Milling cutter for cutting locks and hinges - selection and use

When installing any door in the entrance opening, you need to prepare a place for the hinges and, if necessary, install locks. Home craftsmen use a chisel and a hammer for this. Professionals have already switched to a milling cutter for cutting locks. Let's consider how a manual milling machine can be used for operations not related to decorative surface finishing.

Preparing a door for a lock mortise Source moysignal.ru

A cutter used for inserting furniture hinges into facades

Today we will look at a cutting tool that is used to make holes for the cups of four-hinge furniture hinges.
In general, this device is correctly called not a cutter, but a Forstner drill.

It consists of a head containing cutting knives (in some versions there may be two, and in some - four). In the center of the head there is a special tip for centering the device (it is placed at the point marked for drilling).

The diameter of the cutter head is 35 millimeters (exactly under the landing cup).

You can read more about how furniture hinges are embedded in this article.

Typically, most furniture fronts have a thickness of 16 millimeters, and the depth of the cutter head (including the tip) is greater than this size.

Therefore, if you are going to make a mounting hole in the facade for the first time, practice first on the remnants of chipboard, and see to what depth you need to drive the tool into the body of the material (after each pass, measure the hole with a real loop so as not to select excess material).

To drill such holes, for example, I never used special devices, and drilled them by hand (why unnecessarily complicate a simple process?).

And secondly, when drilling a hole, do not hold the drill strictly vertical to the facade. It is necessary to slightly change the angle of inclination, thereby uniformly selecting the material of the hole being drilled.

With this drilling method, the cutter will not overheat, and the hole will be drilled faster.

That’s basically all there is to it, an indispensable device in furniture production.

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Preparing to install hinges

Before assembling a furniture structure, you need to carefully prepare the installation site itself to avoid mistakes.

To do this, it is recommended to temporarily clear the room of excess furniture, other loose furnishings and household appliances. The base on which the product is planned to be assembled must be level. It must first be cleaned of dust and other contaminants.

After preparing the workplace, it is recommended to collect all consumables and tools.

If you plan to replace old canopies, then you first need to remove the doors and dismantle the old fittings.

Drill bit for furniture hinges: how to choose, where to buy, how to use

Hi all! Homemade furniture has many advantages, although you should not forget about certain disadvantages. If you decide to get into furniture production and create some designs that involve the use of hinges, it will probably be useful for you to know about a drill for furniture hinges.

This is a special cutter that is optimally suited for making the required holes. Yes, you can get by with regular drills. But then drilling becomes several times more complicated, and the quality of the finished hole will be in great doubt.

A cutter or drill for furniture hinges can have a certain size and functional tasks. Do you know the name of this instrument? Officially it is called a Forstner drill. Let's talk about him.

What it is

Special drills make it possible to quickly and efficiently install ready-made furniture hinges. With their help, holes are cut with a certain depth and diameter. In this case, excess material is virtually completely removed during the drilling process.

When the hinges are installed in ready-made and machined holes, the fastening is as tight and reliable as possible. In this matter, the main thing is to correctly select the diameter of the drill used. You should start from the diameter of the bowl of the furniture hinge itself. It can have dimensional characteristics of 22mm, 26mm, 35mm and more. It is the diameter of the bowl and, accordingly, the diameter of the drill used for installation that is taken into account. You can buy it in almost any store, including Leroy Merlin.

The hinge drill belongs to the category of special milling type drills. They are used to make holes in wood and plastic products. That is, they can work on wood, chipboard, MDF, plywood, chipboard, plastic, etc.

Understanding the Forstner drill

Cutting tools with a depth limiter, used to create blind holes of the required diameter for installing furniture hinges, received their official name. This is a Forstner drill.

The product is made from a metal head on which there are 2 or 4 pointed tips. In the center there is another tip necessary for centering and marking the center of the future hole. The cutting element is located on the axis. The axis itself can be fixed directly in a conventional drill, on a screwdriver or on a special machine. Typically, a special drill makes a hole for furniture hinges to a depth of 9 mm. But this parameter can also change. Head dimensions (diameter) vary depending on specific tasks and fittings. Most often these are 26 mm, 35 mm and 40 mm.

