Best Door Hinge for 3/4 Plywood Cabinet

[Thomas Pender]

I am starting a long overdue project to build a base cabinet with drawers and doors for my tools that tend to be more scattered than they should.:o

I have some left over 3/4 Baltic birch plywood - more than enough after building some platform bed platforms and can use it for the cabinet carcass and interior shelving. While I have built faceframe cabinets over the years, I do not want to use a face frame for the cabinet doors, but instead I want to build it with the doors attached straight to the sides of the plywood.

Thus, I am looking for suggestions/recommendations as to what might be the best type hinge to use in a plywood to plywood application and if any of you all can explain why and where you might buy them from, I would really appreciate it.:)

Thanks in advance.

[Jack Porter]

You could give a piano hinge a try, I'm starting a similar project and roughly following the plans in Fine Woodwoking Tools and Shops No. 188 Winter 2006/2007. Send a PM if you want more info on the plans

[Neal Daughtry]

I would use some of the european style cabinet hinges. Look at wwhardware, they have lots of these type hinges.

[Rick Levine]

These are what I used to attach a door for my version of Norm's Miter Bench and Storage plans (270 Degree Overlay Hinge item # 15455 from Rockler):

[Steve Flavin001]

representative hinge shown, select specific model for your corresponding door structure.

Also, BB is pretty expensive stuff for cabinet cases (realizing it is on hand), in some minds, overkill; sure that's what you want?

[Paul Girouard]

I'd suggest a euro hinge Blum brand 120 degree opening , or the 180 deg. type. Easy to install , and adjust the doors.

If you go with a piano style hinge I'd suggest you do a glued on hardwood edge on the door and case , plywood doesn't hold screws all that well.

Good luck!

[Steve Clardy]

Euro hinges

[Ryan Sparreboom]

I just used these from Lee Valley on a bathroom cabinet built for a friend. They work great, easy to install and adjust and look great. You can also remove the cabinet door real easy with NO tools. Very handy. My application was 3/4" oak ply to oak ply and worked great.

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=55471&cat=3,41241,55420

[Thomas Pender]

Yet another Sawmill Creek benefit - useful answers.

Looks like I will buy the Lee Valley hinges suggested by Ryan, although Rick's suggestion looks possible. Given that I intend to use these doors a bit, the European ones look better. I had considered the piano hinges as well.

The irony is that I am always looking in the Lee Valley catalogs - perhaps spending too much time looking at buying more planes, chisels, etc., or for hardware for stuff I build regularly

With regard to Steve's comment on the BB 3/4 - right he is. But, I have too much of it against various walls or stacks and the LOML has offered a question or two and I need to divert said questions and since I need the cabinet - Presto - a solution. I have learned that the key to buying wood I want from Northland Forest Products is to make occasional useful things for her and assorted relatives. (Same theory on tools, but I used safety and less dust to justify my Oneida Gorilla and was able to buy some new other things as part of other projects.) I think the key is to compromise and to avoid getting too greedy.

Tom

[Peter Quinn]

I'd go with blum half crank euro hinges in a 120 or 180 degree type also. Easy to install, pretty reliable and adjustable. Lots of variations. You can call the folks at wwhardware.com to make sure you get the right ones for your application if you find the blum manuals confusing. In fact you can call most blum dealers for support as needed.

I tried the blumotion soft close option on my last job, don't know how it would last in a shop environment due to dust, but that soft close sure is sweet.

[John A Gray]

I just used piano hinges from Rockler on the 4 doors of a 3/4" oak plywood router table I just completed. They worked out great that's what I'm using on my next cabinet.