# Need some help with hinges for a whiskey barrel project



## StephenM (Mar 11, 2021)

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum and was hoping I could get some recommendations for hinges that might work for my latest project. I'm turning a whiskey barrel into a liquor cabinet and am trying to make it as stealth as possible. But I'm having trouble finding concealed hinges that will work because of the barrel's shape. Here are the barrel and door:









The problem I'm having is that the boards are 1" thick and the side edge is curved and juts out about 7/8" at the center when I run a straight edge from the top corner to the bottom corner:










I have not been able to find hinges that can accommodate the nearly 2" of clearance I'd need. Ideally I'd like to be able to open the door 180 degrees, but I'll settle for 90.

It seems like a much larger version of the concealed surface mount cabinet hinges (at the bottom of the page) would work, if one existed:








McMaster-Carr


McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.




www.mcmaster.com





Barrel or other mortise mount hinges don't provide enough clearance to open the door if they're mounted at the top and bottom of the opening. Would mounting a pair of them close to the vertical center of the opening be strong enough to support the door?

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

--Stephen


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## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

Welcome to the forum. It is easier for us to find what you mean on McMaster (I've used and like them) if you click in to the hinge like this.

The mounts for both hinges and both parts of the hinge will need to be in the same plane. You can use a router for that, with a jig. That will reduce the thickness a bit.


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## yomanbill (Jul 7, 2020)

On your picture, draw a vertical line tangent to the curve of the barrel and touching or just to the left of the fattest point. How ever or where ever you mount the hinges, the barrels of the hinges must be on this line in order to work. This means that the hinges will protrude out from the outer surface of the barrel. You have a couple of choices: two hinges, top and bottom that will, by your measurement, protrude about 7/8" or find a very heavy single hinge that will mount at the fattest point of the curve. Either way, you will likely need to modify something like a strap hinge or, in the case of a single hinge, modify a very heavy duty butt hinge. If there is a specialty hinge for this purpose, I'm not aware of it.


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## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

If you Google: whiskey barrel hinges
you'll see what other people have done. Just glancing at the photos it seems 2 hinges close together are a common way, looks likely the hinges had some play, looseness etc allowing them to work even though the pins aren't in a perfect line.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Think we have been down this road before. Only thing I can think of is a hinge that works like those on car doors.


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## JayArr (Sep 18, 2018)

Can you build up the inside of the barrel and door and use European hinges?


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## Dave McCann (Jun 21, 2020)

StephenM said:


> But I'm having trouble finding concealed hinges that will work because of the barrel's shape.


What you wish to do is absolutely doable. Yes, you can have 100% concealed hinges that will allow the "door" to pivot well over 90 degrees.

Yes the hinge pin of both hinges has to be inline with each other, otherwise the hinges will bind. The easiest way keep the hinge pins in line is to create a mounting surface which is in line.

One way to do this is with "bondo". OR By add mounting blocks to the inside face of both the door and the barrel. You could even add the blocks using "bondo" or "thickened epoxy" as a filler/bedding compound for the blocks.










At that point you can use a "trunk lid" hinge such as these; Trunk Lid Hinges, 1939-40 Coupe - Grumps-Garage








The trunk lid hinges should provide enough clearance to accommodate the curvature and thickness of the barrel. The "kink" in the hinge is designed to accommodate a compound curve that would be common on automobile hoods, trunk lids and whiskey barrels. 

*P.S. *The ones shown and linked above, may NOT give you the 90degree travel or better, this is just an example. You may need ones with more arc built into the arm.
Example of another hinge with more travel, Universal Trunk Hinge Kit (speedwaymotors.com) 

*P.P.S. *It should also be noted that the hinges shown are only an example of the "style" and "build" of the required hinge. The examples shown, most likely will be way oversize, for your application. You would need to research and locate a size appropriate to your needs.









 "Barrel or other mortise mount hinges don't provide enough clearance to open the door if they're mounted at the top and bottom of the opening. Would mounting a pair of them close to the vertical center of the opening be strong enough to support the door? "
*BTW: *Your previous statement (quoted just above) continues to apply. Moving the trunk lid hinges closer together (towards the center of vertical) will provide more clearance. One would need to strike a balance between positioning for clearance or positioning for strength and stability of the door.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

At $100 a pair I would be tempted to bend some flat iron and make my own, it does look like a solution, will be watching.


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## StephenM (Mar 11, 2021)

Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I will try the trunk-lid style hinges first. I'm approaching competent with a mig welder, so I'll make some from tee hinges and flat bar. I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out.


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## StephenM (Mar 11, 2021)

Hi everyone,

It took a few tries, but I got it working. The first hinges I designed were quite naturally perfect. They were a work of art. Flawless. Sublime. A triumph only equaled by their monumental failure:









I made them offset and then realized with the zero clearance the barrel door had, they weren't going to work. So I cut up some drawer slides that would allow the part attached to the barrel to slide a little. They worked great for just one stave:









But when I added the whole door, it was way too heavy. The lower hinge slid all the way in on its track, causing the door to swing shut on its own.

So I tried a different design that's three hinges and two bars:









Because of the weight, the door still wants to close, so I had to angle the bottom hinge upwards. It now stays open at about 70 degrees, which is fine for me.

I'll keep looking around for hinges that may do a better job. Or perhaps I'll have some inspiration for a new design.

Anyway, here's the finished project:

















Thanks again for all the suggestions!

--Stephen


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## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

Nicely done. Great piece of inovation.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Like what you did with the band to cover the seam, glad it worked out for you.


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## nickc623 (5 mo ago)

I sent you a message with some questions that I had regarding your build


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