Non Mortis hinges

Non-Mortise Hinges *LINK*

William Duffield, on the Cohansey


>Non-mortise hinges are a bad idea, because the walls of the mortise provide a lot of the strength of the hinge. The screws to a large part keep the hinge in the mortise.

If you are using brass screws, they are very weak, as you have discovered. When I use brass screws, I always start with a steel screw, well lubricated with wax, the same size and pitch as the final brass screw, drive it in to cut the threads, and then back it out and replace it with the brass screw, again lubricated. If you can find a square drive steel screw the right size, so much the better.

Make sure your screwdriver fits the brass screw slot exactly.

I don't know if Rockler sells VIX bits, or a clone. I would look for the VIX bits. Make sure they exactly match the size of your screws, including allowance for the bevel of the hole in the hinge.

Even with the highest quality bits, in small sizes they are easy to break off, if you are not very careful to keep the drill running perpendicular to the surface of the work. The lack of tactile feedback you get from a large, heavy and powerful drill (electric powered with a big battery, or a hand driven brace and bit) exacerbates this problem, as does the spring in the VIX bit. Getting it right takes some practice. (Practice on scrap wood with a larger diameter drill bit.) I prefer using a small eggbeater drill, but with a comfortable handle on the crank. I find that I can keep the drill running straight and true if I clamp the door upright in the vise and drill horizontally.

If all else fails, you might consider drilling the pilot holes on your drill press.

There are screw extractors that you can use to remove the broken screw heads, for example, Screw Extractors. Then, you will need a plug cutter of the same diameter. Dowels won't work as well, because screw threads don't hold well in end grain. Glue the plugs in the holes, cut them off with a flush trim saw or a paring chisel, and start over.

Re: Non-Mortise Hinges

Nick Tuzzolino


>William: You are right on the money with the above info. One note re: VIX bits/clones. Rockler sells the clones. Out of the set of three I bought (an extra set, I had the VIXs) two were out of kilter, like they were on a cam. Poor quality to say the least. It's worth going out of the way for the real VIX ones. My 2 lire.

Re: Non-Mortise Hinges

John Hoffman


>Thanks for the info. I was not using brass screws and I had the problem with a hand screw driver, being very careful. I think the problem is that they are crap.

Could you make a recomendation on quality brand of hinges and a place to get them?

thanks

JH

Re: Non-Mortise Hinges

Jack Guzman from Maine


>Rockler sells some good quality hinges as well as cheaper ones like you got. It depends on what you want to spend. Lee Valley sells some good hardware also. I just installed 6 sets of non-mortise Rockler hinges in a country style hutch I built out of poplar and I had no problem with the hardware. I predrill all my holes(eggbeater style drill) and wax every screw before installing by hand with a screwdriver that fits the screw.I marked the holes location with a centering punch before drilling.

I prefer mortising hinges for the reasons William gave but for this application,non mortising hinges were the only thing that would work.

The Encyclopedia of Woodworking by Ernest Joyce has a very good section on hinge installation.---Jack