As we have already said, the cutter is selected based on the size of the fittings used.

It is also worth touching on the topic of the size of the cutter itself, as well as the dependence on the size of the fittings used.

Types of manual milling installations

Inserting a lock into an interior door with a router is much more practical than using a drill, much less a chisel. The latter tool generally requires certain skills. Otherwise, there is a risk of damage to the decorative coating of the door. In addition, this process takes quite a long time.

A hand router can complete the task in a very short time. And the quality of work is a bonus. The mechanism will make all the necessary grooves and recesses with extreme precision and without damaging the surface of the door. And the need for fine-tuning arises only in some cases. Usually, after the operation is completed, constipation can be installed immediately.

But the device does not insert hinges with a router until the very end. At the final stage, you still have to do a little work with a hammer and chisel. To select angles. But, after passing the cutter, this operation becomes simple and takes little time.

All manual milling cutters can be divided into 4 categories:

• vertical;
• edge;
• combined;
• special purpose.

A simple plunge router Source ytimg.com
A vertical router is also called a plunge router. It is used for cutting grooves. Moreover, the width and depth of the passage can be set in advance. This tool is often used as a router for cutting locks and hinges.

Edge routers process the edges of wooden products. They are used where decorative finishing is needed. Therefore, they also have another name - edging.

The combination tool is usually used by professional woodworkers. It combines the capabilities of both vertical and edge options. And it can also be considered as a device for inserting loops with a router.

Special-purpose power tools come in different varieties. It performs certain technological tasks. And the most common among craftsmen are dowel and lamella milling cutters. They are also called figireans. But all of them are used for curly processing of wood surfaces.

Briefly about sizes

The holes in the furniture product are needed to fit the furniture hinge bowl inside, fix it and ensure a reliable connection between the canvas and the fittings.

No special skills are required for insertion. But experience, even the slightest, will not be superfluous.

How holes are made

To install the hinge, you will first need to prepare the seat. A special drill will help you in this matter.

But simply having a tool is not enough. We still need to do everything right. Otherwise, the cost of a mistake is your furniture façade and damaged material. After reading the recommendations and instructions, practice first on some segments.

You need a set consisting of:

The kit may vary depending on the specific situation.

The hinge bowl will need to be embedded into the facade. That is, markings are performed on it first. It is important to choose the center of the future hole for the bowl correctly.

The center of the hole is planned 22-23 mm from the edge of the material. This will leave about 5mm between the edge of the hinge bowl and the edge of the front. Drilling is carried out strictly after marking has been completed.

It is highly recommended that you use cutters with a stop to avoid accidentally drilling through a hole or exceeding the required depth.

Drilling should be done at a slight, constantly changing inclination of the power tool.

Upon completion of the work, remove all remnants of material, try on and begin installing the fittings.

This is a useful, fairly easy-to-use, and sometimes simply necessary tool for furniture production at home and in a full-fledged factory. Only in the second case are special milling machines used. A Forstner cutter is perfect for those who decide to mount the fittings themselves, using a household screwdriver or a regular drill for this purpose.

Have you ever encountered such a cutter? Did everything work out the first time, or did you have to learn from your own mistakes?

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Is the installation process for door hinges different?

Manufacturers offer more than 10 types of attachments. There are simple canopies and models of more complex designs. They differ in the installation method.

For example, hinged hinges are most often used for wooden kitchen cabinet doors. Before correctly installing furniture hinges, you need to mark the location of the fastening elements. The placement pattern is standard - you need to retreat 8-15 cm from each edge of the leaf. The distance between individual hinges depends on the height of the door. Next, markings are carried out in the selected areas. The canopies are applied to the base and traced along the contour with a simple pencil, and points for drilling holes for self-tapping screws are marked.

Glass sheets of kitchen sets are hung on the upper cabinets of the furniture. The material is quite fragile, so it requires a special approach to the selection and installation of fasteners.

In this case, the fittings include several required elements:

• fastenings;
• strike plate;
• seals;
• decorative plugs.

The method of fixing hinges on glass doors is slightly different from installing fasteners on wooden panels. The drawing of the location of parts is done in a similar way.

