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Thread: Help on box hinges please

  1. #1

    Help on box hinges please

    Love the forum and now would appreciate some advice.
    I have spent an inordinate amount of time making a simple box. Using forums, books and Utube I'm slowly learning some skills but sometimes my eagerness to construct gets in front of my planning.
    The pics show my box so far. It measures about 5.5x 8.5x 4.5". I plan to make a 1-2" bevel on the top to lighten the appearance. The top as planned overhangs an all sides about 1/4". My problem is that I don't know what sort of hinges to use that would allow the top to overhang in the back or perhaps the top in back should be flush with the box but this is not the look I had planned. I would like the top to stay open by itself once raised. I have trouble reading about hinges and visualizing how to apply them and would love the thoughts of folks who make boxes.
    Thanks,
    JakeIMG_1114.jpgIMG_1115.jpgIMG_1116.jpg
    Donate blood. The gift of life.

  2. #2
    That's a nice looking box. I would leave the overhang consistent all the way around. Maybe a bevel on the underside? As for choosing hinges, the key thing to consider is that the center of rotation will need to be at or just beyond the back edge of the box. Typically that would mean butt hinges. You might have consider stop hinges from Brusso. They'll limit how far the lid can open.

  3. #3
    Attaching a top is always a challenge, so sometimes I leave it unattached. Overhangs all around make that possible.

    Still, a hinged lid is nice. I default to Brusso butt hinges; don't let the screws poke through the top though. Barrel hinges are a possibility. I'd avoid barbed kerf hinges, although they are popular.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    +1 on the Brusso stop hinges. They will do the trick.

    Jim

  5. #5
    Thank you all for your thoughts. It still fascinates me that I can reach out into the ether and get personal replies.
    Re Dave's thoughts: if I leave the overhang all the way around, I assume that I would mortise a stop butt hinge into the rear top edge of the box and leave the rotational barrel of the hinge overhanging to the rear. But how is the hinge applied to the top? Is the full hinge (with rotational barrel axis) mortised into the underside of the top? I ask because the top would extend out further than the hinge.
    My appreciation,
    Jake
    Donate blood. The gift of life.

  6. #6
    I would mortise the hinge into the lid whether or not there's an overhang on the back. With the overhang, though, the mortise would not run out the back as it would with no overhang.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
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    1,359
    Wells,
    As Dave said you mortise the hinge into the top. Typically when there is no overhang of the top, your mortise is open on the back side. In your case, what you will end up with is a mortise which has all 4 sides within the box top. Hope that makes sense. If you're using the Brusso stop hinges, because the barrel of the stop hinge is not flush with the rest of the hinge when open, , you will need to chisel out enough where the barrel of the hinge sits so that it won't bind when you open it.
    I would cut the mortises in the box first, attach the hinges in the box, then lay the lid upside down on your bench and then flip the box upside down on the lid and open the hinges. Center the top it where you have an even overlay on all side and then mark the barrel area of the hinge. Next, take the hinge off and lay it on the top,matching up the barrel with you marks for the barrel and then mark the rest of the hinge. Then, mortise out the area.
    Hope this makes sense.
    Jim

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