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Thread: Double-Action Door Hinge Question

  1. #1
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    Double-Action Door Hinge Question

    A place where I work has a set of swinging double action doors - Saloon doors or whatever you call them in your area of the world.
    The assembly is on a metal frame which is almost dead plumb with some allowances for the 0 year old building settling,
    The doors (a pair) are ~7' tall by 39" and 1 3/8" solid core veneered each, attached to the frame by 3 of 6" double action hinges. The left door, the one used most often, is sagging badly. The screws are tight.
    Doing the "push against the edge and take the slack" method, there is considerable give at the top hinge.
    I can't find anything on the internet about adjusting these so I'm assuming a complete replacement is necessary. Is that accurate?
    My working career was in single and multi family unit repair and remodling, not commercial, so I've no expertise in these hinges.
    Is my "guess" accurate?
    Young enough to remember doing it;
    Old enough to wish I could do it again.

  2. #2
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    "Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.”
    Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805)

    "Quality means doing it right when no one is looking."
    Henry Ford

  3. #3
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    Thanks Tony, I’ve watched it already.
    That’s tension; are you thinking that the tension is not appropriate for the weight of the door?

  4. #4
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    It could be diminished from age or use. You could also switch the top and bottom hinge to see if that would resolve it.
    If the screws are tight in the jamb and door, what else could it be, but spring tension?

    Tony
    Last edited by Tony Joyce; 10-10-2021 at 5:07 PM.
    "Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.”
    Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805)

    "Quality means doing it right when no one is looking."
    Henry Ford

  5. #5
    Bommer hinges have an adjustment to change the spring tension. If you look at the top of the hinge, you will see a cylinder with some holes in it, one of which will contain a short pin, that rests upon hinge body. You use a special pin (hardened steel) to adjust the tension, by turning the cylinder. I don't consider it a DIY job. In my working years, I installed many sets.
    Last edited by Bruce Wrenn; 10-10-2021 at 6:50 PM.

  6. #6
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    I have install hundreds of Bommer hinges and you need to size them correctly and also adjust them to the proper tension be careful with those hinges as you do need the proper size rod to adjust them.

  7. #7
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    Are the springs not just for self-closing? My only experience with them is that I have a large foot pedal for the clutch on a tractor mounted with one to the original, small clutch pedal.

  8. #8
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    Thanks everyone.
    They were installed as part of new construction, and the left door has sagged from the top considerably. We are going to try and switch them, bottom to top, before replacing them. The Operations Manager doesn't know if he has the steel rod; he may not have known what they were when the building was taken over from the contractors.
    Young enough to remember doing it;
    Old enough to wish I could do it again.

  9. #9
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    The one I'm using takes an Allen wrench down the barrel to adjust it, without needing anything on the outside of the hinges. I'm wondering if something is displaced inside the hinge barrels. It seems to me that the springs are just to self-close, and that without some displacement/wear of the barrels on the hinge pins, the door should not sag, with tight screws.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    The one I'm using takes an Allen wrench down the barrel to adjust it, without needing anything on the outside of the hinges. I'm wondering if something is displaced inside the hinge barrels. It seems to me that the springs are just to self-close, and that without some displacement/wear of the barrels on the hinge pins, the door should not sag, with tight screws.
    The door will sag if the springs are not the tension is not correct

  11. #11
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    Interesting. Seems like a poor design feature.

  12. #12
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    Hard to picture how lack of adequate tension would result in the door sagging. Maybe post a few pictures?

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