In wooden structures, holes are pre-drilled with an electric drill for attaching canopies. Next, screw in the screws using a screwdriver.

The hinges are attached to the glass panels using special clamps. The sash is placed in a hinge. In this case, rubber gaskets are additionally installed between these elements to prevent damage to the glass. Bolts are used to secure parts.

Working with a manual router: inserting furniture hinges step by step photo instructions

The master class shows a simple technology for inserting cup-type furniture hinges using a manual router. Using an inexpensive mortise bit and a homemade template, you can quickly make professional-quality blind holes in your home workshop.

Recesses for cup hinges are often made with a Forstner drill, but the holes rarely come out neat and precise. And the centering spike of the drill easily pops out from the back of the furniture board. The use of a manual milling machine allows you to make holes no worse than factory ones.

The procedure for making a template

1. Determine the thickness of the plywood for the template: it should be slightly larger than the protruding part of the copy sleeve. You shouldn’t take material that is too thick - the cutter’s reach may not be enough.

2. Measure the outer diameter of the copy sleeve.

3. Calculate the size of the cut hole (D) using the formula:

For example, for a furniture hinge with a 35 mm cup with a 14 mm cutter and a 30 mm sleeve, you will need a template hole with a diameter of 51 mm.

4. Cut a blank from plywood and mark the center of the hole to be drilled according to the drawing.

5. Having placed an unnecessary board, secure the plywood with a clamp and use an awl to mark the drilling point.

6. Having set the desired size on the “ballerina”, drill a hole.

Advice. The accuracy of the operation affects the quality of the manufactured template. It’s better to try the sliding drill on an unnecessary board and adjust the size.

7. Use sandpaper to clean the edges of the hole.

8. Cut a strip of plywood 3 cm wide and 14 cm long.

9. Draw a line parallel to the axis of the hole at a distance of 22 mm, marking the location of the edge of the furniture door.

10. According to the markings, secure the thrust strip with glue and nails.

11. Move the center line to the other side of the workpiece to make it easier to determine the location of the loop.

Loop insertion order

1. Mark the furniture door based on the recommended distances between the hinges.

2. Using the stopper against the end, place the template on the door and secure it with a clamp.

3. Place the router in the work area, lower the tool body until the cutter touches the surface of the workpiece and clamp the locking lever.

4. Lower the depth gauge to the position support.

5. Count 11.5 mm on the scale and set the stopper position.

6. Tighten the routing depth adjuster lock.

7. Adjust the parameter using a micrometer screw.

8. Release the locking lever.

9. Rotate the positioning support to set the depth of the first pass.

10. Start the router, press the body and fix the position. Smoothly moving the tool along the surface to be processed, cut out the material, starting from the circle and moving to the center.

11. Once you have completed the passage, release the latch. Rotate the support to the next position and repeat the process until the recess is completely exhausted.

Advice. If there is no sawdust removal system, it is recommended to clean the work area with a vacuum cleaner after each pass to avoid milling defects.

12. A neat seat is ready.

13. Insert a loop into the recess, align and mark the location of the screws.

14. Drill for screws, limiting the drilling depth.

15. Screw the hinges with countersunk screws.

After inserting the hinges, proceed to the door hanger, for which mark the location of the mating parts. In our example, the markings for the screws are 37 mm from the end of the chipboard. For other modifications of the fittings, determine the size locally: having assembled the hinge and positioning the front adjustment screw in the middle, lean the door against the side with a gap of 2 mm and place marks through the oblong holes. Complete the work with adjustment operations.

Adjustment screws: 1 - height; 2 - in depth; 3 - in width.

In a similar way, it is easy to calculate and make templates both for installing cup hinges of other sizes and for cutting other holes.

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Drill bit for furniture hinges, Forstner design

When installing furniture connecting elements, it is convenient to use a drill, which uses a special drill, with which you can evenly select the waste material and make a hole to the required depth.

Furniture hinges, attached after processing the base with such a tool, “sit” evenly and securely.

Equipping a drill with a drill suitable for the selected hinges is the main task when working with cabinet furniture doors.

Furniture hinges, attached after processing the base with such a tool, “sit” evenly and securely. It is important to choose the correct drill diameter depending on the parameters of the hinge bowls.

