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help making small hinges

M

Megar arc 5040dd

Super User
I need some advice on making some small brass hinges for a recipe card box that I am making. I used to buy them from Lee valley but they aren't available right now from them or the manufacturer. So the wife has tasked me with making them. The problem is this is a little smaller than I am used to working and so I am looking for advice. As well as advice on fixturing and holding small parts.

01B0301-3-4-inch-x-5-16-inch-box-hinges-pr-f-04.jpg
Capture.JPG
 
A half-baked plan:
Mount your rotary table with rotating axis horizontal.
Secure a length of angle stock (perhaps 1x1x1/4) perpendicular to the rotary table and positioned such that the angle-edge is slightly offset from the axis of rotation.
Secure a length (at least 3 inches long) of 0.187x0.5 brass to the angle stock.
Run an endmill along the x-axis as you rotate the table.
Remove hinge blanks, cut to length and drill/ream the hole for the pin
Hopefully my clumsy description makes sense...
 
Here is something close on Ali

a.aliexpress.com

European 20PCS Solid Brass Mini Cabinet Hinges 90° Positioning Wooden Cases Jewelry Gift Box Hinges Small Decorative Hinges - AliExpress 13

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
a.aliexpress.com a.aliexpress.com

And here they are at Brusso

www.brusso.com

Black Friday Sale - $15 Per Pair only for CB-301 and JB-101

Brusso supports woodworkers by being the premier manufacturer of hardware for fine boxes, cabinetry, furniture, and woodworking. Our hardware is one of a kind and we work hard to make it. Use the Coupon Code: THANKS21 to get $15 per pair which applies only to CB-301 and JB-101.Details:The sale...
www.brusso.com www.brusso.com
 
kstrauss said:
Pricey little buggers (https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/hinges/small-box/40459-brusso-box-hinges?item=01B0301)! Have you considered treating your wife to candlelight dining or a spa treatment while waiting for Lee Valley to replenish their inventory?

More seriously, I assume that you have a mill and rotary table?
Click to expand...
We are waiting to hear back tomorrow from a friend who is a manager at Lee valley but I am not holding my breath that they have a pair in stock hidden away. I am really hopeful that they will be restocked soon but sadly I am on a time crunch and can't wait long. The box is a gift for a friend who is a bar tender at a fancy hotel. It's for all the drink recipes. When I saw he was using a cheap plastic box I Told him that I would make him one and bring it when I come back in march.

I have a rotary table but would need to come up with a dividing head in order to mount it with the axis horizontally. I also have a dividing head so that could be an option to. I was actually thinking about just milling some facets and the filing them round. I only need to make 2 hinges.
 
If I was going to make them, I'd get some brass bar stock 0.187 or more thick. Then mill the plates with the end square. Then grind a HSS Router bit to round out the hinge ends. I suppose a purchased carbide router bit would be easier.

No need for a rotary table. It's an ordinary milling job with a concave bit.
 
Susquatch said:
Here is something close on Ali

a.aliexpress.com

European 20PCS Solid Brass Mini Cabinet Hinges 90° Positioning Wooden Cases Jewelry Gift Box Hinges Small Decorative Hinges - AliExpress 13

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
a.aliexpress.com a.aliexpress.com

And here they are at Brusso

www.brusso.com

Black Friday Sale - $15 Per Pair only for CB-301 and JB-101

Brusso supports woodworkers by being the premier manufacturer of hardware for fine boxes, cabinetry, furniture, and woodworking. Our hardware is one of a kind and we work hard to make it. Use the Coupon Code: THANKS21 to get $15 per pair which applies only to CB-301 and JB-101.Details:The sale...
www.brusso.com www.brusso.com
Click to expand...
They are back ordered through Brusso though ali is as possibility I will just have to hope there isn't any slop.
 
You can make them in strip form. That top radius can be step cut (move over/down each pass) with an endmill, then hand finished with a file. It's a small rad, It'll go pretty quick. Alternatively, you could take an old endmill, and hand grind the radius on ONE flute, and grind the rest away. This is where saving those old burned up HSS cutters is handy. A single flute form cutter. A lathe toolbit in a fly cutter could be made into a form cutter too. Or you could modify a router bit, or milling roundover bit, but those are pretty expensive solutions. This is brass, relatively easy to cut, and a single flute form tool will cut just fine for the task at hand. I think that would take longer than stepping it off, and filing though.

Then you can cut them to length, clean up the ends in the mill to size, stand them up to drill/ream the pivot pin hole, and then mill each side's respective cutout.

Or, tell her you need to buy/build a Wire EDM machine to finish them. You could make a convincing argument that it's really the most efficient way, if she wants them that bad......:D.
 
I assume that you will make all 4 parts out of a single brass blank (plus the steel pins).

Use a regular end mill to turn the whole piece into an L shape. The tall part will become the hinge barrel, and the short part the hinge wing.

Then use a round over bit (marketed for wood as carbide router bits) to form the inside round part of the hinge barrel. You could also step it with a standard end mill or make a custom tool, but router bits like this are cheap and work on brass

then drill the pin hole. And cut into 4 pieces. Then mill out alternating areas to make the male and female hinge sections

There are probably many other ways
 
So many good ideas. I will see what I have for router bits in my collection though I believe all my round over bits have guide bearings that would get in the way. I am just finishing up mounting the quill dro then I will be moving onto this project. Hopefully in the next day or two. I have 2 small scraps of brass each just big enough to make one side of a hinge. I will do a test with these before I go and buy more material. I made my dad a box with these hinges a few years back I will go and measure what size the pins are on his and get some material the right size. My first thought was drill rod but wasn't sure if I could get it that small easily. Then I figured stainless would be a better choice both because I am pretty sure I can get it that small and then it won't rust. I have a reamer set from 1/16" to 1/2" so I will mach the pin to what I can ream that is the closest to what the original uses.

Thank you all for the help and the ideas. I feel very confident now that this should be straight forward and doable.
 
Megar arc 5040dd said:
I will see what I have for router bits in my collection though I believe all my round over bits have guide bearings that would get in the way.
Click to expand...

I believe the bearings are removable. If not, just use them anyway. You can always mount the brass to clear the bearings.

Me? I'd just get a 2 flute HSS end mill and grind it.

Megar arc 5040dd said:
I am just finishing up mounting the quill dro then I will be moving onto this project. Hopefully in the next day or two. I have 2 small scraps of brass each just big enough to make one side of a hinge. I will do a test with these before I go and buy more material.
Click to expand...

I figure you are already off to the races!
 
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