Without such an element as a furniture hinge, we will not be able to open or close the cabinet doors. This is an important component of furniture. Whether it is a cabinet, a bedside table, a sideboard or a table, with the help of hinges we can open the doors up, down, to the sides at a certain angle. Now there are many types of this furniture fittings, its choice is simply huge.
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What is it and how does it work?
What are furniture hinges? This is a mechanism attached to the wall and the facade of the furniture, with its help the doors can open at a specific angle. Such hinges differ in structure, fastening system, they perform different functions.
Four-hinge hinges are widespread today. This design is quite unpretentious and durable, easy to install. This mechanism is so solid that you can open and close the furniture doors endlessly. Its adjustment is allowed in three planes. The four-hinge hinge includes the following elements:
- mounting plate,
- cup,
- shoulder.
The hinges are mounted to the facade with a cup, and are attached to the furniture box with a mounting plate. The entire mechanism is fixed with screws. The shoulder serves as a kind of handle and a connecting link between the mounting plate and the cup. All elements are connected to each other with a four-hinge mechanism. There is an adjusting screw in the plate, it allows you to adjust the facade in relation to the base.
Types of furniture hinges
This type of fittings, such as furniture hinges, which are currently produced, used in furniture assembly and which can be purchased at any hardware store, are divided into the groups presented in the table.
| Types of loops | Description |
| Overhead. | This type allows you to firmly connect the doors to the base at an angle of 90 degrees. It is used everywhere, in many pieces of furniture.
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| Semi-overhead. | Such hinges, in comparison with overhead ones, differ in that they have a slight bend in their structure. As a rule, they are used if several facades need to be mounted on one wall of furniture.
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| Internal or, as they are also called, inserts. | They are quite similar in appearance to semi-overhead ones, but with their help the sashes are mounted inside the base.
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| Corner. | Installed on corner types of furniture, the doors are attached to the base at a certain angle. Such hinges allow you to open the doors at 30, 45, 90, 135, 175 degrees.
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| Adits. | This type of hinges fastens doors to a false panel. They are mainly used when assembling kitchen units, namely cabinets under the sink. They are also mounted to a base located directly against the wall.
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| Inverse. | Allows the doors to open at an angle of 180 degrees.
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| Piano. | This type of hinges was produced a long time ago – back in the Soviet Union. Now they are rarely seen anywhere, except on old interior items. They were considered the most durable.
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| Card games. | They resemble pianos, the mechanism consists of two plates, synchronously mounted on a hinge. They are used when it is necessary to make furniture in a retro style.
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| Mezzanine. | Mezzanine. This type of hinge is used for facades that open vertically, i.e. vertically. They are mainly mounted on kitchen cabinets.
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| Secretaries. | They are similar to card or piano doors. They are used in such types of furniture where the door is located horizontally and should open downwards.
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| Lombard. | They are mainly used in the manufacture of folding tables. In this case, the door can open 180 degrees. |
There are many varieties of furniture hinges. This element of fittings, currently produced, is divided into types that differ from each other in some features:
- firstly, the place where the hinges should be mounted;
- secondly, the raw materials intended for production;
- thirdly, the separability of the structure;
- fourthly, by the method of fixation;
- fifthly, a distinctive feature of the mechanism.
According to their category, they can be divided into overhead and mortise, have a card structure, are fixed to the base and to the facade. The difference is that for mortise hinges, you need to make a small recess where the plate should be placed. In addition, they are divided into detachable and universal, differing in strength. The universal type of hinges can withstand a substantial load, which means that the likelihood of the doors settling in the future will be significantly reduced. Detachable ones are divided into left and right - this is how they differ from universal ones, which are fixed to the facade that opens in any direction.
Screw-in hinges consist of two proportionate parts, which are cylinders, on which there are holes for screws. Such hinges are installed on any doors. But they have a drawback - doors attached to screw-in hinges cannot be removed. The most common option is hidden hinges. When the doors are closed, they are invisible. They are attached to any facade and have a universal mechanism - three rotary axes. Their installation is quite complicated, it is better if the installation is carried out by a specialist. You can also find a two-sided type of hinges. It allows the sashes to open both outward and inward.
Whatever the type of hinges, they must be strong and durable - these are the main qualities that must be remembered when choosing furniture hinges.
How to choose furniture hinges correctly
Many manufacturers of furniture hinges produce low-quality fittings because they want to save on production. To buy a quality product, it is worth looking at the thickness of the metal. If it is thin, it is better to refuse the purchase. It is worth paying attention to the price equivalent - it is better not to buy cheap fittings. The quantity of the product is based on the size of the facade and its weight. The hinges must be durable, this determines how long they can last.
To choose furniture hinges, you need to consider how you will mount them. Many pay attention to where they were made. After all, most fittings are made in China, and there, as you know, they are made under different brands, including well-known ones. It is important to pay attention to the product certificate, whether the head office controls the production, since most popular companies open branches in the Celestial Empire.
Usually, furniture manufacturers carefully select fittings, giving preference to brands that have a positive reputation.
How to use furniture hinges correctly
In order for the doors to close and open smoothly, there to be no gaps between the base and the facade, and the doors to be attached fairly evenly, it is necessary to correctly mount the furniture hinges. As is known, hinges have cups of different diameters - this is the part of the structure that is inserted into the recess drilled in the wood. The most popular have a diameter of 35 millimeters.
To install correctly, you will need a tape measure, an awl, a drill, a screwdriver or a drill, a Forstner drill, and screws. But first, you need to mark out and determine the center of the future recess. It is necessary that there be 5 mm from the cup to the edge of the door or 23 mm from the edge to the middle of the recess. Now we drill the opening to such a depth that the cup fits completely in there, the main thing is not to drill through the material. We place the hinges in the prepared facade and, if necessary, align it with a strip. When everything is aligned, the strip sits like a glove, we attach it to the screws using a screwdriver or a screwdriver.
As we can see, the types of furniture hinges can be different, and their installation does not present any difficulties, all the work can be done at home. In such cases, when the doors become warped, they begin to creak, you can easily replace the old fittings with new ones yourself, and the furniture will serve for a long time.
