Need help finding correct type hinge

Tom Baugues

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2,790
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Lafayette, Indiana
I never gave much thought to the type of hinge I was going to need for my cabinet I just built. I have several different hinges laying around in drawers...surly one of them would work...or so I thought. I have shopped all over my town at all the hardware stores annd cannot find what I need. After searching online I read that I need a "full face inset hinge". I will be going to Indianapolis on Monday to a Rockler and Woodcraft store. Can someone here help me find the correct type of hinge for this cabinet. Here is a diagram of the design of my cabinet front. I just can't seem to find what I need.

Tom
 

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its easy if you go to rocklers site and type in blum 120 degree face frame hinges.
this way you can see a diagram of mounting and know the item number to tell the sales rep when you go in.
as tom said, blum is the brand
 
there are much cheaper hinges, like bronzed /metal, silver colored,hinges that simply mount on door frame and face frame,(some wrap around the back of the door frame) but the blums are hidden hinges, they wont be seen. Ive made some inset doors and made the mistake of using these cheaper hinges, and now I have one door on my tv cabinet that the hinge is damaged. Im very sorry I didnt use a good solid hinge like the blum.
 
Another great source for hardware is Lee Valley. I've ordered hinges from them on several occasions. Great selection & fair prices. At least call & have them send you their tool & thier hardware catalog. They're great resources.
 
rockler has the blum 120 degree face frame hinges. easy to install.I believe they are around 15 bucks a pair.

Blum 120* hinges will not work for a inset application. And don't buy stuff from Rockler. With my wholesale account I think I'm paying ~$2 for that same hinge, and probably ~$.90 for the cast plates. There's better options than getting hosed at Rockler.

You need a 107*, full crank hinge. The pocket is behind the edge of the face frame and the partition/end determines how thick of a mounting plate you need. I think I drilled the pockets at 23.5mm I've got the numbers written down in the shop for what plate is needed for which pocket if you really need it.

There's another option with a plate that attaches to the back side of the face frame, but I don't trust the longevity on those.
 
Blum is the brand that I try to use... never had a problem, built tough. You may have heard of their drawer slides under the Accuride brand. Woodcraft and Rockler sometimes sell Blum, but often substitute cheap imitations.

The "compact" hinges from Blum that are commonly used on face frame cabinets are not available for inset doors.

Blum mounting plates are sold separately from the hinges - there is a special mounting plate (that I have never seen or used) that mounts inside the face frame (requires 14 mm - just over 1/2 inch space inside the face frame) - Blum part number 175H5030.21, normally used with "half cranked" hinge 71T5650 - less than $2 each from my lumber yard. With the proper mounting plate you CAN use the popular Blum 120 degree clip half cranked hinges on a face frame cabinet with inset doors. If you want to use a full cranked hinge rather than a special plate, you must go to the less popular 107 degree hinges.

CabinetParts.com has a wide range of hinges in stock, and gives good service. I used them before I found the Blum hinges cheaper at my lumber yard.

Hinges are so confusing that I just finished a web page on Euro hinges - still being reviewed but it may help - see www.solowoodworker.com/wood/hinges.html
 
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