INCRA HingeCrafter - Manual (Page 5)

INCREASE THE HINGE LEAF LENGTH
In the next series of cuts you will increase the length
of the hinge leaf and determine its final thickness.
While the finished length of the hinge leaf can
be varied to suit your needs, the leaf thickness
is very important to the function of the hinge. If
the hinge leaf thickness is greater than half of the
barrel diameter, the hinge will not fully close when
assembled. Again, measuring accuracy is important
here. It is suggested that you set the initial depth of
cut described below a little shallow and after the first
cut, measure the leaf and adjust the depth of cut as
necessary.
Install in your router the straight bit that matches the hinge barrel diameter
you have selected. Set the depth of cut for the straight bit to half of the
hinge barrel diameter. For example, if making the
1 / 2 ” hinge barrel, install
a 1 / 2 ” diameter straight bit and set the depth of cut to 1 / 4 ”. Set the initial
fence to bit distance equal to your stock thickness (use your hinge blank as
a gauge),
Fig. 9. Now slide your inch scale under the hairline cursor to a
reading equal to the straight bit diameter, Fig. 10.
Place the hinge blank on the router table with the rounded end against the
fence as shown in
Fig. 11. Using a rubber soled push block, move the stock
through the cut. Repeat this cut for both ends of both blanks. Now move
the fence back
1 / 4 ” and repeat the cuts. Continue stepping the fence back
and cutting, making a final pass at 1 1 / 4 ” on the inch scale set previously.
FIG. 9
FIG. 10
FIG. 11
Lengthen hinge leaf
TIP: The final fence setting will produce a hinge leaf length
of 1
1 / 4 ”. In other words, the final scale reading is a direct
readout of the dado width just cut, Fig. 12. To decrease the
number of passes when making large quantities of the smaller
barrel hinges, you can substitute a
5 / 8 ” or 3 / 4 ” diameter cutter.
Set up exactly as described above and finish the cuts at the
same dimension or any other dimension that suits your custom
application. Note: If using a dimension other than 1
1 / 4 ”, always
add 1 / 4 ” to your final desired hinge leaf length. A subsequent
trimming operation will remove the 1 / 4 ”.
Trim The Edges To Remove Tearout
At your table saw, trim about 1 / 16 ” from each edge of the hinge
blanks to remove any tear out that may have occurred during the
bull nose or dado cuts,
Fig. 13. For extra wide hinge blanks, use
your miter gauge for these trimming cuts.
FIG. 13
Trim edges
FIG. 14
Straight bit setup
INCRA HingeCrafter 5
1 1 / 4 ”
1 1 / 4 ”
FIG. 12
Hinge leaf dimensions
CUT HINGE KNUCKLES
Hinge Knuckles - Straight Bit And Fence Setup
Install in your router the straight bit that matches the hinge
barrel diameter you have selected. Set the depth of cut to
about
1 / 16 ” greater than the thickness of the hinge blank. Zero
the fence to the cutter with the cutter inside the fence opening.
To do this, move the fence to cover the cutter then place a
straightedge across the fence opening. Now micro adjust the
fence backward until the cutter just touches the straightedge,
Fig. 14. Clamp the fence positioner in place.
Use hinge
blank to
set fence
to bit
distance
Slide scale to a reading equal to
bit diameter
Bit diameter
matches hinge
barrel diameter
Trim edges to remove
any tearout from previous cuts
Adjust fence until bit touches straightedge