Thread: New brass hinges being made - can I get opinions

Can't make any suggestions but I'll likely buy some!

Originally Posted by woodPixel

What I'd like to ask the box makers of the forum is this - if YOU had input into making your own hinges, what qualities would you like?

My list was/is simple:
-- two low price targets*
-- tight knuckles
-- tight gaps in the leaf knuckle relief
-- exacting manufacturing
-- tight tolerances -- are these four all not the same thing?
-- fat and flat leaves!!
-- exact spacing of the screw holes -- I don't see this as being as important as other factors.
-- brushed and a flawless polished version
-- exactly fitting matching screws


In five styles:
-- 25x20mm brass both polished and brush finished, that opens fully and is stopped at 93 degrees -- why 93 degrees? Brusso stop hinges are 95 degrees. A standardised stop angle would simplify things somewhat.
-- 38x20mm " " " "
-- a quadrant brass hinge that stops at 93 degrees

Go for it

Hi WP
Good on you for taking this on

My boxes are usually made with 9 to 12mm stock

others may also use less than 20mm stock too

Thanks

Rob

Like the others mention, a smarthinge style thin hinge would be handy for thin stock.

I would love non-flathead brass screws. I guess they might not be to everyone's taste, but square heads would make screw installation far easier and less error prone.

Cheers,

Danny

Needless to say most Australian box makers would be very happy to have access to well priced quality brass hardware for their boxes. The points you made in the op seam to cover the market quite well and the addition of a smart type would also be an advantage at times. Good luck.
Regards Rod.

One of my posts seems to have disappeared. Oops!

-- the 95 degree offset is correct. I mistyped the 93...

-- rtyuiop, agreed on the phillips head screws. These are my favourite too.

-- I'd hoped to also have the square drives too (as an option)

-- on the sizes, I make 9mm mdf boxes en-masse for kids stores and market sellers and I needed a non-crap hinge at the $1 mark. Everything was either cheap and nasty or super expensive. When I'm buying 1000 at a time every couple of months it had them asking questions. One thing led to another talking about "EVERYTHING wrong with the box hinge market" and they saw the light.

-- they are also used on 12mm mdf sided boxes. They look good when fit with the leaf fit flush with the insides.

-- I also make fine boxes, about one a week, and I was sick to death of paying $35 or $50 for a pair of hinges. When someone asks for a simple $150 box for a simple job, one cannot justify putting on an expensive hinge, but the $1 hinges simply didn't come anywhere near what I wanted presentation wise.

-- also, I'm the same as everyone here, my fine boxes range from 9mm to 15mm sizes and I wanted a nice way to accommodate that. I had actually considered having the hinges with "long leaves" (another 4mm or so) so one could simply file the leaf to the length they wanted for a good fit.

-- I don't know about price points, but I want them inexpensive so everyone who puts the hours into a box can have a quality hinge without feeling they've donated a kidney. I sincerely would love to see people making lots of fine boxes as gifts, simply because they are so amazing that recipients hold on to them for many many years. Anyone who puts 20 hours into a box and agonises over finishes knows the importance of a little detail.

-- the price point is critical, for I'd love to see people experiment and use these hinges without thinking they are "too valuable" to waste and kept for "the good ones". Make 20 boxes and use them on your el-cheapo MDF storage boxes AND your zebrano-ancient-bog-oak-gnarly-stump boxes

Originally Posted by woodPixel

One of my posts seems to have disappeared. Oops!

There are no deleted posts in this thread.

I'm assuming you are talking about butt hinges here?

Sounds like a great initiative to me.

As others have addressed, suitable sizes and consistent high quality and affordable.

If it comes off I would be interested in buying them.

Cheers

Doug

Can you do better, all up, than Brusso at $70US for a pair of quadrant hinges?

I've two dozen sets of Brussos here of virtually every set, plus all the templates. They are the very top of my favourite premium hinges. I also have a few pairs left of the SmartHinge.

These new ones are not initially intended to compete in any way with these, as their offerings are super premium and amazingly finished. Every set is perfection, with hand made finishing skill.

For quadrant hinges, I've always had huge troubles fitting them. There was an offering by AfricanSurgeon with a package of hinges and templates: Quadrant hinge - installation guide which was very good.

I was asked by the makers about quadrants, but my own personal struggles with them, plus the fact there are so many very nice examples of them turned me off. My enthusiasms were however towards complementing the SmartHinge style of strap hinge. The SmartHinges are absolutely beautiful.

One of the things that impressed me with these new ones is that they are to be made with some pretty whiz-bang equipment. Its not some scabby factory with coal powered monsters, but all CNC, lasers and machined thingos. Its all so CLEAN! The initial dies and stamps are pretty costly, as is the initial setup, but once they are done these machines can literally make any hinge type.

Hype and spin aside, Im yet to get back pricing, but I'm pretty confident I can make a statement such as "they will be $5 a pair with screws and they will be as good as the best". I can't say as good or even better, because I dont yet know, but I want to use them on my own boxes in place of the very expensive ones without a deterioration in quality... this is very important to me.

Remember, these will be for super enthusiast, semi-pro and home box makers, so its my intention to be very focused on 5 VERY good products, not a plethora.

Interesting. Where would they be made?

Originally Posted by Tahlee

Hi WP
Good on you for taking this on

My boxes are usually made with 9 to 12mm stock

others may also use less than 20mm stock too

Thanks

Rob

I am the same as Rob, interested to see the outcome.
Rgds,
Crocy.

Hi Woodpixel,

Thoughts in no particular order:

My strong preference is for side rail hinges rather than butt.

Polished brass for preference.

I only use stop hinges.

Quad hinges seem too much trouble (for me) when a decent rail hinge looks good and is easy to fit.

I like both the SmartHinge and Ian Hawthorne's Neat Hinges because of the rounded knuckles - as you say, though, pricing makes them difficult to justify on many boxes. I'd support (buy) a decent locally made 6mm or 8mm wide stopped rail hinge, whether mid-range or top end.

For boxes with 10mm walls I particularly like the 6mm wide Neat Hinge - more elegant than the 8mm on thin-walled boxes in my opinion. Sadly these hinges were even more expensive than the SmartHinge and Jewelleryboxhardware.com has now closed for business anyway.

Good luck with the discussions - look forward to the results!

Cheers,

Brian