Replies

1. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Oct 02, 2004 04:38am | #1

   What sort of hinge, Ed - are you talking cup hinges or the traditional butt hinge?

   Cheers,

   eddie

2. 
   Dave45 | Oct 02, 2004 04:54pm | #2

   I know of no 'rule' regarding hinge placement and will be interested in the responses to your question.  For two hinged doors, I typically go with whatever 'looks right' to me and I've never had any complaints - lol.  The only 'rule' I follow for three hinged doors is that the middle hinge is centered on the door.

3. 
   notDusty | Oct 02, 2004 05:04pm | #3

               Ed ,

           There are some charts or guidelines for , how many hinges a certain size door will need , and if 3 are used generally one in the center for starters. In general and this is just a simple way not a hard rule, most kitchen cabinet type of doors get the hinges placed say @ 2-3" from each end . With the old style self closing type we have always laid the hinge on the backside of the door flush with the end and marked a pencil line, then put the hinge on the other side of the line. With Euro type a jig or boring machine is used to pre set the distance. Just make sure the brackets or any other part of the hinge clear any obstructions inside of the cabinet, such as roll out shelves or any others. Short doors like those over a range hood or a refer can be a problem for sagging , because they are so short and the hinges can end up close to each other, plot them out more carefully.

                            good  luck                dusty

4. 
   Fingrs | Oct 03, 2004 02:46am | #4

   One standard I've seen for European cup hinges is 4" from top and bottom.  For the kitchens I've done, this has worked well so long as you avoid planned shelf placements, etc. (4" has yet to interfere in this regard).

   For me, using the 4" standard helps me avoid glitches as I assemble carcases...for example, the screws bolting cabinets together have a tendency to wind up in the exact place where your hinge needs to go.  I't amazing!  By using 4" standard, I avoid creating obstacles for myself.

   Also, when installing a bunch of cabinet doors, I can mark and place the cabinet component of the hinge by centering it 4 1/16 inch below the cabinet top and 3 15/16 above the cabinet bottom.  This saves time and errors. 
5. 
   MichaelPB | Oct 03, 2004 03:47am | #5

   I learned a long time ago the importance of hinge placement.  I know make sure all hinges for each door are on the same side.  I just learned a neat trick that is sort of related.  I now fit the clasps on the opposite sides of the hinges.  Really looks good when you are done.

   Michael

1. 
   Fingrs | Oct 03, 2004 05:58pm | #6

   I know make sure all hinges for each door are on the same side.

   Hey, Michael-

   But what if you want the door to open from either side?  That won't work if the hinges are all on the same side.  For this application I generally mount the clasp in the center of the door. 

1. 
   jasonb | Oct 03, 2004 08:39pm | #7

   I'm in the UK where it is usual to place consealed hinges 100mm from the edge of the carcase, a little less on the door as they are normally 3-5mm smaller each way than the carcase to allow for clearance with the worktop and adjacent doors. The only time that I vary this is on short doors as it reduces the amount of play at the handle side of the door. The distance the hole is set in from the door edge varies depending on door thickness, carcase thickness and gap between doors.

   Here is a chart for placement of hinges on larger doors.

   http://www.woodfit.com/product_info.php?cPath=114_221&products_id=3029&Name=Concealed+Hinge+Technical+Information+1

   Jason

6. 
   mlbfreestyle | Oct 04, 2004 07:29pm | #8

   I know that for passage doors the bottom hinge is usually 11" from the bottom and the top hinge is 7" from the top.  You might use these numbers as a starting point (adjust proportionaly based on the actual size of your doors).

7. 
   BarryR | Oct 04, 2004 09:36pm | #9

   For ordinary leaf hinges, I usually set the top edge of the upper leaf even with the bottom edge of the top rail, and the opposite for the bottom hinge.

8. 
   jyang949 | Oct 05, 2004 03:36am | #10

   Ed, take a look at the illustrations here:

   http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00136.asp

   Janet

9. 
   Frozen | Oct 05, 2004 07:08pm | #11

   There can be no definitive answer to this, as the previous answers show.

   The closer to the top and bottom of the door the hinges are, the less stress  they (and/or the screws and door, depending on the design of the hinge) will experience, since they will be better positioned to counteract the tendency to pivot. 

   For doors that are tall relative to their width, moderate differences in placement won't make much difference to the stresses. For short, wide doors however, the stresses will increase quite a bit as the placement moves away from the top and bottom toward the midpoint of the door's edge.  

   
   

   ---

   Edited 10/5/2004 1:03 pm ET by Frozen

1. 
   tedfurlong | Oct 05, 2004 09:22pm | #12

   Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts. It sounds to me like somewhere in the range of 4" from the ends is common. That's the case for the old cabinets these will replace.

   For the record, I'm using Euro-style face frame hinges. I'm using a drill press with an extended table and fence (built from FWW provided information, naturally!). I've made some test pieces so can be assured of correct offset and depth. It's been as much fun setting up to do the work as doing the actual work.

   Finally I'd like to offer a note of sincere appreciation for the willingness of folks on the forum to share information and knowledge. As an amateur, I am constantly learning techniques for the first time, and don't have the wealth of experience that the collective knowledge and wisdom of this forum provides, and which forum members so readily share. I think that this is one of the best uses of the internet (35 years old yesterday), and helps make up for the spam and unwanted porn sites that are the other part of the World Wide-open Web. Thanks for all your help!

   Ed

1. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Oct 05, 2004 11:32pm | #13

   Ed,

   I use 100mm from centre to edge, but just checked in my Hettich catalogue, which specifies a minimum distance centreline of cup to corner of 90mm.

   Cheers,

   eddie