Attaching hinge to thin box lid

[Winston Chang]

I'm currently in the process of making a box, and it has a thin piece for the lid -- the edges are beveled all the way around so that it's quite thin near the edge. It was only after I beveled the edges that I realized that hinge screws would poke through the top surface.

I'm thinking about using very short screws along with epoxy to attach the hinge to the lid. Will epoxy provide a secure bond between the brass hinge and the wood?

[Jim Becker]

Yes, the combination of short screws and epoxy should work fine for a small box like that if the surfaces are prepared well for the adhesive. You'll get the look from the short screws as well as a little lateral strength, but the resin will do most of the work.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I'm currently in the process of making a box, and it has a thin piece for the lid -- the edges are beveled all the way around so that it's quite thin near the edge. It was only after I beveled the edges that I realized that hinge screws would poke through the top surface.

I'm thinking about using very short screws along with epoxy to attach the hinge to the lid. Will epoxy provide a secure bond between the brass hinge and the wood?

How heavy is the lid? I used 1/4" long #18 pins since my lids are much to thin for any screw that I own. With the #18 pins, a #60 drill provided a decent size hole. I also have some smaller in diameter pins, no idea what size, but for those, the #60 were too wide and would not hold at all.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....36#post3080436

Aesthetically it might not be appropriate, but I remember watching Christopher Schwartz using nails (probably hand cut nails) that he pounded all the way through and then he knocked them over so that the hook would help keep them from pulling through. I would want to practice that a few times before I would try it, especially in your application.

For sure the epoxy would not hurt, and I have seen epoxy work miracles almost, but that seems like a difficult request. Be sure to roughen up the brass to give the epoxy something to adhere to. If you are using screws, it will probably help the screw stay in place as well.

--
Andrew

[Winston Chang]

Thanks, it's good to hear that the epoxy will do the trick.

The lid piece is pretty thin near the edge. I'm not sure it's even 1/4" thick at the place where the screws go in. Next time I make a box, I'll definitely keep the hinge hardware in mind.

Here's a picture of the parts for the box. The lid is on the right. Overall size is pretty small, about 4.5 x 6.5 inches.

box-parts-1.jpg

[Tom Bender]

Epoxy on thin wood might bleed thru and affect the finish, especially if you drill holes most of the way thru for screws. Try to drill the holes after the hinges are adhered in place. Test all this on a sample with the same grain.

[Jim Tobias]

I have had the same issue before on a small box that had a very thin piece of special wood for the top. After morticing out for the hinges, I was in the same predicament as you. This may or may not be appropriate for your situation, but I took 2 pieces of other wood that I thought blended nicely and shaped them into decorative pieces for the top.....that just happened to be positioned over where the screws would come through. My wife has kept this box, so it is in our house. I like the results and have asked 20 or more people about the 2 pieces and none of them have any idea why they are there....until I tell them.

Jim

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