A drill for furniture hinges is a special milling attachment that allows you to work with wooden and plastic bases of sufficient width. You should select milling elements in specialized stores.

General information about the Forstner device

A Forstner drill for furniture hinges is a device with a complex configuration and has several varieties. But all of them are based on one central point, a transverse incisor and two on the rim.

There are three main types of drills for installing furniture hinges:

• Original design , made by milling and finished by hand
• With cast working part , adapted for fully machine production
• Manufactured by casting with welded high-speed steel

In terms of cost, these three types also differ radically - the most expensive are the representatives of the first type, and the most budget-friendly are the third. The quality can be either consistently high (for Forstner drills made according to the first type) or quite mediocre. In any case, this device is not too cheap and when purchasing it, you need to carry out a thorough visual inspection for quality of workmanship (no surface defects, chips, smooth and symmetrical sharpening, accurate welding and hardening).

Main dimensions and working diameters of the device

All device options have a fairly wide range of diameters. A drill for furniture hinges with a diameter of 35 mm . Two other slightly less popular diameters are 26 and 40 mm . The length of the shank may vary depending on the manufacturer, but most often it is a hexagon 10-12 cm .

Not only the manufacturer’s logo and drill size markings, but also a special immersion depth scale can be chemically engraved on the shank. Sometimes the kit may include a removable dive limiter. It is a metal disk with a diameter 4-6 mm larger than the outer diameter of the drill. The limiter is attached to the shank using a screw screwed into its sleeve.

The process of working with a Forstner device

Using a Forstner drill makes the process of cutting a hole very easy. There are two options here:

• Without depth limiter . If the device does not have one, then you need to proceed as follows - prick a hole in the center with a tap, place the center point in it. Next, drilling begins at medium speed. Taking frequent breaks to check depth. At this time you need to apply the loop cup and see if it fits. In addition, breaks will prevent the drill from overheating and setting the wood on fire.
• With limiter . In this case, the work is simplified. The main thing is to correctly set the immersion depth of the device. Marking the shank or using a caliper will help here.

• When setting the depth for the Forstner fixture, you need to take into account the size of the central tip. Most often it is from 2 to 4 mm . If you forget about this, you can ruin the front surface of the part - the façade of the furniture.

In general, before you start working with real furniture parts, you should practice several times with unnecessary pieces of material of similar thickness and composition. This will make the work much easier.

• When working with the device, try to maintain uniform rotation and maintain its perpendicular position relative to the surface of the part. You can avoid chipping it by first gluing a piece of masking tape to the drilling site. Once the recess is made, it will be easy to remove, and the edges will be burr-free.

What is it and how does it work?

A drill for furniture hinges is a special milling attachment that allows you to work with wooden and plastic bases of sufficient width. With its help, you can make the desired hole in a solid panel, MDF, chipboard or laminated chipboard.

With its help, you can make the desired hole in a solid panel, MDF, chipboard or laminated chipboard. You can find both standard and non-standard drills with a quality certificate and a guarantee from well-known manufacturers.

The nozzle is a base with a bridge and three teeth. The middle spike is installed in the center of the future circle, which is outlined using a prepared gauge, and the rest make a round hole of the required diameter. Typically the depth of the final cut is about 9mm.

The nozzle is a base with a bridge and three teeth. Elements that are too cheap are an indicator of a low-quality product, so it’s worth considering options with prices below the market average.

Furniture hinges for which a drill is used are mainly four-hinged. The hole for each is made almost instantly. When working, the drill is held slightly inclined, and not straight, so that the waste material is selected to the desired depth and evenly.

Typically the depth of the final cut is about 9mm. This cutter is reliable and will last a long time.

Preparing doors and working with a router

Let's take a closer look at how to cut grooves for a lock and hinges on a door using a router. Let's look at an example of hanging loops. The lock is cut in identically, using a similar algorithm. In order not to apply markings manually, it is better to purchase special templates. Their cost is low, and the store has a wide assortment for any model of locks and awnings.

