DylanHelmer Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Hi. It's my first time posting on the site. Hello to everyone! I've been working on a jewelry box for a wedding gift for my soon to be wife. I've been waiting for the stop hinges to come for the last month from rockler because they were backordered. Anyways, I finally got the chance to install the hinges yesterday. I mortised out everything, used a self centering bit and installed the #4 brass screws. For whatever reason the screws wont seat completely flush and is causing the lid to not be able to close completely. I am thinking I could just bore out the holes in the hinges just ever so slightly to fix the problem. Wondering if this is the best thing to do? I've spent too much time on this thing to mess it up now. Anyways, thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Welcome to the forum Are you sure it's the screws? In the wood does the head of the screw seem to protrude above the hinge surface? Out of the wood, does it still protrude if you pinch the screw thread with thumb and index finger? You probably know, but most hinges don't close parallel, rather they form a slight wedge thicker at the back than the front. That's why you usually use a business card as a shim between the box and lid on the hinge side so that the lid rests against the box at the front. Try adding two small pieces of paper between the mortice and hinge - there should be a hairline gap between the box and top on the hinge side. Maybe if you post some photos? (I won't tell your fiancée) HTH John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 I have found when making small boxes that the mortise's need to be exactly half the depth of the hinge pin side thickness. Which is usually a tad deeper than the thickness of the hinge leaf its self. And, I hate to mention this, (yes, it has happened to me ) but,are you using the counter sunk side of the hinge for the screw heads? If for some reason, you need to move the holes just a tad,(I've done that too ) glue the end of a toothpick in the first holes, trim off, sand smooth, and re-drill. Just some suggestions, BTD all of T. Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DylanHelmer Posted March 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Thanks so much for the great reply's. I'm still not sure if the screws were to blame but I ended up being able to enlarge the countersink on the hinges with the drillpress by a very small amount. I remounted the hinges and everything works great!!!! I am pretty much ready to go on finishing my jewelry box. It is maple, walnut with mahogany handles and a teak turtle I inlaid into the lid. Thanks to Mark for having the great videos for inlay on his site! I was considering doing a danish oil for the finish just because it seems like it would be a little easier to tackle. Anybody have any suggestions on what they use to finish small boxes? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike M Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 This is a common problem with high end hinges. The countersink angle on the hinges might be 90 degrees and the screws 82. The result is that the screw bottoms out in the countersink leaving a slight gap around the head of the screw. The solution, as you found was to redrill the countersink with the correct angle bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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