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From the pages of Fine Woodworking Magazine
Choosing a Butt Hinge
Hinges can affect the look, durability, and performance of your fine furniture. Here's how to choose the right one for the job.
by Garrett Hack
Don't compromise. Choose a high-quality extruded brass hinge for your furniture. Cheaper stamped hinges are made by pressing thin sheet metal around the pin to form the knuckle. Extruded hinges are tighter than these pressed hinges because the knuckle is fitted together and then drilled in one shot for a precisely fitted hinge pin. Stamped hinges will not be flat, square or drilled accurately, and there will be slop around the hinge pin.
The right size for the job
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The top hinge is the wrong size for this door. It would leave a fragile sliver of wood at the edge of the mortise. The bottom hinge is a more appropriate size.
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Choose a hinge size that leaves at least 1/8 in. of wood at the back of the mortise, or this area will be too fragile. Another option is to choose a hinge that reaches all the way across the stile.
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Where to locate the hinges
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It's pleasing to the eye if you relate the hinge locations to the rails (left). However, this may not be possible on doors with thin rails (right).
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Plan ahead
Choose and purchase hinges during the design stage of a project. You don't want to be ready to hang a door and then realize that the hinge leaf to be mortised into the door is wider than the door stile, or that it leaves just the thinnest ribbon of wood at the back of the mortise to break away someday. Knowing door and carcase dimensions, you can narrow down the possibilities of hinges that will fit. If you're unsure of the best choice, buy two sizes.
For more on hinges, see my article, "Installing Butt Hinges," in the November/December 2002 issue of Fine Woodworking (#159). Online, see my video tip Chop a Hinge Mortise.
Garrett Hack is a furniture maker in Thetford Center, Vermont.
Photos: Asa Christiana; drawings: Vince Babak
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