knife hinges

[Raven]

In the near future I'm going to be setting brusso knife hinges in a standing cabinet. Now I have to confess that hinges scare the poop out of me because I've screwed up more than one project at the hinge stage. I figure I will mortise out what I can with a laminate trimmer, and then use chisels to clean the edges. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to placing these hinges? Anything special I should know? Thanks.

Raven

[Lee Grindinger]

if it ain't got that schwing!

Raven, what makes these little beasties scary is the apparent lack of adjustability. Actually, they are a bit adjustable as are butt hinges.

First and foremost, the door has to fit the opening, if the opening is dead flat the door has to be dead flat. Mortise the hinge into both the door and the frame BUT ONLY USE ONE SCREW TO HOLD IT IN PLACE. Check the fit with just the one screw in place and if it's good put the other screws in. If it isn't use a new screw hole and make the adjustments you need. Make sure you've got a good idea how far off the first hole was so you can nail (figuratively) it with the second screw. Depending on the size of the hinge you'll get two or three chances to place the hinge. Once you've got a screw in exactly the right place put the rest of the screws in, the first screw will determine the position of a hinge when the holes are countersunk for a flat head screw.

You're not alone in this aprehension, it's gotta be one of the scariest phases of furnituremaking.

Lee

[Raven]

Thanks Lee, I will put your ideas to good use!

Raven