Through the years I’ve noticed that piano hinges have a common flaw. The screw heads do not sit flush when installed onto the hinge. I always use the screws that are sold with the hinge.
It’s as if the manufacturer does not know how to match the countersink on the hinge to the screw. Doesn’t’t seem that hard of a problem to fix.
Does anyone know where I can buy a quality piano hinge?
Thanks
Replies
All the inexpensive ones seem too. The heads will not meet when close because there is a lot of clearance. You can get screws with smaller heads also.
Good hinges (piano or other) are extruded or cast, and machined. Cheeper ones are stamped. You can tell by looking at how the hinge forms the knuckles. Are they rolled or bent in? Or are they solid and drilled out. the better hinges are thicker and so the countersink for the screws is deep enough to recess the screw head. These cost 4 or 5 times more.
Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
OK, I buy that idea, now were can you get the better hinges. Some of my projects would not need them but some of them could use them.
Doug Meyer
Like the other guy said the metal on the cheep ones is too thin to properly countersink.
I bought them at Rockler's a long time ago. Lee Valley sells them also. I very rarely use them so I can't say for sure where else to try. Search for "quality hinges" or "extruded hinges" on Google. You will see several vendors.
Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
I think the issue is that the metal used in piano hinge is so thin that it is difficult to make a countersink in it which is just right, particularly given the variation in screw head diameters.
My solution is to first drill the pilot hole for each screw, and then countersink the wood slightly. It doesn't take much depth at all to make the screws fit correctly.
Bill,
"Does anyone know where I can buy a quality piano hinge?"--- What you want is EXTRUDED brass piano hingeing. This is thick enough to enable the screw head to be counter-sunk in the brass and not in the wood. The usual stuff that you talk of is too thin and requires that the wood also be counter sunk , as Jamie has noted, and still the screw head will not be flush with or below the metal surface . This is the stuff made in rolls for use in mass production furniture shops.
I don't know where in the U.S.A you can get it-strangely enough the proper one is made here(New Zealand)-and exported.
quality piano hinge
i see that this was posted years ago. i have been looking far and wide for a solid brass extruded piano hinge. if there is any way to contact any company anywhere in the world that actually has or makes this king of hinge, i would greatly appreciate it. the more specific i get, the more difficult to manifest. thank you for any help on this.
I had a project recently that required a piano hinge. After a lengthy search, I ended up getting them from Rockler. I had the same issue with the screws sitting proud of the surface. It didn't matter in my application. Jamestown Distributors sells piano hinges in solid brass and Stainless Steel. I haven't seen them personally, but I've always found their stuff to be high quality. Check them out here - http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1219&familyName=Piano+Hinges+-+Brass&history=ecek5t75%7Cother%7CfreeText%7Epiano%2Bhinge%5Epage%7EGRID
Bill, having installed hundreds of feet of piano hinges, I always kept a few countersinks on hand to use after installing six or eight of the screws and tested for fit.
After being sure of placement/operation, I would then use an 80°countersink to just 'kiss' the original factory countersunk holes. With the right touch, the screws will seat neatly after most are installed.
Remove the first (temporary) screws and countersink those as well.
If the material is thin, try using recessed flat head wood screws.
Actually, by re- countersinking the original holes, the point of the countersink will 'dimple' the wood making the screws center and seat much better.
The recessed screw heads are 30% less thicker than a standard head.
Some manufacturers furnish recessed head screws with most of their hardware. Baldwin comes to mind. Steinmetz.
A trick to use when using brass screws, is to first install flat head sheet metal screws, to 'cut the threads' Then, use a little soap or bees wax and a NEW screwdriver to install the new brass screws.
one or two at a time.
Edited 1/31/2007 2:26 am ET by Steinmetz
you gotta do a tad of countersinking in the wood so that the screw head (#5's) will seat right. Just look at the thickness of the hinge vs the "thickness" of the tapered head on the screw- its at least three times as thick as the hinge leaf- so where's it gonna go?
Eric in Calgary
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