Installing Inset Hinges: Part 2 – Installing the Brackets
This series of videos shows you how inset hinges are installed prior to the cabinet being assembled.
Video Transcript
All right, we're going to demonstrate how to pre-drill and put these brackets on. Don't go through the front frame all the way or you will be very sad that you have a hole in your brand new front frame. You just want to go in about a ¼” to 3/8”. Now we take our other drill that has the Phillips bit on it, take a bracket, two of the very big screws that come in your hinge pack. Line up your holes and in we go.We're using an impact driver. These are very good screwdrivers for this kind of work because they ratchet the screw in without cracking the wood. We’re going to do the same thing at the top. Now our brackets are on. The reason we're doing this before assembly is because if you don't do it before assembly you're going to fight trying to reach around the inside of your assembled cabinet inside the cabinet box trying to put those on. It's much easier to do it now before we've even assembled the cabinet.
What we're going to do off camera now is assemble this box, put the hinges on the way the other videos on the website show, and we're going to come back and show you how these hinges snap on, and then adjust. We'll back in a moment.
When building Inset cabinetry (with drawer boxes), be sure you don’t forget to install your Inset Mounting Brackets (for your drawer slides) as is shown in our Blum Tandem Slides video: https://www.cabinetjoint.com/video-library/blum-tandem-installation-overlay-inset-features-new-pilot-holes/
It’s good to note that the pilot holes and screws should be screwed in at a 12 degree angle, instead of straight up and down.
What is the purpose of the slight angle?
The back of the face frame is flat, but the brackets (engineered by Blum, not us) have a slight slope to the screw holes. If you rin the screw in straight up and down, the screw head will not sit squarely on the angled bracket face, causing the bracket to tilt due to the torque of the screw. Once you actually see the hinge bracket, you will see what I am referring to. We have begun using the Blum Platemate jig for all our internal jobs which sets the correct location for the bracket and also has the pre-drill holes at the correct angle, making the whole process of installing the brackets a piece of cake.
How does one obtain a Blum Platemate jig?
Google search or Amazon will get you pointed in the right direction!