How hard are quadrant hinges to install?

[J. Z. Guest]

I'm about to build the NYW jewelry box and was about to order the hardware. The hinge the plan refers to (Rockler Item 62808) is no longer available. I haven't been able to find another 3/8 by 16" long stopped piano hinge elsewhere.

I was thinking that http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&cat=3,41241,41264,46487&p=46487 (http://quadrant hinges would be stronger anyway, since the lid is supported by the knuckle instead of by the screws.

But it seems like it would be VERY difficult to cut the hole for the arm that goes inside the wall of the box.

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/hardware/hinges/00d8101s2.jpg

Another option might be a pair of these. (http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&cat=3,41241,41245,46492&p=46492)

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/hardware/hinges/00d8001s.jpg

I might be able to use barrel hinges; they look super-easy to install, but I'm not sure if they'd work in this application.

[Brent Smith]

Hi Jeremy,

It's pretty simple really. Just drill in a series of holes and clean up with a chisel to create a slot within the mortise.

[Doug Shepard]

http://www.whitechapel-ltd.com/tech/quadrant_hinges.shtml

[Larry Fox]

I have used Brusso q-hings in the past and they can be rough to install. They sell a routing jig that is well worth the money. The holes for the arm are the easy part and like Brent said, you just drill holes and cleanup with a chisel.

It is worth a practice run with them on something other than your final project to get the hang of it. Tip, if you do go with Brusso ones and use the smalls, some vendors will tell you there is no routing jig for the smalls. Simply not true but the only place I was able to find it was ToolsForWorkingWood.com.

[Mike Henderson]

They're not that tough to install. I installed them by hand (cut out the inset part with chisels) - but drilled the hole for the support arm with a drill press. The only "special" tool was a carving gouge that matched the curve on the front - but I have carving gouges.

Unless you're going to do a lot of these, I'd just do them by hand, especially if you have a gouge to trim the round parts. If no gouge, you could probably cut the round sections by hand with a knife (use the hinge as a template) then clean up with a chisel.

If you're going to do a lot of them, get a template and do them with a trim router. But you'll probably still want to drill the support arm hole with a drill press.

They look nice and work well.

Mike

[J. Z. Guest]

Thanks for the replies fellas. One more question. I'm new to hinges. How do I make sure the hinge axes end up on the same line. There's probably a simple trick eh?

[Brent Smith]

Hi Jeremy,

The simple trick is to make sure your mortises are straight and cut to the width and depth in your piece.