Cabinet Hinges: Types Of Furniture Hinges And Tips For Choosing Them, Materials

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 12:09

The choice of cabinet fittings should be approached with special attention and certain knowledge. The market is rich in varieties of furniture hinges, one or another variation will be more advantageous when assembling various types of structures. Let's consider the most common types of cabinet hinges.

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Today, four-hinged furniture hinges are usually used to secure doors. They are easy to install, they serve for a long time and are not afraid of intensive use. There are several models of hinges for cabinets, let's dwell on them in more detail.

Overhead and semi-overhead

Popular hinges on four hinges are distinguished by good strength, and therefore they are installed not only on small doors, but also on volumetric structures. With the help of such mechanisms, the cabinet doors open exactly at a right angle, there is practically no skew, the canopy supports the canvas in one position.

The half-overlay hinge has a large bend, because of this, the door, when open, covers only half of the end of the furniture . With an overhead hinge, the end is not visible at all. Therefore, semi-overhead mechanisms are used in three-leaf cabinets.

Piano (inverted)

A long plate, consisting of several hinges connected to each other by hinges, is made of metal. It is only at first glance that it looks fragile; in fact, it is a very durable mechanism. They can reliably fasten even a large-sized canvas, thanks to this option, an opening of 180 degrees is provided.

Such awnings are used bilaterally, they are found on furniture made in the USSR. They have good shoulder curvature, which allows the structure to open completely. They got their name from the fact that they massively secured the covers of grand pianos.

Card

A reliable powerful mechanism, it is mainly used to secure entrance and interior doors. It is rarely found in the furniture version; it is appropriate to use such hinges for large-sized structures, for example, in massive cabinets with large doors. They were used by craftsmen-manufacturers of antique furniture for the manufacture of heavy curbstones, retro chests.

Internal

Such awnings are used when it is required to "drown" the sash in the cabinet structure. The opening angle in this variation is more than 90 degrees, which allows the door not to close the wall. They are used in cabinets-pencil cases, as well as when fixing massive door leaves.

Corner

There are card and furniture corner awnings. The first ones come with a negative opening angle, they make it possible to open the door as much as possible, therefore they are very rarely used in furniture. But furniture corner ones are used for their intended purpose. Such fittings are found on various objects, ideal for small kitchen cabinets . These canopies provide an opening from 30 to 175 degrees.

Secretary

Miniature hinges are a combination of card and overhead hinges. They are used to attach flaps that open horizontally. The secretary hinges are attached with screws and cut into the structure in the same way as other four-hinge models.

Mezzanine

These awnings are also designed for canvases that must open horizontally, but differ somewhat from the secretary models. The mezzanines come with a lever and a door closer, which makes it easier to open cabinet doors upwards. With such a mechanism, this is done easily, without much effort.

Adit

These hinges ensure full opening of the door. They are used with a blind front, when there is a need to fix the facades to the side posts, which are adjacent to the wall. They are also used to secure false panels.

Lombard

Such fittings are used in folding furniture, in particular in tables and transformer cabinets. The hinges are convenient in that they provide a 180-degree blade opening. They are also needed to fix folding structures - in this case, they are mounted on the end of the cabinet according to the chopik principle.

Pendulum and heel

Such mounts resemble card sheds, they also allow structures to open around. This is provided by two mechanisms connected by a plate. Heel hinges are suitable for glassware and are also used to secure small doors to kitchen units.

Carousel

Due to their unusual appearance, carousel canopies are often called "crocodiles". They find their use on any folding structures, as well as on kitchen furniture, when you need one door to open without touching the other.

Materials (edit)

The hinges are available in a variety of materials. Let's dwell on the characteristics of the most common ones.

1. Steel awnings have an attractive appearance, are highly durable and affordable. But they have a number of disadvantages: they are not installed where there is high humidity (bathroom, sauna, bathhouse, and so on), they have rough seams, noticeable backlash, and after several years of operation they can squeak.
2. Brass hinges are produced with a smooth, carefully processed surface with a galvanized coating - such mechanisms do not rust, they do not need to be lubricated. The disadvantages include the high cost (they are more expensive than steel hinges), during long-term operation they can grind.

The brass canopy is of higher quality than the steel canopy, but also 5-7 higher in price. When buying a mechanism, you need to have a clear idea of what it is for, assess the feasibility of its use and be guided by the amount in the wallet.

Fasteners made of these materials practically do not break, rarely fail when used correctly. Corrosion does not take them, and they do not deform.

Installation classification

Overhead and internal hinges differ in their design and fastening method

1. Side-on method - the elements of the assembly mechanism are inserted into each other: the strip is attached to the door, and the main part of the canopy to the furniture wall. And among themselves the elements of the canopy are connected by a special screw with a notch.
2. The clip-on method - snap-on method using fast assembly technology. No screws are needed in this mount. The design of the mechanism allows you to remove and hang the canvas without tools.
3. Key-hoie way - the hinge is fastened through a hole similar to a keyhole: the lever is put on a screwed-in bolt, which ensures reliable stability.

These methods are applicable for four-hinge hinges, including those with a door closer.

How to choose?

Hinges for the cabinet are chosen based on their functionality, cost, characteristics. Here are some tips from the experts.

1. The first step is taken into account the size: for large facades, volumetric awnings will be required, for small doors - small hinges.
2. Thick facades are attached with awnings with a bowl of 45 millimeters in diameter. You can consider spring models with a reverse stroke.
3. Mechanisms are bought taking into account the method of opening the door leaves. This must be taken into account when purchasing furniture fittings.
4. The mechanisms should be checked for defects, carefully considered so that they go without cracks and dents - the service life depends on this and how correct the fastening will be.

Choose based on the price-quality ratio and trust the product from specialty stores - this is less likely to buy a fake. In addition, an on-site consultant will explain how to service the product, what is the best way to install it and, in general, will help with the choice.