I am constructing a Pennsylvania spice box and installing the butt hinges.
My question is how deep to mortise the hinges. Normally I mortise to the thickness of the hinge but I have read where it needs to be deeper based on the hinge in the closed position.
Cleveland, TN
- Gill
Our Expert
When installing butt hinges on an inset door, I begin by carefully planing the door to fit the cabinet. A small stile-and-rail door, such as the doors on many spice boxes, will remain stable in dimension simply because the expansion and contraction in the stiles is minimal. Because there is little room required for seasonal expansion, I use paper as a feeler gauge when fitting the door.
When selecting hinges for a fine furniture cabinet I use good quality extruded hinges. If necessary I'll pinch each hinge in a vise in order to minimize the hinge gap when the door is closed.
After outlining the mortises with a layout knife, I use a sharp chisel to cut hinge mortises in the door stile and the cabinet sides. I typically cut the hinge mortise depth to equal the thickness of the hinge leaf. If necessary, I can always shave the mortise to make it a touch deeper.
However, if the mortises are too deep the door will be "sprung" which requires shims behind the leaf to correct. In my opinion, adding shims is unacceptable in fine furniture and should be avoided.
