Hinge help needed (reversed Tee hinges?)

[Eric The Viking]

We're doing a major room refurbishment, and we've borrowed a tower to help with the ceiling, etc.

It's a really nice and well made Youngmans one (all aluminium), with a built-in ladder at each end. I think it uses half a ply board (cut lengthwise) as the platform - it's wide and narrow, and not a tower shape seen nowadays. About 18" of one end forms a trapdoor.

Although all the metalwork generally is in good condition, the hinges for the trapdoor have gone and the platform board needs replacing. I'd like to repair it as a thank-you to the owner, but I'm struggling to find suitable Tee hinges as they're odd:

One hinge leaf is flipped over from normal. You can see why from the way it's used. When it's open, the asymmetry lets you prop the trap just over vertical (like the stay on a church bell), and when it's closed, it lays flat, with no obstructions on the decking's working surface.

I've spent a long while Googling: I can't find similar hinges off the shelf, anywhere, at any price. Does the team think these are "specials" or just that I don't know what term to use when I Google?

I've looked for:

• Reversed Tee hinges
• Cranked Tee hinges
• Reverse swag Tee hinge (think this is technically correct)
• Offset Tee hinge

And all sorts of specialist hinge makers' descriptions.

The originals are (were) simply galvanised, and not very heavyweight mild steel. They managed at least 20 years, so any replacement will probably do, as long as it's the same weight and works the same way.

Does anyone recognise these and can you suggest a supplier? My last resort is to drive the pin out of a normal one, swap the leaf over, and tack weld the pin back then carefully paint it well with something like Galvafroid or Hammerite.

Very open to ideas, but I've looked at a lot of other hinge designs and I haven't found anything so far that will do the job with the required safety.

TIA,

E.

 

[Billy Flitch]

Eric do you think you could remove the pin and then turn the long part of the hinge over and then re fit the pin. You may have to bishop the end of the pin to get it to stay fast.

 

[Racers]

Sorry I can't see the work Trapdoor with out thinking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9dbAQJIu1o

Pete

 

[Kev]

Not something I have come across but others may have. I guess the other thing you could do is put some steel/butt hinges, (or the like) on the left hand side of the trap door. Not clear from your drawing how much overhang you have but assuming there is enough these should be fine. The hinges are only facilitating the opening of the trap door (as hinges do!!) not taking any load so as long as you get a good fixing through the ply should do the job.

Hope this helps

Kev

 

[Eric The Viking]

Eric do you think you could remove the pin and then turn the long part of the hinge over and then re fit the pin. You may have to bishop the end of the pin to get it to stay fast.

That's exactly what I intend to try, if all else fails.

The originals do look as though they were made normally (not modified), although I guess they might have even been supplied with the pin loose, then made up and the pin domed over by Youngmans.

I doubt there are any hinge manufacturers left in the UK (of that sort of hinge), although I'm happy to be proved wrong.

Everything I've found so far has been imported, usually from the Far East.

E.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Kev, thanks for the thought, but I think I do need to use strap (Tee) HInges.

It's not clear how much strength the long hinge leaf adds to the trap, which is otherwise unreinforced impregnated 3/8" ply. I'm considering adding some wooden bracing crossways, which will drop between the deck's frame pieces when the trap is closed: I'm not that heavy and it's a bit springy for my taste at the moment, although that may just be because the ply is really old now.

The strap leaf is held to the ply with bolts, and pronged-tee nuts on the top side, so there's nothing sticking out to be a trip hazard, I guess.