Let's take a closer look at hinges

With so many styles to choose from, trying to decide what hinge to use for a project can be frustrating. But before you despair, consider the fact that most hinges are designed for specific applications. By defining the exact use for your hinge you can rule out a large percentage.

 

Butt hinges
The butt hinge is probably the simplest and most familiar type of hinge. But a closer look reveals that even this most basic device holds a surprising number of  engineering subtleties.

Butt hinge One of the simplest hinges yields subtleties and feats of engineering.

A butt hinge consists of two plates (or leaves) that usually have countersunk holes drilled for screws. Along the centre axis, the leaves bulge to form interlocking knuckles.

The row of knuckles is called the barrel, and a hole through the barrel accepts the pin. For butt hinges, the middle of the pin acts as the centre of rotation, so it stands to reason that this point must be located beyond the back edge of the box or the face of a door. Of course, when you mount hinges on the surface of a box or door, you automatically position the hinge pin in a location where it can operate. But when you mortise a hinge (as in the pic above), you’ll need to make certain that the pin’s centrepoint is always out in the open.

Butt hinge variations
The butt hinge has evolved into an extraordinary number of forms to suit a wide range of applications. With the leaves stretched in width, the butt hinge becomes a strap hinge. Stretched in length, it becomes a piano hinge.

The leaves can also be flanged—bent around the back of a door, a face frame, or the edge of a box to offer additional strength. If you want a hinge that’s as easy to install as a surface mount but hides nearly as well as a mortised version, try a no-mortise hinge. The thickness of the metal automatically sets the reveal between the door and its frame.

ABOVE: You can quickly and accurately install a surface-mounted strap hinge on a rustic project.

For reasons of both aesthetics and function, the shape of a hinge isn’t restricted to the familiar rectangular shape. Below you will see three no-mortise hinge varieties meet special applications. The hinge below is for an inset door; the bent flange of the version in the centre attaches to the edge and back of a face frame; and the flanged hinge on the right is useful for box lids. You'll find hinges with leaves in fanciful shapes, as round as a bullet, or stretched with rounded ends.

Separating hinges
Separating hinges can be very useful, and they are scaled to handle a wide range of jobs—whether you want to build a sturdy toolbox or a dainty jewelry container. Either way, you can make a removable lid that allows unrestricted access to the contents. The larger sizes can also be used on cabinet doors or clock cases. Plan your project carefully because many of the hinge designs require you to specify right- or left-hand application when you order.

ABOVE: Choose a separating hinge that’s scaled to fit the size and strength requirements of your project.

Barrel Hinges
The barrel hinge is virtually invisible when closed, and it also has the advantage of easy installation because the mortise (mounting hole) is simply a hole drilled into each workpiece. But there are a few disadvantages.

A slight mismatch in hole locations will make hinge operation very difficult, while a larger error will make installation itself downright impossible. But a more serious drawback is the fact that it will not overclose — move past the point where the axis of the lid hole meets the axis of the base hole. As a result, you can’t get the lid of a box to close firmly against the base at the front. This drawback is not as serious if you’re using the hinge to swing an inset door.

ABOVE: The barrel hinge are nearly invisible when installed in boxes and doors.

Euro - or concealed - hinge
It wasn’t that long ago that the overlay hinge was the undisputed king of kitchen and bath cabinets. To order the hinges you needed, you simply counted the number of doors and multiplied by two. But the old hinge king has lost his throne and been replaced by a new group of hinges from Europe. Instead of a single hinge, the new dynasty is actually an extended family of hinges, each one engineered for a specialised purpose. Even a small kitchen may have a half- dozen or more different hinge varieties.

European tastes Utilise the adjustability designed into Euro hinges to achieve absolute perfection in  door alignment. The cross shaped screw head recesses with the four radiating marks indicate that these are Pozidrive screws.

Almost all Euro hinges are completely concealed when the door is closed. That makes a cabinet that’s cleaner, both physically and visually. And because the hinges are hidden, their style or finish can’t go out of fashion. Most hinges also have three-way adjustability, a feature that transforms door fitting from an exercise in 'close enough' to fine precision. The hinges have also created new options that let the creative designer unleash his imagination. You can now select between face-frame or frameless construction, inset or overlay doors, and cabinets that angle inward or out.

If you’re accustomed to having only a handful of hinge choices, you may be shocked when you see the options offered by Euro hinges. For example, take a fairly simple hinge, such as a hinge that opens 125 degrees on a frameless cabinet. You can choose whether you want the door to overlay the cabinet’s edge, whether two doors are hinged on the same cabinet support, or whether the door is inset. Then you choose between free-swinging or self-closing hinges. Next, you select whether the hinge clips onto the mounting plate or  attaches with screws. Then, there are up to four alternate ways of attaching the hinge cup to the door.

finewoodworking.com