Incra I-Box and Hingecrafter

I'm trying to make some wood hinges. I've followed Incra's instructions to a T. The board has been planed to 0.503". The first bullnose pass, with the board flat on the router table, leaves a minuscule flat spot on the edge, just as their video shows. The next pass is made with the board up against the router fence.

So now you have 270⁰ of roundover on the edge of the board, like this.
https://www.qy1.de/img/incra-hingecrafter7.jpg

When I take a caliper to it I get 0.503" for the board's thickness. As I rotate to 45⁰ it's 0.525". At 90⁰ it's 0.505"

The problem arises after the rest of the work is done and the holes for the pins are inserted. The hinge gets jammed.

The problem doesn't seem to be the Whiteside router bits. They look symmetrically round.

Has anyone used these jogs and had similar problems?

It’s probably a positioning issue. Either the bit is too high or depth of cut is too much (bit is too far exposed).

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Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe

It’s probably a positioning issue. Either the bit is too high or depth of cut is too much (bit is too far exposed).

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Thanks, Brian. I raised the bit a fraction and it did reduce the discrepancy. Now I have to see how much farther I can raise it before it starts cutting from the other side.

It took me awhile to figure out the hinge crafter. I made a few and finally got good at making them.

I had some cracking issues drilling holes. I finally found and used a brad point drill bit which helped. I also drill with a corded drill. The corded has much higher rpm than a cordless and works better for me.

I have recently discovered a fellow, Blake Weber, who has a number of woodworking vids on YouTube. They are quite professionally done and he does some incredible work (at least in my opinion). Coincidently, I just watched one (4 part series) in which he made a small box with wood hinges, like you are doing. He made the hinges with the same equipment you mentioned. You may pick up some useful info by watching the series, but at least part 2 in which he does the hinges. Don't know how to link a video, but it's title is Build: Walnut Boxes (Part 2).

And all of his videos are top notch and worth watching.

Regards,

Marv

Thank you, Marv. I'll look for those videos.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Larry Frank

It took me awhile to figure out the hinge crafter. I made a few and finally got good at making them.

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I'm still trying to get the same dimensions on the rounds. I've got the bullnose bit as high as it will go without cutting in to the underside of the board. There is just a thread of a flat spot on the end. But after making the second pass at 90⁰, I'm still getting variations in the diameter, enough to cause the hinge to bind.

Maybe I'll have to cut the slots deeper. On the ones I've completed, the slots are right at the intersection of the round and the flat.

Try going the other way, put the bit as low as possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8csa0ojuo7E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8csa0ojuo7E