Thread: 6mm strap hinges - brass

You may be able to cut down on the swivelling by expanding the ends of the hinge pins. You could try hitting one end with a ball peen hammer while the other end is supported on a block of iron or anvil. Another approach may be to use a centre punch on the end.

Thanks for this advice, Alex. I tried the second option with a pin punch, and that certainly improved things.

The whole experience has taught me the value of getting good quality brass hinges. I spent an hour carefully filing the four 6.0 mm rebates so that the 6.15mm wide leaf would fit eventually, without cracking the remaining 2.0mm lip either side of therebate. Unfortunately, these are the only "6mm" strap hinges available.

if I am going to use these hinges again on a thin walled box, I will have a 1/4" router bit resharpened to 6.2mm - that should solve a lot of problems.

Incidentally, I found that even though the 6mm router bit was pretty new and quite sharp, there was still tearout, so I used a backing piece on the workpieces, clamped to the box and to the lid. It also gave me a bit of confidence with the reverse or climbing cut. End of tearout problem !

Glad something worked, Dengue. If I have to use cheap hinges I touch them up with a file so the leaves are even and the ends are square. It's hard to get quality hinges in Australia now, I believe it's because most brassware is only manufactured in 3rd world countries where OH&S isn't high on the priority list.

Anton Gerner in Melbourne does some quality hinges, but I think they're only in larger sizes - could be worth checking, though.

Filing "brass" hinges bought for $10 a pair is likely to be problematic. They are more than likely to be brass plated, not solid brass, so you end up filing in to steel or a zinc alloy and potentially destroy the finish you were hoping to achieve. There are some horrible "brass" hinges out there. Some pairs I bought a while ago were solid brass but when they arrived they looked like they had been stamped out of shim. I may not be the best woodworker in the world but even my boxes are too good to put that junk on!

David