Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Jun 25, 2006 06:18pm | #1

   Are you inquiring about cabinet doors or interior/exterior doors for houses?

   John White

1. 
   kbaum | Jun 25, 2006 06:55pm | #2

   Sorry, should have clarified, cabinet hinges. Specifically I'm designing a china cabinet with doors 16" wide x 48" tall that will weigh about 12 lbs. with glass installed. But more generally I was looking for a guide for future projects.

2. 
   JohnWW | Jun 27, 2006 10:37pm | #3

   I'm afraid I can't offer a lot of guidance here, but I've never seen a guide to hinge sizing written by anyone else either.

   The complex Euro style hinges have specific guidelines, available from the manufacturers, based on door size and weight, but traditional hinges are so simple and sturdy that no detailed rules have been developed.

   Generally, two hinges, whose size is in proportion to the size of the door, will have no problem handling the weight of the door.  On a tall door, such as the one on you are inquiring about, I prefer to add a third hinge at the midpoint, not so much for the weight, but to prevent the long hinge stile from warping and causing interference problems with the side of the opening. 

   I went through two books of Shaker furniture and every door, no matter it's size, was hung on just two hinges, so that certainly seems to be the norm.

   Hope this helps,

   John White

1. 
   kbaum | Jun 28, 2006 03:50pm | #4

   John,  I also had gone thru my books & the FW web site and come up with the same conclusion: 2 hinges are the norm. It must be the case that, as you point out, they are sufficiently sturdy that they just haven't  failed enough for people to learn the limits.

   Thank you so much for the thorough reply.  This is a great feature of the web site & magazine.

    

   John Kirschenbaum