SOSS Barrel hinges -- installation questions

[jihhwood]

Having a little trouble installing the 8 mm barrel hinges I'm hoping to use on a jewelry box. I'm still at the "experimenting" stage, but things do not look too good! I'm using a newly purchased, good quality, accurate 8 mm bit; working at a floor-mounted drill press and holding the workpiece (the same wood the box will be made of) in place with a drill press clamp. The problem is that the hinge barrel does not fit into the hole drilled. I don't want to force the barrel into the hole, since the likelihood is that I'll damage the hinge or wind up doing some other damage.

I've looked at a couple of books for guidance, and the authors talk about a fairly loose fit....They mention tightening the adjustment screw on the hinge barrel to "lock" it in place. The hinges I bought DO have an adjustment screw. So I was wondering whether I should just drill a larger hole. But in my YouTube "research", I've seen a caution in more than one place to the effect that it is imperative to drill a hole that is exactly the one specified by the manufacturer -- NO LARGER (The instructions specify an 8 mm hole.)

I'm confused and a little disheartened, and would appreciate your thoughts and recommendations, especially if you regularly use such hinges in your projects! Thanks!

[Wild Turkey]

Your post stirred my curiosity so I went to the SOSS page and did some browsing.

I noticed that on their PDF for the barrel hinges they called for an "8.2" mm hole. Seems to me that could be enough difference to make them bind.

[jihhwood]

I never did check the manufacturer's PDF. (Instead, I relied on the manufacturer's instructions.) Thanks very much for your help!

For what it's worth, it seems a bit ridiculous to me that the manufacturer does not specify the correct bit size needed in the written instructions that come with the hinges.

[Ken Vick]

jihhwood said:

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I never did check the manufacturer's PDF. (Instead, I relied on the manufacturer's instructions.) Thanks very much for your help!

For what it's worth, it seems a bit ridiculous to me that the manufacturer does not specify the correct bit size needed in the written instructions that come with the hinges.

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And also where to get an 8.2 mm drill bit. Barrel hinges can drive you nuts and helps explain why I am nuts. The holes in the top and bottom parts of the box must line up exactly or the lid will be crooked on the box and how much that is depends on how far out the holes are. I found the best way to avoid that problem was to drill these holes before cutting the lid from the box. Then plug the hole and veneer the top which I was going to do anyway with a decorative burl. I have made some 20 jewelry boxes with these hinges and they are awesome when they fit properly and a big headache when they don't. Ken

[Phil S.]

8.2 mm is real close to 5/16" Try a 5/16" hole in a piece of scrap and see how it fits.

[AHill]

Kinda frustrating when the manufacturer provides two different sets of instructions, isn't it? The hinge itself is 8.18 mm in diameter. So why would they recommend an 8mm bit? Elsewhere, as pointed out, they say use an 8.2mm bit. A 5/16" bit is too small. It's less than 8mm. The closest imperial size to 8.2mm is a 21/64" bit (8.3mm). Google 8.2 mm drill bit. They are out there. Even from Amazon.

[Steve N]

If you already have the 8mm bit and are clamping your work down on the drill press table try this before spending more money on an 8.2mm bit.

Use some scrap of the same wood you are using, and drill your hole, then allow the bit to exit the hole, and just as it clears go right down again, and depress the drill again into the same hole, same depth. With a drill I've heard it called dowsing the hole. Afterward your barrel hinge will fit. Clamped the workpiece won't move, but the hole will be slightly larger. It's probably just allowable runout of a drill press. I've seen a lot of drill presses, and all of them do it. 0.2mm isn't a lot.




Try it, what ya have to lose.

[jihhwood]

Thanks for these helpful (and reassuring) comments and suggestions. I'll look around for an 8.2 mm bit that won't carry an absurdly high shipping charge. I've also begun wondering whether a gap-filling adhesive (such as an epoxy or DAP's "Rapid-Fuse for Wood") wouldn't serve my purposes.