I did a repair job a few months ago on a kitchen that had double demountable hinges on the cabinet doors. I’ve never used them, but they seemed very attractive, because they are adjustable in several different directions with a screwdriver. Does anyone out there use them and are they worth the expense of investing in a couple of router bits to cut the slots? I’d like an explanation of how they are installed, what jigs needed, hand held router vs. router table, etc. I have searched this site and FHB for info, found almost none. Are they out of style, having been replaced by cup hinges, maybe? Any info, including sources, will be appreciated. Thanks. Gary.
Replies
Try here:
http://www.hardwaresource.com/ContentPage.asp?ContentID=74
http://bg.woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=R99834
PMB
http://benchmark.20m.com
Sounds like you are describing European hinges. They've been around in the states for at least 20 years and all the manufacturers have technical data in their catalogs. See Grass, Blum, Hafele to name just a few. The hinges are just the tip of the iceberg. There's a whole system of hardware and way of working with this stuff. It's all based on a grid system of 32 mm. It's worth a look at the construction boring machines used to drill the holes. http://www.true32.com Typically a 35 mm drill bit is used for the drilling of most of the hinges, not a router bit.
Edited 7/1/2005 8:45 am ET by rick3ddd
Rick I normally agree with everything that you post, but I think you have made a minor error. The drill for the cup is a little larger than 32 mm, it is more like 34 -35. At any rate, you should get the bit from the hinge supplier. It is easy to use in a drill press. When you learn to use these things, it can save you a lot of time.
I stand corrected. Drilled enough of those hinges to know better. The coffee hadn't kicked in yet. 35 mm is the standard cup size.
Rick.. I have some cabinets.. 'L' cheapoes in the shop.. Have those European hinges but they are surface mounted.. No hole to drill... They seem to hold the doors OK but the screws seem to loosen up.. Dang... I have to adjust them ever year or two!
Sounds like you're talking about "euro" hinges. Too bad you didn't post your question a couple of days earlier. I'm making a kitchen cabinet and could have taken a few pictures of my setup, drilling the cup holes, and fixing an "oops" on a mis-drilled hole. - lol
If you go to http://www.rockler.com, and look at Blum euro hinges, you'll find quite a bit of info about using them. Other brands will be similar.
By the way, euro hinges probably won't work on reverse bevel cabinet doors. I re-hung some of these a couple of months ago and the customer wanted the euro hinges. I made a mock-up and found that the cup hole cut into the door bevel. The hinge would have been visible.
Edited 7/1/2005 9:45 am ET by Dave
Edited 7/1/2005 9:46 am ET by Dave
Oops, I forgot to post this picture in my reply.
Dave,
I would add that for occasional use it is fine to drill 35mm in the drill press, but for shops that seriously want to work with this system it is definitely worthwhile to get a Blum drilling machine (or comparable from other companies). It drills all 3 holes required to mount the hinge at the same time and in perfect alignment. Also does the double holes required for drawer fronts in the Blum system. Very user-friendly and quick changeovers from one mode to another.
BTW, I solved that reverse bevel problem for you way back in post 23581.7
The range of possibilities with the various hinges and mounting plates is very great.
DR
Ring -
Your solution would have been fine, but there were some budget & time issues as well. I wound up using standard offset hinges made for reverse bevel doors. The customer actually liked those better since the chrome went with the rest of her kitchen decor.
Check out Blum. They are sort of the industry standard for higher end hardware. There are hinge/ combinations for every situation imaginable. The ease of allignment and adjustment are god sent for cabinetry work.
Mike
The hinges called "double demountable" are different from cup hinges, aka Euro hinges. These days, I think Amerock is the only distributor of double demountables. Double demountables are adjustable, and were used in the US before cup hinges took over the market.
IMHO, cup hinges are better than double demountables. They offer more adjustability, come in many more versions, have many suppliers, and don't require special router bits to install. (Heck, one of the special router bits has a 3/8" shank. Who has a 3/8" collet any more?) I'd use double demountables only when I was trying to match existing cabinets. Otherwise I'd use cup hinges.
Edited 7/1/2005 7:06 pm ET by JAMIE_BUXTON
(Heck, one of the special router bits has a 3/8" shank. Who has a 3/8" collet any more?)
do.. if I wrap it in DUCK tape!
Porta-Cable item #42975 3/8" router collet assembly. Use it with an end mill to cut out mortises. Fits 690 and similar PC routers.
Hello desertmaster ,
Jamie got it right , the double demountable hinge largely produced by Amerock were quite adjustable . They are out of date and for the most part have been surpassed by the Euro hinges . In fact in a recent call my hardware folks found out that many Amerock hinges that have been industry standards are now discontinued and there will be no more availability of these items . I believe both the single and the double demountable hinges got axed along with the half wraps overlay types . I have the router bit and a thin sleeve bushing that reduces a 1/2" collet to 3/8" , who knows I may never use it again although as you , every now and then I do rework .There was a machine you set the face frame on to cut the thru slots and it seems the door also got its slot at the same machine .
dusty
Thanks to all who replied. Jamie & Dusty, thx, that was the info I was seeking (that the demountable hinges may be discontinued). There was apparently some confusion in the first few replies, that I was supposedly looking for info on the European 35mm cup hinges. I have used cup hinges in the past and don't care for the "invisible" look.
The demountable hinges are installed by using a slot cutting router bit to cut into the edge of the faceframe (single demountable)and door frame(double demountable), then sliding the hinge plate into the slot and tightening a screw to fix it in place. Anyway, thanks again to all, think I will inquire more thru at Amerock. Gary
Hey Dave, How many are you after? I think I will be making new doors for some cabinets for a friend, and replacing all of the hinges. There are 10 doors. If you don't mind recycling, I can save them for you.
Keith,
I appreciate that, it's real generous of you; I would like to try out just one set to see how they adjust, how easy to inststall, etc., but they won't do me any good without a router bit to cut the slots.(That's a $60 bit for single demountable, twice that for double demountable, from Woodworker's Hardware.) I'm going to research them a litle more, maybe try to find a local shop here (Apple Valley) that uses them. If they look like a good product, I'll go ahead and bite the bullet and order the bits and enough to do a kitchen. Thanks. Gary
it does sound like you are describing demountable hinges. They are (were) machine bored on the edge and are largely not used anymore. A common hinge on particle board doors and almost no one uses that stuff any more either. 35mm cup hinges on a 32mm mounting system are the way now. Aloha, mike
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