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Rex Krueger
Rex Krueger

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Early Access Video: Crafting the Wooden Hinge

Friends: 

I promised it and now I'm delivering!

In my last Furniture Forensics, I showed a drop-leaf table with an ingenious wooden hinge built in. I've never seen anything like it before and I just had to make my own and see how it worked. 

Let me tell you, it was an adventure. Hinges are far more complicated that I thought and making a working hinge from wood was a fascinating challenge. Come with me as I reverse-engineer this little piece of furniture history. 

I mention some revised plans in this video. Those updated plans will be free to Patrons (here and on the archive) on Wednesday morning. 

Oh, and if you haven't watched it yet, take a second to look at the video we made on How to Use Patreon. I promise, it will answer some common questions. 

Happy Saturday!

--Rex

Early Access Video: Crafting the Wooden Hinge

Comments

I tell you what, your wedding band trick is one of those things I wish I'd have thought of. So obvious, and so simple when you see it.

A1BASE

Funny story: The holes in the leg of those pants got so bad that on monday, I put them on and got my foot stuck in the hole. I ripped the leg almost clean off the pants! Sooooo, I am currently wearing new pants.

Rex Krueger

You finished it yourself. There was silence!

Rex Krueger

Was referring to the tool hanging behind rex with the other draw knife.

Jon Linna

@2:45 that's a shooting plane

Joel D Canfield

In the rear corner I spy your English-style carpenter's chest. Can't wait for that video to drop! Very cool video, and a great way to build on the furniture forensics.

Bayard

Finish my sentence: The last time I brought up hinges and their mechanics over dinner _____________

Sam Marcum

Rex, you should gift yourself a new pair of pants for christmas ;)

Helge

Sorry, hanging on the wall over your left shoulder.

Jon Linna

Man, that ruler trick is a handy one! It's especially good when you only have a tape and no fancy layout tools!

Rex Krueger

Jeff is on the money. That's the Veritas shooting plane. I mostly have it for the ergonomics. You can grip and push it with minimum stress on the hands and elbow. Pricey, but recommended. I'm delighed you like the Joiner's Bench. I still love mine. Also, and bug chunk of wood will make that vise. No need to be stuck on stair treads!

Rex Krueger

The captions were great thanks

The Deaf Maker

It's a classy joint, no doubt!

Rex Krueger

As I recall, those boys made a LOT of prototypes and really tested the heck out of everything!

Rex Krueger

Nate H. gets an extra shout-out on the edit for this one. It just really came out smooth!

Rex Krueger

It wasn't easy, exactly, but I was suprrised that it wasn't tougher. Really not bad.

Rex Krueger

Um....is what a draw-knife with a planer blade? I don't follow.

Rex Krueger

We really want to do an illustration, but Nate D is busy as heck updating the Turning Saw and the Marking Gauge. That boy's a hard worker, but there are only so many hours in a week!

Rex Krueger

I put a drop of CA just on the end. I wanted an exit strategy if necessary!

Rex Krueger

You're totally right that joint will swell with moisture, but I think that will just make it stiff, not make it break or anything like that.

Rex Krueger

For sure you should practice on scrap! Totally the same principle!

Rex Krueger

My pleasure. How were the captions?

Rex Krueger

I see it’s called a shooting plane. It has a handle and n the side so you don’t scrape your knuckles. A super specialized plane.

Jeff Dunning

This is a really clever trick that I definitely always forget about in between needing to do it. πŸ˜‚

Barmp

Thank you for making my Saturday Rex. Excellent presentation on making this joint. Have you dropped any hints to the family about the carcase saw? Maybe play this episode on the tv as an intermission during family movie night. For dividing a length into equal pieces you can also use a rule angled to give you an easily dividable length (i.e.-measure 6" across a 4" board to get 5 equal divisions}. Used it a lot in manual drafting of stairs on architectural drawings. Thanks again for all you do.

Matt Evans-Koch

I have to ask about the plane or whatever it is that Rex is using to squaring the ends of the boards. Strangest looking plane I've seen or is it just an illusion? On another note I was working in shop today and thinking how much I like the English bench I built using Rex's plans. Makes woodworking a joy. I ended up at a box store today to purchase the "wood" for the leg vise. All Home Depot or Lowes had were pressure treated stairs so didn't get. Looking for another source and this evening got to watch Rex workout how this wooden joint was made. Super interesting and just enjoy how he presents things. So worth being a patron. Best money I've invested in a long time.

Thor C. Ritz

Excellent delivery of info. Much prefer this "hidden" joint over the other wooden barrel joints that I've seen.

Dale

I'm new to all of this, but during my long engineering career I have become a believer in practicing when trying something new. A couple of my "heroes" in engineering wew the Wight Bros. They practiced about everything they did by making prototypes. Good video.

Don Royer

Excellent video! Great camera work, narration, and of course, equally earnest craftsmanship! Yup, you done good Rex!

Michael Gross

Absolutely intriguing, and not nearly as daunting as I would have initially presumed. Thank you for the great, easy to follow explanation of this joint! Much appreciated!

Roger A Tubbs

Is that an draw knife with a planer blade tied on?

Jon Linna

Most of the wooden hinges that I have seen are little more than a box joint with the pins rounded to hemi-cylinders to provide clearance. Functional, but when the hinge is flat it doesn't provide a pleasing appearance. The hinge on this table 'disappears' when it's flat. Is there any chance that Rex's computer wizard could do an animation to illustrate?

Brian Taylor

I would guess that since both halves of the hinge are from the same piece of wood, expansion and contraction would be equal on both halves and would thus largely cancel out.

Brian Taylor

I really like wooden joints, this was very nice. How is the dowel held in place? Is it glued or pinned to one side of the hinge?

Conor Mow-Lowry

Rex, what concerns do you have with the joint in regards to moisture changes? Presumably the table/joint is inside reducing expansion/contraction but in a tight joint/hinge, is it concerning?

Hansenomics

Great stuff again. I was thinking the other day about simply getting pieces of old scrap and practicing end jointing, scrubbing, etc. Making stuff flat and such. Hey it works with music! You can't play anything until you can play some scales and move your fingers correctly...

Sean McGown

Fascinating video. Thanks for sharing.

The Deaf Maker


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