January 4, 201115 yr Finally made a pair of strap hinges. When I move the hinge with the (temporary) pin installed, I get some tight and loose spots. I plan to rivet the pin on both ends. Here's the question : After I rivet everything up, can I heat the whole working section to tighten everything and work the hinge back and forth to get a reasonable slack. (Like when we adjust a pair of thongs, then heat the pivot section and work it in the slack tub) ? The stock is 1/4" thick. Thanks in advance ! Naz
January 4, 201115 yr Nice looking hinge, Naz. Yes, if you heat the pivot joint and swivel it back and forth while it cools, it should wear everything so that it works smoother. And, like Sam said, a little oil wouldn't hurt any, either. :D
January 4, 201115 yr Voice of experience due to bad experience: When you heat it up to move back and forth.MAKE SURE you start in the open position when you quench and start moving the joint!! If you start with it closed you will roll your joint open and have to start the whole hinge rolling process over!!
January 4, 201115 yr also remember that when you mount it if to it so some on a wider door or window you will add leverage to it so some "tight" may be more desirable
January 4, 201115 yr As one with vast experience at hanging doors of every sort I would like to recommend the loose pin type hinging. It often saves a whole lot of work in the fitting and adjustment process and I see little disadvantage... the exception being when the hinge is mounted horizontally, as for a box or chest lid.
January 4, 201115 yr If you're going to stay with the knuckled barrel, we sometimes over tighten the knuckles a tad, and drill them out with a pistol drill, looking for a bare metal finish inside. Using the vise and drilling horizontally by teasing the drill in at a slow speed is safer than using the drill press, the latter often being grabby. The old hinges I've seen seem to have a very small upset which I think was done cold. I have a three knuckled, rusty, antique H-L hinge from New Orleans with forge welded barrels. The pin upsets are not visible. Perhaps the barrel ends were countersunk and the annealed pin ends were cold-upset into the countersinks, filed, and burnished. If you ease the hinge joint by working back and forth at a red heat, nobody said that you needed a slack tub. You can just stand there and work them until cool, thereby avoiding "thermal shock" and perhaps uneven contraction. It just takes longer.
January 7, 201115 yr Author Thank's for sharing your knowledge, I decided to make a bigger pin and up-sized the barrels by drilling (7/16" in this case). That gave me a tighter overall fit. I also went with the loose pin option , I think it did save me a lot of trouble and I don't see any disadvantage either. Thanks again for everyone's reply, they really helped in making this project turn out good ! Naz
January 7, 201115 yr Author Thank's for sharing your knowledge, I decided to make a bigger pin and up-sized the barrels by drilling (7/16" in this case). That gave me a tighter overall fit. I also went with the loose pin option , I think it did save me a lot of trouble and I don't see any disadvantage either. Thanks again for everyone's reply, they really helped in making this project turn out good ! Naz Thanks also for the words of encouragement ! Naz
January 13, 201115 yr That hinge looks great! I have made many and repaired a bunch. And I melt some bees wax in the hinge area when I'm done. It lasts for a long time and keeps things from rusting.
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