# What type hinge do I need for this project?



## Soapdish (Jan 18, 2010)

I've got an old dresser that I'm "up cycling" into a home theater components cabinet. Im trying to maintain the original appearance as much as possible, I want a couple of the drawers to become pull down doors so that when the various electronics are needed i just open the drawer and it folds down to 90 degrees . These are flush type drawers and I've spent numerous hours looking and different type hinges and I'm just stumped. Tip-out scissor hinges would work for this, but I don't have lots of space and they are ugly. Drop hinges might work, but requires me to bore a 35mm hole..I'm hoping some of you have done something similar or have seen drawers like this and would love some feedback from you guys as to what you would do. Just so I say it, I will be removing the drawer portions and just keeping the face. Pics are attached.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

This is just the way I see it.

A drawer front with a pull edge profile is not going to be able to pivot on a hinge to 90 degrees unless it first moves out towards the front about 1/2" to 1" first. You also need to create a shelf to hold your components. 

These two challenges could be taken care of simply and together. A drawer front is usually mounted to drawer backing, which is usually the front of the drawer box. For this application it could be just a piece to act as a combo drawer backing and shelf extension. The shelf itself, is cut to the dimensions of the drawer box. If support is needed for "your" drawer application, add a slide support piece above each side to support the shelf as it is slid out. Mortise "any" knd of hinges into the top of the shelf and shelf extension. 

Sliding the drawer face out slightly and tilting the drawer face down, will let the shelf extension tilt from 90 degrees, down to "flat."

This is just one way to do it. There are more "elaborate" ways... Which would involve more work, added pieces to the puzzle and money.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

These hinges might do it. You might need to inset down into the frame a bit with a chisel though. Concealed Lid Hinges - Lee Valley Tools

The only way you could use a cheap hinge, such as the old North American style cabinet door hinge, would be to mount it at the bottom edge of the drawer front. An Amerock hinge for a lipped door would work but, if I remember correctly, they are set for a 3/8" overlap which would be the maximum your drawer face could overlap the bottom rail. You would still need something to limit the travel when open such as these 100° Lid Stays - Lee Valley Tools


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## dave brewer (Nov 28, 2012)

Check out Hafele.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

A barrel hinge should work.


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## Soapdish (Jan 18, 2010)

MAFoElffen said:


> This is just the way I see it.
> 
> A drawer front with a pull edge profile is not going to be able to pivot on a hinge to 90 degrees unless it first moves out towards the front about 1/2" to 1" first. You also need to create a shelf to hold your components.
> 
> ...


I should have mentioned that I've already cut the shelves and painted them black along with the inside areas of the dresser...it looks very slick. When the components are in there it just blends nicely together. I was thinking the same thing you were about the face needing to pull out and then down...hinge work is something I'm not well versed in at all. 

Cherryville, yes those are the one's ive considered using, but that are so big and bulky that they would make using say the Blu-Ray impossible (hinge will block tray opening). I think what I'm doing to have to do is get some simple sewing machine hinges and hand mortise them in and then make some sort of simple chain setup to limit the opening travel. It may just be a trial and error game. Ill get some more pics up today after I home.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Soapdish said:


> I should have mentioned that I've already cut the shelves and painted them black along with the inside areas of the dresser...it looks very slick. When the components are in there it just blends nicely together. I was thinking the same thing you were about the face needing to pull out and then down...hinge work is something I'm not well versed in at all.


Yes. I was thinking something along the lines of the attached pic... If the slide needed to be limited, then 2 slots could be cut in the shelf with a pin mounted in the original drawer slide under it. If more support needed to be added, then stays from the sides. The hinges mounted like thiis would limit travel to the shelf and shelf extension butting against each other at 90 degrees. With a slide limit put in, the drawer face would also limit the opening.

Challenge I see with not coming forward before pivoting, is that the drawer fronts are "inset" style. If there isn't enough room for it to pivot in place, then you might at least have to use a round over on the top rear edge to radius it for clearance. If you also had to radius the front bottom edge, then visually, I don't think that works out.

If it did have clearance to pivot in place, another way would be to hinge the drawer front to the face below it, with the shelf mounted static. Doing this way would have the pivot point at the lower front edge. Visually, with that, there will be a gap between that lowered drawer front and the shelf. Of course if you did that, then you would need limited motion hinges and/or stays.

Another reason in design I was thinking pull out shelves is "home theater system"... Electronic components- lots of cables that you have to plug in from the rear and occasional dusting. Do you have plans for a fan(s)? A cheap alternative is a small desktop style HEPA filtered air cleaner. Low cost. Small in size. Promotes air movement (for the cooling of your components), while filtering the air... Electronic components like that are dust magnets.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Many years ago I made a cabinet with a drop down "draw front". It was 3/4" thick and I planed a slight inward slope on the top to allow it to open and used a piano hinge and a lid stay.

I've just found a photograph that I took probably last year when I posted it for sale on Gumtree. The piano hinge is just visible. It was made in I think 1970 out of Teak veneered chip board with Teak strips on all raw edges.


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## Soapdish (Jan 18, 2010)

MAF thanks for the info. I've got some fans on standby that I will install at a later date. Not sure how much I'm going to need them since the only way (without using a remote ir sensor) to use the electronics is to have the doors open. After some more thought I believe I will have to make the top drawer open in a normal cabinet fashion. I think a small piviot hinge, Small Spring Loaded Pivot Hinge - Pivot Hinges for Cabinets | HardwareSource.com will work for this since i am wanting to maintain the look of the old dresser. I like harrysin's idea of just a piano hinge, I want to keep it simple. Harry, what do you think the best way to limit the travel of the door would be using the piano hinge?


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Jake, there are hundreds of suitable stays on the internet but the one shown on this link (if it works, the link that is) is very similar to the one I used but of a suitable length and without the locking screw.
The Hardware Hut - Product #DEL-CSA10U15A - Deltana Standard 10" (254mm) Casement Stay Adjuster - EACH (Antique Nickel)

Using this method, don't forget that the top of the door will need to be sloped so that it opens without fouling the cabinet. By the way, we're all friends here so my name is Harry


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