Thread: Quadrant hinge - installation guide

Originally Posted by africansurgeon

Hi Paul, thank you for the review.
About the bits - ordinary router bits are often too short and not exact 1/4.
Better to use solid carbide cnc bits. They are long enough and more important - they are perfectly 1/4 in diameter.
I order from this site:
CNC Spiral 2 Flute Plunge Solid Carbide Router Bits Upcut - Toolstoday.com - Industrial Quality
To reach 30mm with makita trimmer you need one minimum 2.5 inch long. They have up and down cut bits. I've tried both - more happy with downcut. But upcut also makes perfect result.

Downcut bits aren't designed for deep mortising, they're for dadoes, grooves and shallow mortises, upcut bits are designed for deep mortising.
If you only want one 1/4" bit the link will see you paying over A$90 for it! There are many cheaper options of the same quality available from Australian sellers.
There is no need to use a 1/4" bit for the stay mortise, 1/8" is more than sufficient and the bits are much cheaper.
If you add a plunge base to your trimmer router will there be sufficient clearance between the now larger router base and the clamps to allow you to cut the required mortise? - probably not.
It's not that hard to make your own hinge template. If you make your own you're not limited to using the same hinge for everything you do.
I guess if you want everything done for you and are happy to have every box you make constrained by the hinge template you use (hinge size, side thickness etc.) this could be a good way to go.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Thank you for your comments, aldav. In case of cutting the pockets for hinges downcut bit could be more preferable in case you have to install hinges to the already finished box, especially with thin walls. Downcut is much more gentle to the surface, upcut can split the timber. But I've tried both with almost identical results.
To cut the slot 30mm deep you need a bit 60mm long. 1/8 bit of this length would be very brittle. I've designed the templates for 1/4 bit because this is the standard size for hand trimmers. But of course the set could be designed for 1/8 or any other size bit just do not think it would be practical.
And of course, making your own templates, hinges, jewelry boxes and space ships is quite easy. This question was already explored by scientists and named "Dunning–Kruger effect". Here is the article in wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunnin...3Kruger_effect

Originally Posted by africansurgeon

Thank you for your comments, aldav. In case of cutting the pockets for hinges downcut bit could be more preferable in case you have to install hinges to the already finished box, especially with thin walls. Downcut is much more gentle to the surface, upcut can split the timber. But I've tried both with almost identical results.
To cut the slot 30mm deep you need a bit 60mm long. 1/8 bit of this length would be very brittle. I've designed the templates for 1/4 bit because this is the standard size for hand trimmers. But of course the set could be designed for 1/8 or any other size bit just do not think it would be practical.
And of course, making your own templates, hinges, jewelry boxes and space ships is quite easy. This question was already explored by scientists and named "Dunning–Kruger effect". Here is the article in wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunnin...3Kruger_effect

I have never experienced an upcut bit splitting the timber and your comments tend to indicate that you probably haven’t either. If you buy quality bits and use and maintain them properly this problem is never likely to arise.

Yes, you do need to use the proper technique and a plunge router. Deep mortising should be performed making multiple overlapping full depth plunges followed by multiple, progressively deeper, passes to clear out the remaining waste. Yes, it is important to keep in mind the fragility of the bit when clearing the waste. That being said, this is not a difficult process.

Thank you for your flattering implication as to my abilities conveyed by your link. However, I’m not sure that your praise is justified.

I can not see any practical reason to use 1/8 bit instead of standard 1/4 bit for the hinges pockets. Plus for 1/8 you also need a quite rare collet or an adapter to use in standard 1/4 trimmer. I use downcuts 6x30x70 in my box making and happy with them. I order them directly from the factory. If anybody interested - please, PM me, I'll give you contacts, or if administrators of this forum would agree, I could write all details here. Last time I've paid 8 USD per bit for HRC55 carbide without postage.
And regarding your opinions about my boxes, David, your comment "The only ‘hand’ work in them is sticking the pieces together and painting them" characterizes you, as an experienced box maker, more then perfectly.

???

Just thought I would share the finished product of the box I put on this thread reviewing Andrew's template/s. This is very similar to a box I put on this site not that long ago, that box sold pretty fast so I stuck to that design for this one. All timber is Blue Gum. I've started another box to test out Andrew's lock templates, interesting box, should appear very rustic looking on completion.

Paul