What Euro hinge can I use?

[Mark Gibney]

I'm making a vanity that will have a face frame with three inset doors, and I have a question about what hinge options I have.

Two of the doors will have about 1 1/4" of the inside face of the frame available to take the base plate. The third door will have only 5/8" of the inside face of the frame available (due to existing plumbing).

Is this hinge the only one I can use in this situation?

Screen Shot 2020-04-01 at 9.30.43 PM.jpg

Nothing against using this hinge, but I think I've seen smaller, neater hinges that mount on the edge of the face frame.

All advice welcome.
Thanks, Mark

[Jamie Buxton]

You say the doors are inset. Then you say you want a hinge which mounts to the edge of the face frame. Those two don't work together.

[Paul F Franklin]

+1 on what Jamie said.

You could also block out the side of the cabinet and use a hinge designed for frameless cabinet inset doors. It will have a smaller mounting plate, but the arm of the hinge will still be about the same as the one you show.

[Mark Gibney]

You're both right, I meant I think I've seen a small base plate that registers against the ff edge. Perils of late night questions.

Paul I may use blocking if there isn't something around that works as is. Thanks.

[Jamie Buxton]

Perhaps the hinge you're thinking of is the Blum 33 or 38N or 39C. They all register against the edge of the face frame. Some of them can be had with soft close. You pick the overlay distance before you buy the hinge. Other manufacturers like Grass and Salice make similar ones.

As issue with these hinges is that there is a 3/16" gap between the back of the door and the front of the face frame. It doesn't matter in some cabinet designs, but does in others. If the gap does bother you, use the approach in your pic. I'd block out the cabinet side rather than using those metal adapter things

[Mark Bolton]

Perhaps the hinge you're thinking of is the Blum 33 or 38N or 39C. They all register against the edge of the face frame. Some of them can be had with soft close. You pick the overlay distance before you buy the hinge. Other manufacturers like Grass and Salice make similar ones.

As issue with these hinges is that there is a 3/16" gap between the back of the door and the front of the face frame. It doesn't matter in some cabinet designs, but does in others. If the gap does bother you, use the approach in your pic. I'd block out the cabinet side rather than using those metal adapter things

I think he is referencing an inset door not an overlay door. And all manufacturers have hinge/plate options that eliminate the gap behind the door in an overlay situation but you wont be able to use a wrap style hinge. We clip to the faceframe (Salice) all the time with zero (well pretty close to zero) gap.

I think the plate (Salice) your looking for is a BAL3R59 and would require 14mm of space on the back of the faceframe so your 5/8" would be close but you'd make it. 14mm is .5511" so your at right around 9/16".

[Mark Bolton]

Perhaps the hinge you're thinking of is the Blum 33 or 38N or 39C. They all register against the edge of the face frame. Some of them can be had with soft close. You pick the overlay distance before you buy the hinge. Other manufacturers like Grass and Salice make similar ones.

As issue with these hinges is that there is a 3/16" gap between the back of the door and the front of the face frame. It doesn't matter in some cabinet designs, but does in others. If the gap does bother you, use the approach in your pic. I'd block out the cabinet side rather than using those metal adapter things

P.S. I agree with blocking out to the plate in that I am never comfortable with a long arm hinge and all that leverage at the face frame. We build all our interiors flush so the plate sits flat with 3 screws top, 2 bottom. I cut for another shop that plants long arm hinges on mid stiles and Ive been on jobs where you can see the stile twist when the door hits is swing limit. Seems a recipe for disaster but he's been building boxes that way for 40 years. I still dont do it a lot because I hate the look of that long arm hinge stabbing back into the cabinet on a mid-stile when a door has to hings on the mid.

[Paul F Franklin]

You could, of course, use regular barrel hinges mortised into the face frame and the door stile, since they are inset doors. Potential issues with that route is that the doors won't clear the opening completely unless they can be swung almost completely open. You also give up the adjustability of the euro hinges, which makes fitting the doors a bit fussier. But inset doors always have to be fit well to look decent anyway. And barrel hinges would require some sort of latch or catch to hold them closed. But it's an option if you are tying to avoid the bulk of euro hinges.

[johnny means]

You can get the smaller hinges, but you lose all the nifty adjustment mechanisms.

[Mark Gibney]

I went with the hinges pictured in my original post. Mark, I can see that there is a lot of leverage on the cantilevered base plate, as you point out. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for your replies and suggestions, everyone.