as narrow or wide, but what really matters
is the length and width. I prefer fixed-pin
hinges over loose pins (the hinge comes
apart for lifting off a door easily) because
they are stronger with less play in the
knuckle.
Choose and purchase hinges during the
design stage of a project. You don’t want
to be ready to hang a door and then re-
alize that the hinge leaf to be mortised
into the door is wider than the door stile,
or that it leaves just the thinnest ribbon
of wood at the back of the mortise that
will break away someday. Knowing door
and carcase dimensions, you can narrow
down the possibilities of hinges that will
fit. If you’re unsure of the best choice, buy
two sizes.
How many hinges and where?—Typi-
cally, I use two hinges on cabinet doors
under 3 ft. tall. For greater strength and
stability (for heavy doors or for doors on
which objects will be hung), I prefer to use
longer, heavier hinges rather than add a
third hinge in the middle of the door. With
the leaves snugly mortised and screwed into
place, two butt hinges will support a sur-
prisingly heavy door. However, for passage
doors and very tall cabinet doors, adding a
third hinge in the middle can help hold the
stile and door in alignment, keeping them
from binding.
A critical aspect in the appearance and
action of the door is how far the hinge
knuckle sticks out from the front of the
door. For the door to swing smoothly with-
out binding, the centerline of the hinge
pin need only be slightly proud of the
door—about^1 ⁄ 32 in.Hanging a flush inset door
After choosing the right hinges for the job,
the challenge is to set the hinges precisely,
leaving a fine, even gap around the door
and a flush surface between the door and
the case.
Hinging a door neatly depends as much
on building a true door and an untwisted
carcase as it does on accurately mortising
for the hinges. Slip the door into place and
look for any misalignment. Often, there
will be some twist in the case or the door,
especially if the door is large; this can be
addressed in a variety of ways. You can
plane the door or case slightly, and you
can set one or both of the hinges farther
into or out of the case to minimize the
effect of the twist. Of course, the idea isDon’t compromise. Choose a high-quality
extruded brass hinge (bottom) for your
furniture. Cheaper stamped hinges (top) will
not be flat, square, or drilled accurately, and
there will be slop around the hinge pin.The top hinge is the wrong size
for this door. It would leave a frag-
ile sliver of wood at the edge of the
mortise. The bottom hinge is a more
appropriate size.C H O O S E W I S E LY
as narrow or wide, but what really matters
is the length and width. I prefer fixed-pin
hinges over loose pins (the hinge comes
apart for lifting off a door easily) becausedesign stage of a project. You don’t want
to be ready to hang a door and then re-
alize that the hinge leaf to be mortised
into the door is wider than the door stile,
or that it leaves just the thinnest ribbonThe centerline of the
hinge knuckle should
be about^1 ⁄ 32 in. proud
of the door and case.W H E R E T O L O C AT E T H E H I N G E S
It’s pleasing to the eye if you relate the hinge locations to the rails (below left).
However, this may not be possible on doors with thin rails (below right).Location is
one hinge-
length away
from the top
and bottom
of the door.Hinges are
aligned
with the
door rails.T H E R I G H T S I Z E F O R T H E J O B
Choose a hinge size that leaves at least^1 ⁄ 8 in. of
wood at the back of the mortise, or this area will
be too fragile. Another option is to choose a hinge
that reaches all the way across the stile.Case Door(^1) ⁄ 8 in. minimum
Flush
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