Hinge Question

[DigitalM]

Sorry if this seems obvious, but in the image below, if I recess a hinge like this into the wood, you can see all the hinge plates and screws - pretty ugly. I could flip it 180 degrees, close it and mount it like that but all the hinges in the local hardware and DIY stores aren't "swaged" (a term I only discovered researching this). I'm damned if I can find anywhere that sells swaged hinges in the UK. Or I'm googling wrong, or they're called something else here.

I think this is what I want, and would look far neater. But where the hell do you buy them?

All the hinges I can find, locally at least, are like the lower one of the following pic, and I'm not sure this would look good:

 

[sunnybob]

http://www.whitechapel-ltd.com/category/swaged.html

 

[Peter Sefton]

You might find this article I wrote useful, both for hinging techniques and suppliers.

http://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.c ... hinges.pdf

Cheers Peter

 

[MikeG.]

I presume you are talking about cabinet hinges, because swaged hinges are the norm for doors.

 

[novocaine]

If it's going to be end grain then you aren't going to get a very strong attachment and the screws will be prone to pull out. have you thought about making the hinge a feature, a bit of shaping and it could look considerably nicer.

 

[memzey]

You might find this article I wrote useful, both for hinging techniques and suppliers.

http://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.c ... hinges.pdf

Cheers Peter

That’s a great article Peter. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[kevinlightfoot]

What size hinge are you looking for ,I have some 4" brass butts you can have for the price of the postage.They are brand new and swaged.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Use a counter hinge or a different hinge altogether? As above, you're not getting much strength in end grain.

 

[DigitalM]

http://www.whitechapel-ltd.com/category/swaged.html

Thanks, but I already investigated this page, seems to be US based and I was hoping not to have to order from so far afield. I found a few suppliers in the US and concluded that swaged must have been a US term, and I just needed the right UK terminology to uncover a huge world and choice of such hinges here ....

 

[DigitalM]

What size hinge are you looking for ,I have some 4" brass butts you can have for the price of the postage.They are brand new and swaged.

Thanks for the kind offer, but the width of the wood at that point is 80mm and I'd prefer it not to extended to the edges. So I guess 72mm max?

 

[DigitalM]

If it's going to be end grain then you aren't going to get a very strong attachment and the screws will be prone to pull out. have you thought about making the hinge a feature, a bit of shaping and it could look considerably nicer.

I'm not entirely sure about the load bearing on this hinge to be honest. It's for a "Leather Pony", I only didn't mention this earlier as it totally sounds like some sort of deviant sex device. It's not, it's just a clamp for stitching leather projects.

The lighter wood is ash from stock I already have (18mm x 90mm). The darker piece is oak, which I'll take from an old oak double-glazed door I salvaged and still have some bits left from. I don't have any ash of that thickness which explains the design in part. I may move the hinged joint higher yet, it's not finalised. The jaws are 4mm apart as they are lined with 2mm thick leather.

The work is placed between the jaws and then a clamping pressure applied by some screw device or other but I've seen that quite a few people just use quick bar clamps (squeezy pistol-grip thing). It only needs to exert the equivalent of a tight hand grip, nothing like a woodworking vice.

 

[DigitalM]

Use a counter hinge or a different hinge altogether? As above, you're not getting much strength in end grain.

I think they'd be a lot more attractive but I wonder if they would allow a little too much movement in this application. I'd be interested to know your thoughts Phil, I posted a little more about the project at moment ago.

 

[NazNomad]

Never seen one hinged before. Don't the usually just rely on 'springiness' of the wood (either forcing it apart to insert the leather or forcing it together with a long bolt)?

I have an ancient one somewhere... (hmm, now which damn shed?)

 

[novocaine]

watch the attached then think about your design and possibly a better way of doing it.

I still think you'll have issues with the screws pulling out over time, perhaps a better design would be to do away with the metal hinge completely and make a hinge in the wood?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk_rCm1rAeg

 

[SteveF]

is this what you want?
only 32mm wide these ones
brass backflap butts

 

[Mr T]

You could crill for dowels into the faces across the grain at the screw positions so the screws have some cross grain to bite into.

Chris

 

[DigitalM]

You might find this article I wrote useful, both for hinging techniques and suppliers.

http://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.c ... hinges.pdf

Cheers Peter

Brilliant, thank you Peter.

 

[DigitalM]

Never seen one hinged before. Don't the usually just rely on 'springiness' of the wood (either forcing it apart to insert the leather or forcing it together with a long bolt)?

That's a fascinating Idea. All the ones I saw were hinged though. I suspect for your suggestion a careful choice of material, thickness and length may be important, critical even. That may involved more experimentation than I have time for!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A saw vice I made for my tenons and dovetails. Same principle. I have to pull the sides apart slightly to get the saw in, then a small cramp each end to secure the saw or drop the thing into a vice. I'd think with the extra height you could do much the same if you left a bit of a gap and didn't make the sides too stiff.

 

[DigitalM]

You could crill for dowels into the faces across the grain at the screw positions so the screws have some cross grain to bite into.

Chris

Presume you mean drill? So sink dowels in from the other side, but so they don't come through to the face. Fascinating idea, I guess you could even rebate a block too, but sounds like hard work. Maybe worth it for something more up-market than my project.

I love this forum, really makes me think and learn a lot of new stuff!