A Little Hinge Trick

[John Morris]

When using small hinges to install delicate frame doors or any thing smaller then a standard cabinet door that requires a mortised hinge, I like to crimp my little hinges to close the gap between the door and the mating surface of what ever your installing the door on. Once you close the gap in the hinge, then mortise it in, you have a nice tight fitting door with virtually zero gap.

 

The first pic is a standard small hinge, in this case I have a 2" brass hinge I bought from the home center for a display case I am building. You will see how "Gappy" the hinge is right out of the bag new. Put the little hinge in a vise,

 

 

Then tighten the vise as tight as you can, be careful not to insert the hinge too far into the vise jaws or you'll just be crimping the hinge against the pin.

 

 

The pic below shows my hinge after I tightened down on it.

There you have it, a very simple little hinge trick for closing those gaps in your doors, works great for jewelry boxes, small cabinets, or for any project that requires small hinges. And, don't worry about marring the surface of the hinge with the vise jaws, because the jaws are against the bottom surface of the hinges, and I have yet to see any scratches on the brite side of the brass, but you can always slip a piece of wax paper in between the hinge to prevent marring if your worried about it.

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

[Warped & Twisted]

Thanks for the tip John. Never thought of doing that.

[Allen Worsham]

I have done that before and it works well. I have a set of "Gater Gums" that I bought back when I was making a lot of pens for pressing them together as I did not have a dedicated pen press. They are basically leather with magnetic tape attached to the back. The magnetic tape holds it to the metal vise jaws and they work great for when you need to hold something that could scratch. I ordered them on a whim when I made larger order for pen supplies and I use them on the vise all the time. Easy to make using an old belt from your closet (those dang things tend to shrink over time and some peel and stick magnetic tape from the Home Center or Craft Store.

 

 

 

 

 

[Allen Worsham]

I have noticed that my belts never shrink on the buckle end. Must be a Governement conspiracy.

 

 

 

 

 

[kmealy]

This is known as "swaging" a hinge, just FYI.

[John Morris]

18 minutes ago, kmealy said:

This is known as "swaging" a hinge, just FYI.

Thanks Keith!

[Chips N Dust]

Great Tip

[Gene Howe]

Nice tip, John. If scratches on the underside bugs anyone they can use a bench vise. Wood faces, ya know.

But, Alan has the ultimate cushioning for big old iron vises. 

 

[Buckaroo]

GOOD LORD, HEAW AT 77 I'VE LEARNED SOMETHIN, I LIKE BUILDING LITTLE JEWELRY BOXES, THIS METHOD WILL MAKE'M LOOK BETTER.

[Gene Howe]

Buck, I'm 76 and learn something every day. Most of it is stuff I learned yesterday, though. 

[Grandpadave52]

3 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

Buck, I'm 76 and learn something every day. Most of it is stuff I learned yesterday, though. 

I didn't learn anything yesterday that I recall...

[Smallpatch]

You can buy hinges made like that or you can buy the style you started with!  

A mortise mount or a half surface/ half mortise mount. This one is 1 5/16 x 1 1/2". 

It looks about the size you show.

 

 

[Gene Howe]

43 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

I didn't learn anything yesterday that I recall...

Well, see. Every day's a new learning experience. 

Yesterday, I learned to measure twice. Today, I learned it again. Oh, what exciting educational experiences are in store for tomorrow? 

 

[kmealy]

On 7/21/2017 at 2:25 PM, John Morris said:

Thanks Keith!

I've resorted to this when doors don't quite fit (on repair jobs of course, if it's still in the shop you can adjust the mortises or edges)

[Nickp]

I have often used a cold chisel and "sneak up" on flattening the two faces together...makes a sharp bend right where it starts to bend around the pin...

 

I like the vise idea...much better control...

[Cliff]

On 7/21/2017 at 2:07 PM, kmealy said:

This is known as "swaging" a hinge, just FYI.

The way I know to do that  is the way it's done here

 

[HARO50]

Learned something new! Thanks, @Cliff

John

Edited July 25, 2017 by HARO50

[Cal]

Me too!

Cal

[John Morris]

On 7/22/2017 at 3:38 PM, Smallpatch said:

You can buy hinges made like that or you can buy the style you started with!  

A mortise mount or a half surface/ half mortise mount. This one is 1 5/16 x 1 1/2". 

It looks about the size you show.

Thanks Jess! Great tip again!

[John Morris]

Moved this topic to General Woodworking/Tips Forum