Installing a cutter into a tool Source amazon.com

Step-by-step instructions for working with a router:

1. The door is securely fixed to the floor with the side end surface facing up. It is better to use special clamps.
2. The places where the loops will be located are marked.
3. A template is placed on the marking and secured.
4. The router is adjusted to the desired depth and placed on top of the template.
5. Wood is removed from the inside of the template using a milling cutter.
6. At the end of the operation, the router along with the device is removed to the side.
7. The groove is refined with a chisel (the corners are selected).
8. Hinges are installed on the treated areas and secured with fasteners.

How to make a hole for hinges in chipboard: installation of a furniture hinge

A situation often arises when it is necessary to install a furniture hinge into a chipboard board, for example, when installing a chipboard door. This task involves drilling a hole for a hinge in the chipboard. In this article we will look at what you can use to prepare such a hole and how to install a loop in it.

So, in our case, when making a cabinet from chipboard, a mistake was made - the groove for the hinge was drilled too low, as a result, after installing the hinge in the prepared place, the internal horizontal door cannot open completely. As a result, it is necessary to move the groove slightly upward to eliminate this drawback.

Error in choosing the location for the groove for the hinge

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Tools and materials

During the installation of furniture hinges for chipboard, we will need the following tools:

1. Forstner drill with a diameter corresponding to the loop (in our case 35 mm). The drill is a cutter for making a groove for hinges. These drills sometimes come with stops (designed for chipboard thicknesses of 16, 22, 25 mm), which allow you not to worry about how deep you should go;

The materials we need are the hinge itself and the screws for fastening it.

Internal furniture hinge for flush mounting, right angle

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Step 1: How to make a hole for a hinge in chipboard?

First, place a Forstner drill on the drill.

If you have a drill without a stop, then take a test piece of chipboard and drill a groove for the hinge in several steps, each time trying on how far the hinge goes. The essence of this action is to decide how much you need to deepen the drill so as not to drill a through hole and so that the entire loop fits into the groove.

Now that we've got the hang of it, it's time to tackle the door itself. First, let's mark the center of the hole. This is where we will install the center of the drill.

Marking the hole for the hinge

If you have a hinge torn out of a chipboard and you don’t know what to do, then the easiest option to repair the torn hinge is to move the hinge, i.e. drill a new hole, since often the places where the hinge is attached with screws turn into dust and no longer hold the door properly. The remaining old hole can be filled or sealed.

So let's start drilling.

Drilling a groove for a hinge

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Step 2: installing a hinge on a chipboard door

The grooves are prepared, all that remains is to insert the hinges into them and screw them in with screws.

Door hinge installation

Thus, we moved the hinge higher, the inner cabinet door now opens easily.

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Video

The video below clearly shows how to make a hole for hinges in chipboard.

Healthy? Save it to your wall! Thank you for like!

When installing hinges on cabinet furniture, two types of drills are used, differing in size:

The hole for each is made almost instantly. It is important to choose the correct drill diameter depending on the parameters of the hinge bowls.

The diameter is selected in accordance with standard hinges or with a reduced bowl. Each type of fastening has its own drill.

With its help, you can make the desired hole in a solid panel, MDF, chipboard or laminated chipboard. The nozzle is a base with a bridge and three teeth.

A universal drill with interchangeable attachments is suitable for installing furniture hinges.

When working, the drill is held slightly inclined, and not straight, so that the waste material is selected to the desired depth and evenly. The middle spike is installed in the center of the future circle, which is outlined using a prepared gauge.

Milling machines use automatic calibration and attachments, but at home you cannot do without a special hand-held power tool.

The diameter is selected in accordance with standard hinges or with a reduced bowl. Each type of fastening has its own drill.

The process of installing furniture hinges

Installation of fasteners is carried out in 4 steps:

1. Marking areas for fixing parts.
2. Preparing holes for screws.
3. Assembly and installation of fittings.
4. Hanging the door.

The final and most difficult stage is the stage of adjusting the position of the canvas relative to the body of the cabinet or cabinet. If the furniture structure is not assembled correctly, the door leaves will begin to sag, which will lead to damage to the product.

Marking

In order to correctly install fasteners, you must first mark the connection points of individual parts of the furniture structure, otherwise the doors will not close well.

