another knife hinge question

[Aaron Liebling]

I installed a pair of flush inset doors in a credenza using knife hinges and they worked beautifully. The only issue I'm having is that the doors will swing in slightly past parallel with the front of the cabinet.

What do people usually use with inset knife hinge doors so they stop perfectly in line?

Also, I haven't trimmed the doors to final width yet. Should I just trim them parallel with a very slight (1/16") gap between them or is it worth having some kind of an overlap?

[Jamie Buxton]

The in-stop can be just a block of wood up at the top of the doors. Or maybe you want to make it a strip of wood which runs the whole way across the entire opening. The difference is only esthetic.

Overlapping doors drive me crazy. You have to open and close the doors in the correct order. That's annoying.

[Aaron Liebling]

Thanks James, about what I thought on both counts!

[Aaron Liebling]

Last question: for inset slab doors do you generally bevel any of the edges? If so, which? I'm wondering if beveling the outer edges would make the gaps blend in...not that the gaps are overly noticeable now

[Jamie Buxton]

'nother thought.. If you're using knife hinges, they don't self-close, so you need some latching technique to keep the doors closed. I like magnets. A small rare-earth magnet can be inlaid flush into that in-stop, and steel keeper buried flush in the door. You can cover the metal with round cork stick-on dots if you want.

It is likely too late for this idea, but I generally raise the floor of the cabinet by a half inch or so, so that the front of the floor forms an in-stop too, and the door has in-stops at both the top and the bottom.

[Prashun Patel]

A 'bullet catch' is a perfect complement to knife hinges for small doors. Mounts in the top of the door and bottom of the overhang. I've done it this way.

I've also just left doors without a catch. I used a small dowel on the back, inside of the door that bumps up against a shelf. This works fine too. I left a gap between the doors. Probably less than 1/16" and barely back beveled; I didn't really need that.

[Jerry Miner]

The bevel needed on the latch edge of a door is dependent upon the width and thickness of the door, and the pivot location of the hinge. With a knife hinge, there is minimal if any need for a bevel. I would start by cutting the doors to width, then see if they tend to rub when opening/closing and trim as needed.

[Mike Henderson]

A 'bullet catch' is a perfect complement to knife hinges for small doors. Mounts in the top of the door and bottom of the overhang. I've done it this way.

I've also just left doors without a catch. I used a small dowel on the back, inside of the door that bumps up against a shelf. This works fine too. I left a gap between the doors. Probably less than 1/16" and barely back beveled; I didn't really need that.

Bullet catches are good, and they don't much show, but I find them hard to install. The first problem is to get the bullet catch and the receiver exactly aligned and the door closed exactly where you want it. Second, there's no easy adjustment if you're off a small amount. To move the "bullet" you have to remove it (which can be a challenge by itself) then plug the hole and redrill. And when you're doing two doors that have to line up, you double your problems. You can do two bullet catches that are perfect except that the doors don't line up.

There are easier latches, in my opinion. Magnets are good, and there's a catch I found that works well, and is adjustable, but is more visible.

Mike

[When I would put a bullet catch on the underside of a door, I'd mount the bullet in the frame and the catch on the door. Before I'd install the bullet, I'd drill a small hole in the center of the hole for the bullet all the way through the wood. That way, if I had to remove the bullet I could push it out with a piece of stiff wire.]

[Aaron Liebling]

Thank, Jamie. I was already planning on a magnet for closure, so it combines nicely with the stopper. I do wish I'd thought of leaving an internal top/bottom lip...lesson learned for the next design!