install. I'll get a pic when I'm done and we'll see which way I went with the hinges. Thanks again guys. Alan in Raleigh

[Gary Keedwell]

Alan,

I do a lot of inset doors. I usually use these type hinges from Lee Valley....

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&cat=3,41241,41257,41984&p=41984

Way cheaper than the Woodcrraft ones. I just used these hinges in the plain end partial wrap style on a 16 door pantry cabinet for our dining room. They have some adjustability which really helps. I typically make the doors the same size and the opening and hand plane, joint or edge sand until I get the gaps right. It's super hard to make the door and the faace frame exactly right...it is for me anyhow. If the door or the face frame is the least bit out of square your toast iif you are trying to make the door fit exactly. If you leave the door a bit big you can cheat a little one way or the other when you are in the fitting stage.

The hing leaf is approx. 1/16th so I just try to continue that gap around the door. You can be right on with the ply doors. As Jim said, you have to allow for seasonal movement if you are using solid wood. I typically leave them a little tight as they almost always shrink a bit once they are in the house for a while like these have. I'll recenter them after another month or 2.

Here's the pantry........

66386

66388

Hope that helps,

Terry
Nice work, Terryhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/evsac/Video/ThumbsUp.gif
Gary K.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Terry, That is beautiful work; I like the sleek look of the inset doors. But the examples you showed are awesome. Thanks for the great info. Alan in Raleigh

[Ben Grunow]

Alan,

Consider mortising the hinges into the door only. THis takes some time to set up to establish the reveal around the door but is much less work than mortising the face frame and door and reduces the chance for error.

You just go the thickness of the hinges less the reveal you want and the mortising is only done to the doors so no awkward mortising on cabinets is required. Might seem weird but it looks just fine and no one will notice but maybe you.

Ben

[glenn bradley]

As Jim states; you have no movement to worry about with ply. Your hinge will control your spacing to some degree unless you mortise or go with a hinge that does not need to be between carcase and door when the door is closed.

Rockler and others have no-mortise hinges sized for 3/4" material. I've used these on a few shop cabinets and like them except for the limited adjustability. They are about 1/16" so I shoot for that and use pennies or dimes or I rip some 1/16" strips off the edge of a board and use them as spacers.

On rolling cabinets built for the shop I find is easier to leave 1/8" to allow for some racking as the cabinets sit on different uneven spots.