Thread: Is this reasonable for making a cut for a box hinge?

Hi all,

Is this a reasonable method for making a the second cuts in the side and top of a box for a hinge?

"Set the stop 34mm from the cutter as shown and you're ready to go.

NB: when positioning the stop using the spacer the cutter must be rotated so that the cutting tips are in a line exactly parallel with the fence, otherwise the postioning will be inaccurate.


doing the cuts

This setup will produce the top right and bottom left cuts. Make these cuts moving the box elements from right to left onto the cutter and backing off again, all the time ensuring a firm registration with the fence.

Now place the stop on the opposite side of the cutter for the other two cuts. These two cuts need care as you will be moving the work from left to right and the action of the cutter will tend to push the work AWAY from the fence. It’s important that you compensate for this tendancy by keeping the work firmly againt the fence at all times. It might be helpful to do a couple of practice cuts on scrap.**


** For this second pair of cuts some have suggested it might be better to either drop the work onto the cutter, or raise the cutter into the work from below, thus enabling the work to be moved in the ‘correct’ direction. I don’t believe this is necessary and in fact could cause inaccuracies. This is a light cut and with a firm registration against a low friction fence it’s perfectly possible to do it without any problem. As I say above - if you have any doubts, practise on scrap first."

Rob