Recommended procedure:

1. Step back 7-12 cm from the bottom and top edges of the canvas. These will be the fixation points of the first loop.
2. Fasten each subsequent fastener at a distance of 50 cm or more from the previous element. At this stage, the number of required canopies is established. Accordingly, you need to draw horizontal lines.
3. Mark points for drilling holes for screws. They should be 5-2.5 cm away from the side edge. A vertical line is drawn from bottom to top. At its intersections with horizontal stripes, marks are made using self-tapping screws.

For this procedure, you can use special templates, but drilling holes through them is not recommended: you can ruin the workpieces.

Drilling holes for hinges

After applying preliminary markings to the body of the furniture set and the canvas, recesses are made to fix the fastening elements. For this, a milling cutter, an electric drill and a set of drills of the required diameter are used.

Work order:

1. Place the canvas on a pre-prepared, level base.
2. Make holes up to 1.25 cm deep, no more. A cutter specially designed for furniture sheds is fixed in an electric drill.
3. When drilling, keep the drill perpendicular to the blade. The drill must not be allowed to skew.

The work must be done carefully so as not to drill through the door. It is better to use a cutter: this will avoid damage to the decorative surface of the product. When using drills, there is a risk of chipping.

Attaching the hinge with your own hands

Next, the canopies are inserted into the prepared recesses and adjusted relative to the façade of the structure. The loops should fit snugly to the base. If these parts are placed unevenly, the canvas will begin to warp.

After adjusting the position of the structural elements, mark with a simple pencil the screw-in points for the fastening screws and attach the doors to the cabinet (cabinet).

Procedure:

1. Marking of fixation points and fastening of loop platforms intended for installation of the canopies themselves.
2. Applying the canvas to the side of the cabinet.
3. Connecting parts.
4. Adjusting the position of the sash relative to the product using a screwdriver.

It is recommended to hang doors on a smooth base. The side of the cabinet or bedside table on which the striker is fixed must be in a horizontal position. After connecting the pieces of furniture, the doors can already be adjusted in a vertical position.

Installation of the strike plate

Mounting strips are used with insert parts.

The standard thickness of a laminated chipboard façade is 1.6 cm. In this case, you need to retreat 5.4 cm from the edge of the product. This indicator consists of a constant value of 3.7 cm, a thickness of the canvas of 1.6 cm and an additional 0.1-0 .2 cm required for free movement and adjustment of fastening elements.

Hanging the façade on a hinge

This is the most difficult stage of furniture assembly. To facilitate installation work, it is recommended to lay the product body on the base so that the door is installed horizontally on the hinges.

First, the same markings are made on the inside of the cabinet or bedside table as on the canvas. In this case, you will need a cutter for furniture canopies.

Further sequence of actions:

1. Fixing the hinge platform using self-tapping screws.
2. Connection of individual structural elements.
3. Adjusting the position of fittings elements relative to the furniture body and canvas. To do this, use a building level and a screwdriver.

At the final stage of furniture assembly, final adjustments to all components of the structure must be made.

Final adjustment

This is the final stage of installation work related to the installation of awnings on furniture sets. The final adjustment of the fastenings is carried out simultaneously in the horizontal and vertical planes, as well as in depth.

In the first case, the setting ensures free opening and closing of the sashes and prevents the appearance of gaps between individual parts of the structure. This setting option is often used when installing furniture in rooms with uneven floor and wall bases.

Vertical adjustment allows you to move the façade of the set if necessary. In this case, you need to tighten the special oval holes on the hanging structures.

Final adjustment is the last stage of installation work.

Depth adjustment is carried out using oval-shaped holes. This adjustment makes it possible to weaken or increase the pressure of the canvas to the body of the cabinet (cabinet).

A cutter used for inserting furniture hinges into facades

Today we will look at a cutting tool that is used to make holes for the cups of four-hinge furniture hinges.

In general, this device is correctly called not a cutter, but a Forstner drill.

It consists of a head containing cutting knives (in some versions there may be two, and in some - four). In the center of the head there is a special tip for centering the device (it is placed at the point marked for drilling).

The diameter of the cutter head is 35 millimeters (exactly under the landing cup).

This tool is used to make holes in wood, MDF, chipboard, and plastic.

You can read more about how furniture hinges are embedded in this article.

