My friends here helped me with understanding hinges and thank you for the advice! I ended up using 1/2" narrow hinge because I wanted to have a bigger chamfer on the door. I still have a lot of questions about hinges like mine was lacquered brass hinges and if it's okay to file it as the leaves had a slightly different height. It was a really tiny thing but the leaves weren't flush!!! Maybe next time, I'll just order non lacquered hinges just in case..
For the drawer, I put a stopper. To insert the drawer, this thing rotates to a vertical position and go through a cut out of the drawer end.
Then, I put a magnet on the door, too. Since there is 1/8" clearance around the door, I can't feel the strong magnet power but I can feel it somewhat.
Anyways, it was a loooong project but I enjoyed it:)
wow that came out incredible my friend. your hand tool work always impresses me. dovetails are perfect and those hinges your were nervous about are spot on. but i had no doubt they would be !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
Ron, thank you! I already started a small project with the cherry:) Pottz, thank you! I started to like hinges and I want to do more projects like this but it just takes forever to finish!
The leaves have different height? I'm assuming a slight offset when set down open (each half is shifted slightly).
If solid brass it'll be no problem squaring them up and making your file work vanish. Usually any hinges like those will be lacquered so they don't tarnish while sitting on the store shelf. You can just soak them in some lacquer thinner to remove.
Pottz, I'm not a hand tool only guy. I just hated how a minor wobble of my powered router ruined a project when I started woodworking. So I just decided to learn hand tool skills so I can understand the woodworking basics and when I need to do detail work, I don't have to rely on my cheap power tools(no money/space for top notch accurate machines) but I can do it with hand tools.
Splinter, thank you for the information! Since the hinge came with polished lacquer on it, I was just worrying it may look bad if I file only one part unless I remove it all the way.
And, it's just a minor thing but please see the picture, you see the gap on the left side. I know no one cares about the tiny gap but I just wanted to avoid this sort of avoidable error. For this hinge, the top side of the marking line is a reference line so if the hinge leaves have the same height, there shouldn't be the gap on the top side (the bottom side was almost flush).
buddy i dont wanna nit pick but line up your screw heads, make em all line up vertical. it's a small thing but a visual thing ! my eye was drawn to it right away. i dont wanna offend you but i just wanna make you aware because i care 😍
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
This is a beautiful cabinet YRTi! The design and wood choices are quite appealing. I actually was wondering if the bowtie was a styling element since it looks so nice!
That hinge gap falls under the "no one will ever know, but I do!" category 🤔
Brass likes its natural color, so being polished then lacquered to keep it that way means anything you do that disturbs the protection will show unless you replicate it to cover your "adjustments" Stamped hinges are inexpensive, but surprisingly square and consistent for the rate of production the stamping machines run at. Problem is any slight variation from vibration, material, dirt, etc. can cause a part to be "defective" to some extent. I'm sure it happpens a lot, but down line inspections usually catch the worst.
People gripe (especially me!) about the cost of machined hinges (milled versus stamped), but the precision is close to perfection and in many cases well worth the extra (10x +) cost.
If I was going to try and correct that gap, there are two approaches I'd consider. The easiest is to just try a replacement hinge. Measure the old and new to ensure the problem is indeed just a manufacturing error. To fix the current hinge, only thing I can think of would be to smack the end of the leaf on a steel plate with a hammer from the back side to fuller it out in length, then file to perfection. If course this will mess up the finish and polish which probably means refinishing all the hinges so they match 😫
Steve, thank you and yes, it's a reinforcement where I cracked!
Splinter, "No one cares about it and I don't care about it for this project, too" but but, for the future projects, I just wanted to know how experienced people manage it:) thank you for the detailed information! It really helps!!!
Wonderful cabinet. Love the look, and feature wise it's loaded with eye catching detail, all done quite well.
My only thought is being an old fart, and not liking to bend over too much to fetch tools, I would wall hang it for a cabinet, so I would swap the drawer, and put it on the bottom. But that is my inner old fart talking. :-)
Thank you George! I thought about the drawer location, too! but it's 32" tall so putting the drawer on the top is more accessible to me!
Well, actually, I went to Japan last summer and saw this cabinet and this was my inspiration (I know it's a totally different product). This one has drawers on top and bottom:)
Splinter, I think this piece was at a free Sashimono gallery in Tokyo. I went to some other places to see the real products, too. I didn't find a good cabinet with figured white oak on sides though! I like that one you made!
