Concealed hinges on non-cabinet frame

[Peter Eden]

I am building a hall storage space below the stairs and I want the doors on it to open as wide as possible. I have tried 170 degree concealed hinges from B&Q but I just couldn't get them right and feeling strong.... The posts I am using are 4.5cm and the doors will be 18mm MDF.
Am I using the best hinges for the job?
Any advice on how to set up the hinges/get them in the right position?
The hinge part that goes into the door is a kind of rounded off rectangle rather than a circle, how is the best way to cut this?

Any help gratefully appreciated!

Peter

 

[JohnKay]

Hi Peter
Sounds like the best hinges, just as long as the doors are not too big.
The most important point is accuracy. There's normally some dimensions on the packaging.

I suggest you decide on the location of each hinge, mark the positions on the door using a square, transfer the marks to the frame, again using a square. Then with the info from the packaging, determine the centres of the recesses on the door. You should find that although the body of the hinge is not circular, it is designed to fit in a standard 35mm circular hole.

Now comes the tricky bit, you will need a special drill bit designed for hinges. If you don't have a drill press with depth stop handy, you are going to have to be very careful to control the depth. It's also a good idea to provide a little 'start' to accurately locate the hole centre, just with the point of a nail maybe.

The hinges should be a nice fit in the holes, but make absolutely sure that they are at 90 degrees. Fitting the plates to the frame should then be a doddle.

I hope that this answers your question. let's know how you get on.

 

[Peter Eden]

John,
Thank you. I think that my problem maybe that the post that they are fixing to is not deep enough as the hinges I have seem very unsteady on it and twist a bit when I close the door. I have been looking at Blum hinges which look a lot better but I still just have the (i think) 4.5cm of wood for the mounting plate to go on.
My only other plan is to use double crank hinges. I know that I would see the hinge but what do you think?
Or should I just add a piece of wood to the post to make it deeper?

 

[JohnKay]

Blum are good hinges. I think I'd be looking at increasing the post size. Don't forget that MDF is not good a taking fixings on it's edge, that might be needed for some hinges.

 

[DIYHomefit]

I agree with John, We use Blum hinges and it sounds like you need the center post to be more secure, especially when you say that they twist when you close the door!

 

[handyman22]

Hi Peter,

The Blum hinges are good but I used these soft close ones, the quality is great and it stops the doors banging as well. They're only 165 degree but im sure you wont notice any difference!