Texfire Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 Please don't use piano hinges. They are ugly and unrefined. What's another option that has the same strength? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 What's another option that has the same strength? Good question, I can't seem to find much info on load ratings for butt hinges. How much would you figure a door full of tools weighs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muthrie Posted August 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 I was going to try and put light things on the doors. Dividers, squares, marking gauges .. stuff like that. The doors themselves will weight a fair amount if they're 2" deep with a frame and panel front. I don't know, 5 to 10 lbs maybe. I'd love other suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Granted, piano hinges are not the best LOOKING thing to come down the pike BUT, considering that this is a "shop" cabinet and (at least in my shop) will be used and abused, they will give the best strength and durability. Just my two cents worth. Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Here's the only butt hinge weight rating table I could find. A 34" tall door would benefit from three hinges, even if you used the smallest available you'd have a 18 lb rating. They will be more expensive than a piano hinge, but your work and effort are worth it. Shop around, look for solid extruded brass butt mortise hinges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muthrie Posted August 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Wow! Thanks for finding this! This is a great reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onboard Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Marilyn, I’m far from an expert in this matter so please take my comments cautiously. As far as expertise goes, I’m living on a minor planet at the far reaches of the solar system. Maybe someone closer to the center of expertise can drop in and add their comments and correct some of my comments. In my opinion I think piano hinges look fine and I see nothing wrong with using them. I see them used in many large nice looking tool cabinets. If I were installing a piano hinge, I would leave it a little short at the top and bottom though (maybe an inch or so). Unless you buy a very thin light duty piano hinge, they can hold a lot of weight. You can get them in colors other than “brass”. I’ve seen them in black and silver. They make them in heavier duty versions (and extremely heavy duty versions). I’ve seen stainless steel piano hinges as well. Some suppliers will show the thickness of the hinge plate so you can choose a thicker version. If you’re making your tool cabinet with 3/4 inch stock, you will be restricted to 3/4 inch hinge plates. Since they are typically mounted on the edge of the door and body (carcass), however you can use a longer screw to get deeper into the wood for better holding power. Just a thought or two. Of course there’s nothing wrong with good sturdy butt hinges as some others are suggesting. If you mount butt hinges on the edges as is typical then you will be restricted as to how large a hinge you can use, and you’ll need to mortise them in. You could mount larger ones on the face at the outside spanning the main body side to door side. Some of the larger hinges are very nice looking. If you did it that way, you would be limited as to how long a screw you can use, and you probably want to mortise them into the side to allow the door to swing all the way back. You could possible use bolts (instead of screws), with a nut on the inside of the case. Since they would probably be small bolts you might need to add a washer under the nut. Then there’s the wrap-around hinge, knife hinge, and… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muthrie Posted August 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 Onboard - I'm following this post but for some reason I'm not getting notified when some one posts. I'm a little tardy in my response. So here's where I'm at. I didn't like all the wasted space in the cabinet, so I did yet another redesign and ended up here (see photo). The bottom three levels are drawers. I asked for additional advice from Marc and decided on the full wrap piano hinges on the inside of the cabinet. I though Darnell had a great point about how they look and I really wanted them on the inside so that wouldn't show as much. But I wanted something strong. I'm going to be blogging my way though the project on my site. I expect it to take many months for me to get through it especially since it now seems like I'll be having some knee surgery (grrr! again) in about month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onboard Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Looks like the design is moving along nicely. Certainly you’ve put a great deal of thought into the design and construction. What were you planning on putting in the door spaces? As far as hinge type, the wrap around piano hinge would definitely give you greater support strength than the straight piano hinges. Since the thickness of the hinge “leaves” is 1/25” you may have to shave back the front portion of the shelf ends a little to accommodate the “wrap”. Otherwise, looking good. Most of the larger tool cabinets I’ve seen use the non-wrap piano hinge including the “Quick-to-Make Tool Cabinet” which has quite a bit of tool weight in the door areas. However, I agree that the butt hinges Darnell suggested would be very nice. As I mentioned though, you don’t need to run a piano hinge all the way to the top and bottom of the cabinet which gives it a little visual relief. Did you see this picture yet from The Renaissance Woodworkers site (Shannon Rogers)? Please note the butt hinges. It sounds like it's in Lie Nielsen’s new woodworking classroom. Shannon described it as “…a hanging tool cabinet made by Christian Becksvoort.” I guess they put feet on the cabinet to support it on a table top. Looks compact and seems to hold a fair number of hand tools. It also looks like it’s being used as a showcase for Lie Nielsen tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muthrie Posted August 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 I did see this tool cabinet, but hadn't noticed the hinges. Thanks for pointing them out. Really cool cabinet too. My doors are going to be heavy empty since I'll be making them frame and panel with a box behind them. I also like the odds and ends that they have in the LN cabinet and would probably use the same approach. I'm planning on storing my chisels in rolls in the drawers, but I haven't ruled out keeping a few of the most used in one of the doors. I also have a bow saw that needs a home (and a new blade). I also expect the doors to kinda be my grow space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muthrie Posted August 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2011 Opps! I'd already planned to set my shelve back at least 3/4" of inch. I really have gotten ton from this forum. As a result of the input I got some really great ideas about hinges and totally changed my original plan. And actually, I changed my whole cabinet plan four times as a result of input. I do plan on putting shelves in the doors but I'll be making slots to prevent tools from flopping around during energetic opening and closing. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onboard Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Marilyn, I received an unexpected email this morning from David Beckett (aka Lord Nibbo). As you remember I requested a copy of the SketchUp drawing of his tool cabinet. He went way out of his way to take the time to redraw his tool cabinet in SketchUp for me and attached the file to the email. I thought that was very nice of him. I know you’ve already finished your design, however, there may be others who read this post and would want to use David’s drawing. The skp file is a basic drawing of the tool chest, but measurements can be taken and labeled as needed. I’ve placed the file below. Oh, and the drawer spaces are shown, but not the drawers. I guess that would depend on what type of drawer you want and whether you wanted drawers at all. You had put his link to the tool chest in an earlier reply, but for reference, here is his blog site link for the tool cabinet build. If anyone is interested in doing this build the pictures and text on his site would be a great help in conjunction with the SketchUp drawing, to completing such a build. http://lordnibbo.wor...2009/02/22/396/ Lord Nibbo\'s Tool Cabinet.skp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muthrie Posted September 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Back from vacation finally. This is worth a close look at and also the associated post. Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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