box hinge problem

I make a box, cut the top off then always run into the same problem - hinges. I can _never_ get them set properly the first time. I mainly use Brusso hinges and I've seen a technique whereby the lid is placed next to the box with a spacer and spring clamps and you proceed from there. But I still seem to have problems with the lid being slightly off-center at times (and I use one of those center-finding punches to create the initial drilling indentation). So I'm looking for a better technique. Anyone have a fool-proof method of getting hinges aligned perfectly the first time?

Mike

Reply to
Mike Ballard
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Mike, I use Brusso hinges too, and found that the center-finding punches don't work worth a damn. I mount the hinge flush with the inside surface to everything's matched up, and do the lid first, then the box, rather than clamping the two together. I use a sharpened icepick to mark dead center in each hole, then an awl to deepen that mark, then a 1/16" bit to make a pilot hole. It's quicker than it sounds.

Brusso also sells templates for mounting their hinges

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) but I'm too cheap and hardheaded to buy one.

Another tip: If you've filled and re-drilled to the point where a hole is oversize for the screw, a little piece of broom straw works nicely to make the screw snug again.

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Ratchet

Reply to
nospambob

Great - thanks. When you say "dead center" it sounds like you do more than eyeball it but I'm guessing that's just what you do?

Maybe the centering tool (or my blind reliance on it) has been my problem all along and not so much my hinging process. I've noticed more often than not that my problem is that the lid is slightly c*ck-eyed but otherwise mostly flush with the box sides. Obviously that indicates screw holes/centering tool/drilling. With a door or something it wouldn't be noticeable - for small boxes this tool is probably just too sloppy...

Mike

Reply to
Mike Ballard

Reply to
nospambob

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