Bench top hinge selection

[Phillip Mitchell]

I’m building a couple of benches for a client that will go in a nook in the foyer of the house. The bench tops are solid Cherry 2” thick, ~ 20” deep and form a U shape. The 2 outer tops need to hinge open to provide storage underneath and will be sitting on top of 3/4” painted plywood boxes. The backs of all 3 bench tops butt tight to the wall.

Ive attached a crude hand sketch that has a plan view just for context and also a closer elevation view of what the 2 hinged bench tops will probably need to look like.

Because the backs are tight to the wall and the fronts of the 2 hinged benches are also tight to the end of the middle bench (think U shaped), I don’t think I can use the “bench hinges” that allow the bench top to slide out away from the wall a few inches as they open. There won’t be that much room between the front edge of hinged bench and the end of the fixed middle bench.

My original thought was to rip a 2-3” wide section off the bench top back near the wall that’s fixed and basically a hinge strip, and attach the hinges to it and have remaining 17-18” hinge from that point to avoid trying to hinge something 2” thick right against the wall.

The client wants concealed hinges as well as some type of soft close / shock absorber hardware so that the bench tops don’t slam down closed when her kids use them. The 2 benches are solid cherry 2” thick, 20” deep, and roughly 36” long so they aren’t exactly light.

The only concealed hinge I can think of so far is a SOSS hinge, which I’ll use if that’s the only option but they have no adjustability at all and I’m sure they’ll be expensive in this size if I can even find them for 2” thick material.

Any thoughts on this and the soft close options for a top of this thickness and weight?

My initial plan of using simple door 3.5x3.5 butt hinges has now taken a more complicated turn due to the desire to have concealed hardware, but I think it will be better in the end to have it concealed and soft close.

Thanks for any advice!

[Gary Ragatz]

Wife used to have a blanket chest that had a hinge/stay setup something like this:

https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/li...UaArjIEALw_wcB

The top on the blanket chest wasn't as heavy as your bench top, but it worked well. Not sure if you would have issues with clearance where the hinged tops meet the fixed top.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Thanks for the link, Gary.

I did see that SOSS makes a hinge (#220) that is for 2” thickness. They are around $50 each on Amazon.

Anybody know of another option in this situation?

[Jacques Gagnon]

Philip,

On the the somewhat crazy end of the spectrum: could you have the top lifting longitudinally?

The pivot point would be near the wall. This could be done by inserting 3/8 or 1/2 inch rod into a bronze bushing held by blocks fastened under the top.

Not sure about the soft close portion of the equation though.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Just in case anyone finds themselves in this situation...I went with SOSS 218 concealed hinges and Sugatsune soft close lid stays. The model # is NSDX-20 and they come in lefts and rights. They were like $18 each.

I did a trial run on some narrower but same thickness stock and it worked well. Still have yet to install the bench tops in place, but I'll report my opinions once I do concerning their strength and ability to handle bench tops this heavy.