Thread: Fine wooden hinge preview

Hi All,

I've used modern tooling to develop an efficient process for making wooden barrel hinges that have full brass-on-brass inner workings. I'd like to show you some examples of the hinge in finished pieces and explain a little of the history of these types of hinges by way of introduction and let you know I am going to embark on a small production run a little later in the year that will be available to purchase.
Firstly, the hinge is based on the wooden barrel hinge called a Laurencekirk hinge. In the latter half of the 18th Century a man by the name of James Sandy invented a "hidden" wooden hinge for snuff boxes. The hinge was made by forming alternating knuckles on the lid and side of the box and passing a metal wire through the centre of the knuckles. The hinge was airtight, important for maintaining the freshness of the snuff, and unable to be clogged by the powder. Since Sandy was a cripple, responsibility for its manufacture was handed over to Charles Stiven from Laurencekirk and it eventually became known as the Laurencekirk hinge. A few makers have made modern variants by glueing in dowels rather than forming up the knuckles from the wood of the sides. More information on John Sandy and his hinge can be found here:
http://<wbr>www.mauchlinevillage.co.uk/<wbr>ware.html
http://www.fullbooks.com/<wbr>The-Mirror-...-andx1526.htm<wbr>l
http://www.bobbrooke.com/<wbr>mauchlinware.htm
http://<wbr>www.perthshirediary.com/<wbr>html/day0403.html
http://www.hygra.com/uk/<wbr>tc/tc106/

My version differs from the others in that the inner workings are brass on brass. This make the hinge smooth acting and very wear resistant. It can be mass produced and supplied as a complete hinge of any length or as a set of knuckles that a maker can install into a box or cabinet directly. Currently the hinge can be installed in boxes with sides as thin as 7mm.
I can create a full hinge with barrel and leaves, like the one you see in the photos below and if that was from off-the-shelf stock it should sell for around $50 - $70 for a 250mm hinge. Alternatively I could supply the loose knuckles(dowels with brass sleeve) and brass rod and the maker could assemble the hinge themselves and install it. A kit like that I could do for around $30. These figures are very preliminary and would be affected by many factors, not the least of which is demand. So please, peruse the photos below and if you like what you see or have questions, please reply here.

Here are some photos and comments


fullhinge1.jpg
A ready-to -install version of the hinge. This one is 250mm long and is composed of 8 'working knuckles' and a centre and two end dummy knuckles. The barrel is 6mm in diameter and can be installed on sides down to 7mm thick
fullhinge3.jpg
The end of the hinge with all workings hidden. Depending on the construction of the box the ends may be completely hidden or fully exposed for dt/butt boxes or a minimum of the central barrel must be exposed on mitred boxes (shown in the red ash box below)
ahingeboxes10.jpg
The hinge visible from the outside of the box - barely anything visible
ahingeboxes11.jpg

Closeup of the hinge

ahingeboxes13.jpg

Interior view of the hinge, again, virtually nothing visible

ahingeboxes03.jpg
A more conventional mitred box with 7mm walls.

ahingeboxes04.jpg

The barrel needs to show on mitred box construction
ahingeboxes05.jpg

The exterior view of the hinge. By running a bead of the same shape as the hinge all round the box, the hinge completely disappears

Thanks
Michael

(approved by )