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Ideas for replacing hinges.

A

Andy Kev.

Nordic Pine
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Evening All,

I've attached hinges to various things e.g. tool chest, boxes etc before without any difficulty as I found it to be a straightforward task.

A friend of mine has a 20 yr old wooden wardrobe and with time the hefty doors have caused the screw holes for the hinges in the carcass to widen, making the doors sag noticeably. (This is from the account of the friend: I haven't seen them yet.) I may get the task of replacing them. Each door has two hinges. My provisional plan of action, should it come to it is as follows. I'd be grateful for comments/criticisms/suggestions. I'm not looking for ten different ways to do it but if you think there's anything wrong with my ideas, please tell me.

Get bigger, sturdier hinges with longer screws. (Replace two hinges with three or will two sturdier ones do the job?) In pencil, continue the centres of the existing screw holes onto the sides as markers. Lengthen the mortices for the locks by about half again. Fill in the mortices with slips of wood and plane flat. Fit the new hinges while noting the marks for the previous screw holes so as to avoid them.

Tools. (I need to list these as I'll obviously be away from my bench and toolbox.) Marking gauge, router plane chisels, light mallet, eggbeater drill, bit set and screwdriver, small square.

I'll visit to get some basic measurements and prepare the slips of wood and I'll obviously take a bottle of glue.
 
I think you (and we) will need to see this before being able to form a proper plan.
If you can replace the existing hinges with the next size up, you'll be able to place the screw holes into virgin wood. That, combined with possibly using a third hinge per door, should give a pretty permanent repair (assuming of course we're talking about wood, rather than chipboard).
 
Some would be aghast at the idea but Ive done exactly this job with wallplugs
The red Rawlplug Uno type are amazingly versatile (even on plasterboard)
If too long they still work with the legs cut off.
 
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If it’s just the screws that are failing then super glue and matchsticks in the old screw holes then re drill and re screw.
If matchsticks are not big enough then use kabab sticks or make your own.
 
I've done the same as Martin using wall plugs on kitche cupdoard doors repurposed for the workshop, suposedly temporary but they lasted years and that was just cr*p chipboard carcases.

A better job is to drill out the holes and plug them with dowels, I did it using a 10mm plug cutter for the dowels and matching drill. That was for heavy oak doors on an old dresser but no reason it won't work on a wardrobe.
 
Instead of match sticks, use bamboo. It's much stronger, chop sticks are a useful source of material.
Either drill the hole to suit the stick or whittle down the stick to match the hole. A smear of glue and tap the stick in, trim with a flush cut saw.
 
Andy, on your list of tools to bring you have “bit set” which I would read as “driver bits”, but don’t explicitly list “drill bits” for the making of holes. I’d hate to see those missed.

When making the checklist of stuff to bring, I’m sure you’ll also list all the materials (hinges, screws, wood, glue), that you’ll need.

Personally, I would bring dowels or wood that could be turned to dowels and drill bit sizes appropriate for excavating for dowels or creating dowels (using a chisel, by hand or pencil sharpener style), just as a backup to allow a change of plan on site.
 
DaveL said:
Instead of match sticks, use bamboo. It's much stronger, chop sticks are a useful source of material.
Either drill the hole to suit the stick or whittle down the stick to match the hole. A smear of glue and tap the stick in, trim with a flush cut saw.
Click to expand...
This is the reason I use a fork when I go to Wagamama. Bamboo easier to use when not covered in food.
 
I'd just point out that original screws have failed in their original holes, so expecting them to fare better in repaired holes might be just a tad optimistic.
 
Fair point Mike….guess it depends how many times the doors have been on and off in there 20 years. Here in southern Spain most hinges are lift off so the screws very seldom fail.
When I was back in uk doing restoration stuff most old homes would have a couple of doors there the top hinge would have loose screws, mainly due to them coming off with the carpet fitter and not being put back correctly.
 
I've used Rawlplugs (red'ns) on ordinary household doors (ours are pine) where the original hole is no longer holding the screw quite as firmly as it ought to; works a treat but as others have said, bamboo is also pretty good. A useful source are those used on a bar b queue - Rob
 
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