More Tiny Door Hinges

Article - November 1, 2010

First off, I want to thank you for all the great suggestions I received on the first hinge post. Since then, I placed a bunch of orders for various hinges, pins and other little doodads in hopes of finding the perfect solution. The one thing I should reiterate is the need for simplicity. My aim for this project is to make it as approachable as possible. And while I may still try out a few true hinge options, I am thinking the original pin concept will be the easiest way to go. And if I can get away with only using a hand drill for the entire thing, even better yet. I really don’t want the project to require a drill press.

So the first suggestion I tried was probably the most low tech of all: driving a brad nail into the door and clipping the protruding portion so it has a sharp point. Then simply push the pieces together to suspend the door in the frame. I tried it and it worked. It just wasn’t a clean and easily-controllable installation. The nails would bend a little and the uneven/ragged point caused the nail to go a little off course. It would work, but it would be a little tricky to get things lined up perfectly.

The second method I tried involved the use of these nifty little double-ended blind nails. Its not too hard to see how these will work. Simply use the provided tool to insert one end into a pre-drilled hole in the door, then insert the other end into a pre-drilled hole in the frame. What I really like about this system is the flange that separates the two sides. This acts as a spacer and prevents the nail from going too far into either the door or the frame. It also means there will be a consistent gap on the top and bottom of the door. Furthermore, the thickness of the nail means there won’t be any bending during installation. The door rotates easily and the installation is quite clean.

So I am not 100% sure that I have my ultimate solution, but its looking pretty good. One thing I definitely decided, which some of you mentioned in the previous post, is that the stock for the project is just too thick. So I think we’ll bring everything in by 1/4″. That will give us more space per cubby, and a nice 1/4″ thick door. Once again, thanks for all the help on this one. You guys are the best!

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