Trinket Box With Wooden Hinges

Those hinges look just fine. Your next one will be even better. Well done.
Jim

-- It always looks better when it's finished!

Great looking box and some sick hinges. Well done… Look fwd to seeing more.

-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"

I really like the idea of the wooden hinges. Could you share a little more info on how you produced them?

-- ***Pat*** Rookie woodworker looking for an education!!!

That look great!

I would also be very interested in knowing how those hinges are made – they look fantastic!

Thanks for sharing this piece.

-bob

-- Robert Rhoades WoodWorks / Email: [email protected] / www.rhoadesclan.com

Absolutely love those type of hinges. I need to try them. You did really well on this box.

-- Nature created it, I just assemble it.

Ditto on knowing how you did those hinges.
Great job.

-- I may be slow, but I'm easy to stop!!!

Great job on the very nice looking box, and the hinges are super, I fought these hinges also, I use a piece of heavy foam under the clamp to be able to clamp them evenly.

-- Bob in Montana. Kindness is the Language the blind can see and deaf can hear. - Mark Twain

Nice box. Unusual design.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com

-- helluvawreck aka Charles, http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com

Check out Ruddy’s blog on this method.

-- Bruce. a mind is like a book it is only useful when open.

The hinges are 1/4” wide by 3/8” deep and range in length from 3/4” to 1-1/2”. The process I used to create them is fairly lengthy, but worked pretty well. I first cut a 1/4”x3”x24” piece of lacewood into six 3/8” strips. I then used a couple of shop-made jigs and the Incra HingeCrafter as follows:

Jig 1: I cut a 1/4” slot (3/8” deep) across the short side of a scrap six inch piece of 2×4.
Jig 2: HingeCrafter
Jig 3: I planed down 4 pieces of scrap pine, one 1/2” thick and the other three 1/4” thick. I lined them up and cut a slot 3/8” wide (1/4” deep).

The first step was to insert each strip into Jig 1 and run it through a 3/8” bullnose bit on the router table to cut the radius on the hinge pin end of the hinge.
Then I used the HingeCrafter to drill the hole (1/8”) for the hinge pin in each strip.
I then used one or more sections of Jig 3 (depending on the length of the hinge). I inserted each strip in the jig, inserted the hinge pin in the hole and butted that up against the jig and cut the hinge to length with a flush-cut hand saw. Then, using the same jig, ran it through a 1/4” bullnose bit on the router table to cut the radius on the end away from the hinge pin.
Repeat a million time (actually 26 times in my case).
Then it was just a matter of carefully cutting the slots in the box and lid with a 1/4” spiral bit. The hinges were a hair too wide to fit in the slots initially, but some light sanding on a piece of 220 grit glued to some scrap plywood fixed that. Of course, the hinges have to be assembled on the hinge pin before gluing them to the box, being careful not to glue the hinge pieces to each other.
I’m sure someone else has a simpler way to do this, but this procedure worked for me and I hope it helps someone else.

-- Steve - Ft. Worth

HC, first, welcome to Lumberland. This is an amazing first post. You have really worked at the art of crafting boxes, and it shows in this project. I have never seen this type of hinge, and I really like it. I would have posted it with the hinge showing as my first picture. I wish we had a photo of the inside of this box as well.

There are several species of wood you have used and they are all beautiful; however, with so many it seems a little busy…a little too two tone. Thanks for explaining the process. You can embed photos in your explanation if you want to. My mind is filling with jigs that could make this job simpler…a jig to let you cut all the insets at once and a jig to accept all the pieces in slots to be cut and maybe drilled at once.

I am really impressed with this work, and your craftsmanship. I am looking forward to your next post and to the improvements you are bound to make to your home page. Keep boxing and keep posting.

-- Big Al in IN

Great looking box!

Don’t worry about the hinge being slightly off—just make another box, and give this one as a gift!

-- Dean -- "Don't give up the ship -- fight her 'till she sinks!" Capt James Lawrence USN

Thanks everyone for the comments. Boxguy, I agree that it is is a little busy. The next one will be toned down a little. Hope to see some better ways to do the hinges. I’m always looking for ways to improve.

-- Steve - Ft. Worth

I think the combination of those beautiful woods worked really well. I saw those hinges when Ruddy first posted them and was totally impressed! They are a little intimidating so haven’t tried em yet but yours turned out well.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

Great job HardCorps. Those hinges look very distintive and impressive. I like the two tone effect you have achieved with the lid and the base. I can understand the dilemma you had when you discovered that the hinges were not seated fully.
I found that using a glue with a long set up time made life easier as there is no rush when putting the hinges into place.

-- And my head I'd be a scratchin'