carpenter's, costume wood-workers

[hemi68charger]

Hey gang..
Doing a little pet project for my wife.. She has antique distressed table that we have cut in half and mounted it to the wall under our flatscreen tv. One of the drawers I want to turn into a storage compartment for our dvd player. Now, I've cut off flush the front of the drawer and wish for it to pivot/swing down like a door. Now, I can't envision the type of hinge I need. Some one once said something about a piano hinge.. What would be the best way about tackling this?

Thanks and I hope I've made myself clear enough on what I wish to accomplish.....

Cheers,
Troy

[mikepmcs]

Second pic as the door is laying down, you can hinge it there on the inside if you are gonna keep the door closed most of the time.  It will not be visible.  How are you going to keep the hinged face in the upright position when closed(how will it be secured)

Here's some hinges.  I used to get a ton of stuff from Rockler.  Home Depot would have hinges readily available as well, but most likely in silver, gold, or black(doubt black but it's possible)

colored hinges here
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11292

[mikepmcs]

Looking at it and to make it easy to get the door open and have it stay at a 90 I would use a pivot hinge myself.  They have a nice tug to open and they will keep the door closed without much effort.  That would save you from having to fab a "keep the door closed mechanism"  The hinge would do all the work.  Spring butt hinges might work but the way the door is, they might not be strong enough to hold it closed(think saloon door)
hmmmm

I used to do a ton of woodwork in my spare time mostly finish stuff.  Lots of shadow boxes and sea chests for my military brothers and sisters.  I do none now, sold everything(more like gave it all away) so I could get my charger in there to work on it. Let me know if you want me to show you some of my stuff.

[dodgecharger-fan]

If you use a piano hinge, you'll have to put it right on the bottom edge of that drawer front. Which means you'll see the front face of the drawer bottom underneath.
If you slide the drawer front down and mount the piano hinge there, you may run in to clearance issues when you swing the drawer front down. The part that extends below the piano hinge will swing right at the front edge of the drawer bottom.

It might work, but carefully double check it.

I had something like a knife hinge in mind but different. I remember seeing a cabinet - somewhere - that opened exactly how you want yours to work, but the hinges disappeared in to a slot cut into the bottom and the drawer front. When open, the front lined up flush with the bottom. There was enough "tightness" to the hinges to hold the front at any angle you let go.

I'm searching the Internet for a hinge that'll do that.

[dodgecharger-fan]

What I was thinking of does the same as this hinge: http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16777
The difference was that what I saw was very thin.

Those would work though. It allows the front to pivut but still cover the front edge of the drawer bottom.

[moparstuart]

http://www.hardwaresource.com/Store_ViewCatLevel3.asp?Cat=345

  lot of neat hinges here ? 


  how about this one  or a style like it

[hemigeno]

Putting a continuous piano hinge (or two small hinges at either end of the drawer face) and a simple magnetic catch at the top of each drawer side to hold the door closed would be pretty easy to do.  Everything you need would be available at Lowe's or Home Depot for minimal cost.

Not a bad idea there, although I wonder if you're going to cook your DVD player over time by trapping heat...   

[green69rt]

I just happened to see this thread while I was setting at my computer station (where else??) and thought I would send pictures of the hinges on my keyboard drawer front.   They are spring loaded to hold the front shut.

The hinges say Youngdale on them.

[Old Moparz]

I like the idea of the hinges that keep the face shut instead of using magnets, especially near a TV or any other kind of electronics. It may not be a factor like it is with old VHS tapes, but it can't be good either.

[hemi68charger]

I just happened to see this thread while I was setting at my computer station (where else??) and thought I would send pictures of the hinges on my keyboard drawer front.   They are spring loaded to hold the front shut.

The hinges say Youngdale on them.

Does the front face bottom meet flush and even with the bottom of the keyboard/drawer bottom? When it pivots out, it can be separated like what I see here, but when the face is closed, it needs to be positioned as if I never had cut them from each other...... What does it look like in the closed position? Have any pictures with it closed viewed from top and underneath?   

[bakerhillpins]

While not the most price conscious place on the planet, lots of stuff here

http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=45

Personally I would avoid a Piano hinge and would look for something that is concealed and used for making trunk or chest type furniture. Like the European concealed stuff http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=55

Find a magnetic door catch to keep it closed, even if the hinge is self closing.

Bryan

[green69rt]

I just happened to see this thread while I was setting at my computer station (where else??) and thought I would send pictures of the hinges on my keyboard drawer front.   They are spring loaded to hold the front shut.

The hinges say Youngdale on them.

Does the front face bottom meet flush and even with the bottom of the keyboard/drawer bottom? When it pivots out, it can be separated like what I see here, but when the face is closed, it needs to be positioned as if I never had cut them from each other...... What does it look like in the closed position? Have any pictures with it closed viewed from top and underneath?   

Yes it can be made to do what you say with some adjustment and positioning.  You would probably want to try these out on some scrap first as you have to cut a slot in the drawer front for the hinge.  More pictures attached.
As you can see in the pictures mine do not fit flat but thats because I didn't bother about it.  You would probably be  a little more careful.

[dodgecharger-fan]

I was going to suggest something like that as well. I saw one that could be recessed by cutting a slot in the wood... But I couldn't really put it in words that I thought made sense. So, I gave up. A picture is worth a few thousand words in this case.

Here they are: http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=20390