I just want to add that when working with this tool you need to remember two things:

Typically, most furniture fronts have a thickness of 16 millimeters, and the depth of the cutter head (including the tip) is greater than this size.

Therefore, if you are going to make a mounting hole in the facade for the first time, practice first on the remnants of chipboard, and see to what depth you need to drive the tool into the body of the material (after each pass, measure the hole with a real loop so as not to select excess material).

To drill such holes, for example, I never used special devices, and drilled them by hand (why unnecessarily complicate a simple process?).

And secondly, when drilling a hole, do not hold the drill strictly vertical to the facade. It is necessary to slightly change the angle of inclination, thereby uniformly selecting the material of the hole being drilled.

With this drilling method, the cutter will not overheat, and the hole will be drilled faster.

That’s basically all there is to it, an indispensable device in furniture production.

That's all, see you later.

Briefly about the main thing

To cut a lock with a router or hang hinges on a door, you need to choose the right tool. It is best to use a simple submersible model, since the combined model is heavy. This will create certain inconveniences, especially if there is no experience in such wood processing.

Using a router to cut in fittings is easy. But the process is greatly simplified if there are special templates. Having placed the device in the desired place, all that remains is to set the required processing depth on the tool and install it on top.

When working, you need to carefully monitor the process in order to notice overload in time. It can occur if the wood structure is too hard. Then you just need to reduce the speed of the tool using a special switch on the body.

Advantages and disadvantages

Furniture hinges require precision during installation, so the ability to make exactly the recess that is needed is the main advantage of a Forstner drill. This provides a special stop that prevents penetration into the hole beyond a fixed length. The drill is limited by teeth that do not allow it to deviate from the specified location. The hole turns out perfectly clean, thanks to which the loop cup fits very tightly.

A universal drill with interchangeable attachments is suitable for installing furniture hinges.

At home, you can’t do without a special hand-held power tool.

The only drawback of a Forstner drill when working with solid wood can be its low quality, which is typical for non-factory production. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a product from an official supplier and obtain a guarantee.

Furniture hinges require precision during installation, so it is possible to make exactly such a recess.

Depending on the type of panel, the cutter can become very hot, burning the edges and the material removed from the recess. Therefore, when working with such a base, it is recommended to take breaks to cool the drill, doing 3-4 approaches. This usually happens with MDF panels. When working with laminated chipboard and chipboard, hard alloy elements allow you to make holes for hinges quickly and without much effort.

The drill is limited by teeth that do not allow it to deviate from the specified location.

Additive for furniture hinges

By “hinge addition” it is customary to understand the sequence of operations for attaching a hinge to the facade (door) of furniture. As a rule, we are talking about the so-called. four-hinged hinges, which are the most common in the production of cabinet furniture. To attach a four-hinged hinge to the facade, it is necessary to make a special seat on the back side of the facade - a blind hole of a certain diameter and depth. This article will discuss how to properly attach a furniture hinge using a minimum set of hand tools.

Four-hinged hinge (view from the fastening side).

Required tool:

A Faustner drill (mill) is a very common piece of equipment used to make blind (not through) holes in soft materials. When purchasing a Fostner drill for adding furniture hinges, you need to pay attention to several points. First, the needle (the central sharp tip) of the drill should be well centered (without noticeable runout). Secondly, the drill must have carbide (often called Pobedit) cutters, otherwise it will become dull very quickly. The length of the centering needle is a very important parameter. If the length of the needle is too long, there is a risk of drilling through the facade. If the length of the needle turns out to be insufficient, then the drill (when drilling with a hand drill by hand) will move to the side. As a rule, the length of the needle of a new drill has to be reduced (ground down) by about 0.5 mm. Professional (machine) Fostner drills have a reduced needle length or do not have one at all, since they are intended for special filler machines or machining centers, where accuracy is ensured by other means. It is strongly recommended that before drilling into a façade, you do a test drill in a similar material of the same thickness.

Preparation.

The surface of the workbench on which the additive will be performed must be smooth, clean, and non-slip. Under the facade you can put, for example, a sheet of thin rubber, a piece of foamed polyethylene (a type of insulation) or several layers of stretch packaging film. It would not be superfluous to secure the façade with clamps. Do not forget about personal safety; use safety glasses when drilling.

