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Discussion Forum

1/4″ inset kitchen cabinet hinges

Lionel | Posted in General Discussion on June 11, 2003 02:29am

I am refurnishing my kitchen on a house that was built in the 60’s here in Santa Cruz, CA.  I have is that I still want to reuse the doors for the cabinets that were originally installed on this house.  The problem is that they use 1/4″ inset hinges and all I can find around here or on the net is 3/8″.  Does anyone know of a manufacture who still makes these and or a supply house who might have 50 or so of them.

Thanks to all,

Lionel

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  1. rebuilder | Jun 11, 2003 02:40am | #1

    Try Rockler hardware. I'm sure they have a website.

    1. Lionel | Jun 11, 2003 03:02am | #2

      Tried Rockler and they had nothing in a 1/4".  Do you or anyone else have other suggestions.  I tried even doing a search for 1/4" inset cabinet hinges on the net, no luck.

      Lionel

      1. User avater
        IMERC | Jun 11, 2003 02:13pm | #5

        You could give leevalley.com a shot.

  2. WorkshopJon | Jun 11, 2003 03:11am | #3

    Lionel,

    Try Woodworkers Hardware.

    http://www.wwhardware.com/

    They literally have everything. They are a catalog place, not a dot com, but they (obviously) have a web site.

    Jon

  3. skids | Jun 11, 2003 08:15am | #4

    woodworker's supply has some in their catalog that are 3/8 i think, listed as right angle inset hinges. you might try looking at their catalog online at http://www.woodworker.com

  4. User avater
    BillHartmann | Jun 11, 2003 05:53pm | #6

    I would try DIRECTLY contacting Amaorock (sp?) as they are a major supplier of those types of hinges and see if the 1/4" are still made.

    Also contack the technical support at Rockler and Lee Valley. Make sure that you get hold of someone in tech support and not just "customer" service. They both have good reputations of knowing their products and being able to go and research a problem.

  5. migraine | Jun 11, 2003 06:25pm | #7

    Try talking to someone you know that works in a cabinet shop or go to your local lumber company.  If still in business, try San Lorenzo Lumber.  Some of the hardware suppliers in your area that have branches are LOUIS & COMPANY and  E.B.BRADLEY.  There is another company, but I can't remember the name.  I'm is SoCal, so I'm doing this from memory

    Can you also re rabbet your doors?  I's been so long(12-15yrs) since I've used these type of hinges, things upstairs are a little rusty.  Oh, yeah, how do you spell "rabbet"....having major brain fade this A.M.

  6. rebuilder | Jun 11, 2003 11:59pm | #8

    I think that I've actually been through all of this before, now that I think about it. I had some customers that wanted new hardware on existing doors a few years ago. The hinges used mounted on the face frame and the back of the cab. door. Is that what you've got? I ended up tracing the hinge print on the backs of the door and chiseled them an 1/8" into the door backs. I gave the guy a disclaimer up front. If you take your time it will look nice though. It will be easier than finding 1/4 " insets. Good luck.

    1. Lionel | Jun 12, 2003 12:31am | #9

      Thanks everyone for the help but alas nothing worked so far.  I have called Lee Valley, Amarock, woodworkers supply, Rockler and quite a few restoration shops.  No luck.  This is very strange in that no one (customer support does not allow one to talk directly to technical support) knows about these.  Here in Santa Cruz they were common, but all the local hardware stores do not carry them.  I even asked the guru's about if they knew of some place and no help there.

      CCR, you said that you "I ended up tracing the hinge print on the backs of the door and chiseled them an 1/8" into the door backs."  I dont know if that would do anything as far as making it easier to work with.

      Here is any image of what the original looked like but is shown in a 3/8" model, not the 1/4" that I need

      http://www.ovisonline.com/store/detail.asp?product_id=H0104A-AB

      At this point I might have to consider modifying the cabinets for something else.  I really do not want to change the outward appearance of the door so if anyone has an idea please let me know.

      Thanks,

      Lionel

      1. rebuilder | Jun 12, 2003 01:14am | #10

        My problem was this. The hardware I was replacing was 1/4" insets and the new hdwr was 3/8", same as you. When I installed a pair of the 3/8" on the cab., the door would not sit flush to the frame( 1/8" off). By "insetting" the  hinge an 1/8" on the door backs, I ate up this margin. I am totally confusing myself right now, so I doubt very seriously that I'm making any sense to you. But it worked out for me. If that made no sense, I'll try again after a nap!

        1. Lionel | Jun 12, 2003 05:10am | #11

          CCR,

          But the rabbit joint is only 1/4 inch deep.  With the 3/8" inset, the hinge is already 1/8" away from the door.  If I cut a another 1/8" into the door it would could never set against the cabinet.  I think what you are suggesting is to add a 1/8 piece of wood and use that to adapt the 3/8 inset hinge to these 1/4 doors.  Am I mistaken?

          Thanks, Lionel

          1. rebuilder | Jun 12, 2003 06:26am | #12

            Lionel,

            Oh yeah! Had a nap, feeling better. I didn't realize that you already had a rabbet joint in the door back. I musta missed that. It sounds like a spacer between the door back and hinge is all that you need. You could rip them outta some solid stock, or perhaps even get away with washers between wood and hinge. I can't for the life of me remember what I did exactly when I came across this a few years back. If you go with washers and are using the existing hole pattern, going up a screw size(thread width) might be a good idea.   I think that I ended up moving the hinge placement and re-rabbetting everything. I don't think that you need to do all of that though. Sorry for the confusion.

  7. White Rabbit 3 | May 01, 2011 09:03pm | #13

    1/4" Overlay Hinges

    For anyone looking to find 1/4" overlay hinges to replace old hinges, try HardwareSource.com.  They have thousands of hinges in all sizes and all finishes.  I tried many other places and HardwareSource.com was the only one that carried the hinges I needed to replace the 25 year old ones on the cabinets I wanted to paint.  Also, learn how to measure the size of your hinge by googling for instructions.

  8. JustHelping | Feb 02, 2020 12:19pm | #14

    I was having this same problem and found this feed, which didn't lead me to a solution. I did however try to get crafty with solutions and was looking for a shim that could make up for the 1/8 inch. Found these that have a review indicating they used them for this specific purpose and they worked. I bought some and plan to try them out! So frustrating that I can't just buy the right hinges though.
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035HBFTK/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_.qWnEbH8HHBBC

  9. User avater
    Chrisjackson | Feb 03, 2020 08:43am | #15

    Thank you very much for your detailed response. This will help me greatly while discussing with the local contractor here.. this is amazing!

  10. Brooklyn_Homeowner | Oct 31, 2020 02:07am | #16

    The cabinet doors sounds familiar, but for one detail. I grew up in a home that was built in 1958 in California and later moved into a NY home whose kitchen was remodeled around the same time. In both kitchens, the doors had 1/4 inch insets, but they both used external H-style offset hinges. I will take Lionel's word that his original hinges were 1/4 inch inset, but I wonder if any of the above discussed cabinets started off with external offset hinges, which were very common at that time.

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