Rockler Torsion Hinges
#5
I'm building a hope chest and saw Rockler's torsion hinges for this application. I think they would work well and the dimensions are what I need. However, I've seen a couple of bad reviews of them showing the hinge plates breaking and that they appear to be made from primarily zinc.

Since this is a hope chest and not a toy chest, it shouldn't receive abuse, and I thought about using 3-4 of the hinges with less "spring" instead of just two with more spring to help alleviate this as well.

What are your thoughts here? Is there a better brand that I should consider?
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#6
I've used them three times, I think.  The first pair are about 18 yrs old now and receive daily use.  Second pair are six yrs old and used seldom.  On the second installation I tried using 3 hinges; didn't work well so I went with two stronger torsion hinges.

I have no idea of what they were made of; all I can say, the old ones work well for me.
"I tried being reasonable..........I didn't like it." Clint Eastwood
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#7
(10-22-2021, 11:42 AM)lincmercguy Wrote: I'm building a hope chest and saw Rockler's torsion hinges for this application. I think they would work well and the dimensions are what I need. However, I've seen a couple of bad reviews of them showing the hinge plates breaking and that they appear to be made from primarily zinc.

Since this is a hope chest and not a toy chest, it shouldn't receive abuse, and I thought about using 3-4 of the hinges with less "spring" instead of just two with more spring to help alleviate this as well.

What are your thoughts here? Is there a better brand that I should consider?

I’ve used these for a memorabilia chest which work well.  However, I recommend spending time with the Rockler  torsion calculator and accurately estimating the weight of the lid.  I initially ordered too strong of hinges and had to reorder once I got into the project. My lid didn’t weigh as much as I thought it would. The hinges are stiff ( as needed to hold the lid part way open) and put a fair deal of force on the back wall of the chest.  When you first start to open the lid it’s kind of sticky so that puts some initial force on the back of the case, so I recommend not buying overly strong, or too many hinges.

Dave
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#8
Yeah, I messed with their calculator a bit, it gave me a couple of options, two heavier hinges or three lighter ones. I was thinking of going with more hinges option of their recommendation.
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