Marking holes.

Marking is a responsible operation. The accuracy of the loop installation and the correctness of its operation depend on its accuracy. The figure below shows the dimensions for marking. Particular attention should be paid to a distance of 21-22 mm from the working (along which the hinges are attached) side of the facade. The other indentation (in the picture on the right/left) is not so important in terms of accuracy. The main thing is that the first and last hinges of the facade are located at distances from 70 to 150 mm from the sides of the facade adjacent to the working side. The total number of hinges on the facade can be two or more, depending on the size and weight of the facade.

Indents for marking.

Core drilling center.

After marking, everything is ready for drilling.

Drilling a hole for the hinge.

Before drilling, it is recommended to punch the center of the drill. Drilling must be done at a rotation speed of about 1500 rpm; too high speeds will lead to burning of the facade material, and the cutter will quickly become dull due to overheating. When drilling with a hand drill, it is recommended to perform light circular movements (describing a cone with the apex on the drill needle) of small amplitude, this will increase the efficiency of material sampling. Since the drilling depth is, by and large, controlled by eye, from time to time it is necessary to stop drilling and measure the depth (the easiest way to do this is using an existing loop). As a rule, a depth of 12 mm is sufficient.

Drill with a Fostner drill bit with a diameter of 35 mm.

Close-up of a Fostner drill.

Attaching hinges to the facade.

This is the simplest operation. To do this, you need to insert the loop into the drilled hole, level the area of ​​the loop bowl using a square, mark the fastening points with a pencil and, after preliminary core drilling and/or drilling (with a drill about 2 mm in diameter), screw the loop with two 3.5 × 16 mm self-tapping screws (the length of the screws depends on the thickness of the facade). Small installation inaccuracies (up to 1 mm) do not need to be corrected. With some experience, the hinge can be screwed on without marking, punching or drilling, but simply using the attached square.

Installing the loop into the hole.

Align with a square and mark the hinge mounting holes with a pencil.

Punching holes. No drilling was performed.

The hinges are installed on the facade.

We looked at the principle of manually adding a loop, which can be done even at home. However, it is recommended that the addition of loops be carried out using specialized equipment (even home-made); the most affordable option is a conventional vertical drilling machine in the entry-level price category. This will significantly increase labor productivity and reduce the risk of damage to facades.

Rules for installing furniture hinges

When assembling structures yourself, you must adhere to established rules and recommendations of specialists.

Before installing the hinges, be sure to mark the areas where they are attached. This is the main element of furniture fittings, which consists of a strip and a cup. Initially, these parts are attached separately to the frame of the bedside table and the door.

To do this, holes of the required diameter are drilled in the bases, and the parts are fixed with self-tapping screws or self-tapping screws. Next, connect the 2 pieces of furniture and adjust the position of the elements.

How to choose?

Equipping a drill with a drill suitable for the selected hinges is the main task when working with cabinet furniture doors. In order for the hole to be precisely adjusted in radius and depth, you need to take a cutter of the required diameter.

The hole turns out perfectly clean, thanks to which the loop cup fits very tightly.
The product must be from an official supplier and obtain a guarantee. You should select milling elements in specialized stores. There you can find both standard and non-standard drills with a quality certificate and a guarantee from well-known manufacturers. Elements that are too cheap are an indicator of a low-quality product, so it’s worth considering options with prices below the market average. This cutter is reliable and will last a long time.

Depending on the type of panel, the cutter can become very hot, burning the edges and the material removed from the recess.

Source

Calculation of the number of loops

Most furniture manufacturers specify the recommended number of fasteners in the assembly instructions. The calculations take into account the mass and parameters of the web.

For bedside tables made of laminated chipboard, on the doors of which a mirror is attached, additional fastening devices are provided, because the standard number of hanging elements may not withstand overload.

Based on the height of the canvas, the number of connection points is determined. If there are insufficient fasteners, the canvas will begin to sag over time.

Recommended number of hinges depending on the weight and height of the facade:

It is also not recommended to use wide doors. If the width of the canvas is greater than the height, it is better to make 2 doors.