Thread: Rob Cosman hinges

Hi Botes, very nice boxes. I made a few boxes a couple of years ago with that Rob Cosman technique. I am at present making another box using that same technique. I made jigs for the dowel centre drilling etc, and just the other day made another jig to make my 1/4 inch dowels, hopefully a slight improvement on what I used a couple of years ago for the making of the dowels.

Paul

Would anyone like to post pictures, processes and jigs?

Some very good stuff (YouTube) on Rob Cosman’s site, wP, including a full box build with these hinges.

Jacques - sensational hinges - congratulations.

Your efforts inspired me to watch Rob Cosman’s 1 hour plus YT video. Very impressive stuff, but I’m not sure about spending that much time on the one process. How long did it take you to make one set?

Congratulations again!

Brian

Hi Brian, thanks for the kind words.

Rob Cosman is a great woodworker with an even greater heart with all the work he does with Army Veterans. Some people thinks he comes across as arrogant thought. Nonetheless I like his videos and even subscribed to his paid step by step weekly build videos which are great for learning woodworking.

I bought his little dowl drilling jig a the time and it's quite easy to use. It does take a bit of time though as you need to get the square offcut you want to use for the hinge from the same stock as the back else it won't disappear seamless. I then had to spend a couple of $ on a Veritas dowel making jig in the right size to cut the dowel and another couple of $ for brazing bar for the pins. Then it's cutting, drilling, glueing and finishing. Definitely not as quick as installing a pair of but hinges.

I do like the end result though as it's something different from the norm.

Cheers
Jacques

I reckon it's a good idea Woodpixel. I usually get so consumed in the process that I end up only taking photos afterwards.

I enjoy the tools, jigs and journey even more than the end product so am definitely game for it.

I will strive for more progress shots next time. I've been wanting to make a Gerstner style toolbox for a while [emoji848]

Homey, you are right, there is that video and I think its excellent... but it's one by an absolute professional with vast experience. I was hoping for an "everyman" perspective

I've wanted to make these style of boxes for ages, but cannot readily afford such a one-off tool. If I could make one myself..... hence the pictures.

Woodpixel. Do you have access to a lathe? That should work just fine to drill the holes. Also found this, it might work.
https://www.instructables.com/id/Dri...-a-Long-Dowel/

I will take some photos of the jog I have over the weekend for you, I'm pretty sure you will be able to make one out of wood.

Excellent. I like that method on Instructables. Yes, Ive a lathe, quite a decent one too... hasnt been used in a while!!!!

They look absolutely amazing I will have to have a try at doing dovetail joints but I am still getting the hang of doing hand cut finger joints

wP,

Apart from Rob C’s hinges looking very classy and elegant when looked at from the back of the box, a similar but simpler version might lend itself to a production situation. I’m thinking:

a) Forget having seven separate barrel sections. Just have one, sitting in the curved rebates as per RC’s video, with this one piece glued entirely to the curved rebate in the top. Not glued to the bottom rebate at all.

b) Use brass or stainless steel rod (with or without a surrounding brass or stainless tube) to form one pin at either end. These pins, one at either end, go through the box sides and into the dowel.

c) Assemble and plane the back of the dowel flat with the back of the box and lid.

Voila! You have exactly the same look as RC’s hinges when the box is closed. The only real difference is the whole of the back section of the dowel moves at once. Question: who looks at the outside of the hinges when opening a box?

I’ve made a number of boxes with the guys from the Men’s Shed using a similar approach but with a U-shaped piece rather than a dowel. See, for example this thread: Testing a simple box design for the Men’s Shed

The dowel is definitely an improvement on the design, though.

Another thought if going with the shorter dowel pieces. A jig made from a piece of MDF with a hole drilled on the drill press. Hole large enough to fit a short length of metal tube standing vertically. Position the centre of the tube below the drill bit to be used for the pin then clamp the MDF to the drill press table. Insert a piece of dowel into the tube leving enough above the edge of the tube to grip, drill the pin hole and remove. Next!

Brian

Clever man Brian, I like the single piece idea.

Nice job on the boxes Jacques! I gave the Cosman style hinges a shot a couple of years ago - Already had a 1/4" dowel jig so I made the dowel drilling jig on a mates metal lathe - pretty basic stuff. I started putting 4 document boxes together out of scraps just to test the hinge system out and only ended up doing the 2 you see here. Wasn't impressed with the results with regard to strength and maintenance! At 1/4" the dowels just felt too flimsy and I was worried the whole time I was finishing them that they would split open and render the box as firewood! I put stays on them as the lids were quite heavy and I was convinced if the lid dropped back it would break the hinges. If I was to do any more with this hinge I would go to the trouble of matching the dowel to the box better but I doubt I'll bother again - too difficult to finish/line etc with the lid stuck there!!

I think it depends on the type of timber you use for the box/dowels. A couple of years ago I made 4 boxes with this technique. 3 of the boxes I used were from Australian Red Cedar and I was like you Terry, afraid a heavy handed person might push the lid back too far and rip the hinges apart. So I put gold chains on those 3 boxes for support. I can only assume those boxes are still all in tact. But I wouldnt use a soft timber like ARC on them again. At the same time I also made another box, same technique, but used Hornbeam. Hornbeam is an extremely hard timber with beautiful true and straight grain, polishes up lovely. I've made several fretboards from Hornbeam.

I mentioned earlier I am making another box at present, same technique and am interested to see the end result. The timber in this is Tallowwood and it seems to be very splintery, so I was concerned about the how the dowel would turn out. So far I have one long Tallowwood dowel about 500mm long,....x 1/4 inch,..!!!!. I might have the lid clamped on by later this arvo, currently making 14 boxes so a bit all over the place.

Paul

Here are some photos of the dowel drill jig. It has different sizes for different size dowels.