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Thread: Fine Furniture and Euro Style Hinges -- Yea or Nay?

  1. #1
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    Fine Furniture and Euro Style Hinges -- Yea or Nay?

    I'm finishing up a cabinet that has really stretched my woodworking. I started it last summer in a workshop with Michael Fortune at Anderson Ranch. It has many firsts for me:


    • Curved sides -- kerfed mdf and bent on a form I built in a vacuum bag
    • Extensive veneer
    • RTA knockdown assembly to allow me to transport the cabinet from Anderson Ranch to my shop and back to it's resting place in Snowmass
    • Marquetry on the cabinet door
    • Curly maple edging


    So, I originally was going to use knife hinges for the cabinet door, but I have since changed the design to be an overlay door. I've got about 80 euro style hinges. What do you think -- am I denigrating the quality of the cabinet if I use them, or should I find some butt hinges to install the door?

    Yes, lots of power tools were used in the construction of this cabinet, but also a lot of hand tools...

    Here's a photo as it nears completion...

    (Not sure why these upload inverted...)

    IMG_1888.jpgIMG_1880.jpg

    Mike

  2. #2
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    Mike,

    Can you show the doors in position (viewed from the front)? Upside down is fine.

  3. #3
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    Just my personal opinion, but I would not use Euro style hinges on fine furniture. To me, this gives it a look of commercial cabinet products, anything from IKEA up to expensive commercial. But the look is still commercial, not hand crafted. I would go with butt hinges, or other standard brass type hinge.

  4. #4
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    I second Bill's request to see the doors in position.

    Beautiful work, btw. First glance I thought it was hanging from the ceiling. Then realized the pic was upside down.

  5. #5
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    I think most folks consider euro hinges well suited for kitchen, bath, closet and laundry projects. Undermount slides get a pass since they are out of view. Just to show that there are always exceptions, I used full extension metal slides on my own bedroom dressers for the convenient access to the clothing contents. I make the same units with wooden slides for clients but, when the piece is for you, I would choose what suits you best.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  6. #6
    Dont do it!

  7. #7
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    I’m with Patrick, don’t do it!
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  8. #8
    That goes for ball bearing drawer slides, too.

  9. #9
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    Use hardware to enhance the piece, never something that focuses attention from the whole.

    Here are the images flipped:

    Image_1880.jpg

    Image_1888.jpg

    Looks like a great piece of work to push your personal skills.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  10. #10
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    Oops, looks like there is a small artifact of my editorial attempt tattooed onto the second image.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #11
    Same for blumotiom

    Just crap by comparison.

    Sorry Brian i know you built that beautiful kitchen with hand dovetail drawer boxes and then applied the faces.

    Shows your a capable craftsman but still not as nice as traditional drAwers

    I know people buying kitchens all want the blumotion..

  12. #12
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    I'm also in agreement not to use Euro hinges on this project although, I'm not entirely sure where the doors in question will go. Is it just the center section?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Walsh View Post
    Same for blumotiom

    Just crap by comparison.

    Sorry Brian i know you built that beautiful kitchen with hand dovetail drawer boxes and then applied the faces.

    Shows your a capable craftsman but still not as nice as traditional drAwers

    I know people buying kitchens all want the blumotion..
    I think they’re very practical and good for kitchens, they make a very useful drawer rather than one that can only open 3/4 of the depth.

    For fine furniture I think they detract from the finished product, which should be a bit more timeless than what metal glides can provide.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  14. #14
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    Thanks for your kind comments, everyone. I've ordered some Brusso 403 butt hinges and will go that route. I do not have the cabinet together at the moment to show the door (it only goes over the sub cabinet), but here's a photo of the dimensioned door. My first marquetry in any furniture -- it's kind of crude...

    IMG_1891.jpg

    Mike

  15. #15
    That marquetry looks great from here, crude or not.

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