Woodworking Tip of The Week - Two Tips for Installing Hinges

Installing a door on its hinges can be one of the trickiest parts of building a cabinet. Here are a couple tips I've used in the past to help install a cabinet door with less hassle.

Steel Woodscrews

During the installation process, I often end up putting on and taking off the door a few times. And one added frustration I try to avoid is breaking one of the screws.
So until I'm satisfied with the fit of the door, I only put one screw in each leaf, as shown in the photo. And instead of brass screws, I temporarily substitute steel screws, since they're less likely to break.

Finally, when it's time to add the other screws, I run steel screws in and out of the pilot holes first. This way, the steel screws cut the threads for the brass screws.

Installing Hinges

If a hinge mortise is cut too deep, there may not be enough of a gap between the door and the cabinet. As you can see in the photo at right, a quick fix for this is to add a paper or thin cardboard shim.

A shim also comes in handy if the gap between the door and the cabinet tapers from top to bottom. This time, though, you'll only shim one of the mortises.

Good Woodworking,
Ted Raife

Editor, Woodsmith