No Bore Glass Door Pivot Hinge

[cabinetman]

You may want to hang frameless glass doors over a cabinet opening. This type of hinge requires no holes to be drilled in the glass. It's really pretty simple to figure out the size of the glass and where to drill the hole.

It's available in a variety of finishes, like chrome, black and polished brass. A minimum of 3/16" to 1/4" glass is required. The door will be figured as an inset, but can be used with either a face frame, or frameless construction.

To drill for installation, it's best to have the hardware in hand, as they can vary by manufacturer. The hole for the insert grommet should be drilled before the cabinet goes together. Reason being that it's so close to the cabinet/frame side, that if the cabinet is together, you can't get the drill to operate perpendicularly, to seat the grommet straight. In cases with a face frame the rail members should be drilled before the frame is assembled. It's essential that both the upper and lower holes be in alignment as once the glass is tightened, stresses from improper alignment can crack the glass.

There are some right angle optional attachments for a drill that are pretty narrow, if you have one that might work. Another suggestion is to make a mock up corner from two scraps to lay out the spacing for the mounting hole. I usually allow no more than 1/8". If you get the hole too close the edge of the case/frame, the hinge may rub the side of the cabinet when rotating.

You can align the drill hole so the face of the hinge is flush with the front of the cabinet, which in that case the actual glass will be set back about 3/32". When installing the glass into the upper and lower hinge, mount the metal plate with its adhesive back to the glass, and from the inside side of the hinge slowly tighten the screws to fix the glass. Being mounted that way, you have some adjustment to align the glass to the cabinet or to another door.

You may need to do a final adjustment once the cabinet is installed, as any racking can alter the door adjustment. The hinge is a free swinging hinge, so you will need a magnetic catch, or a magnetic touch latch. For those types of hardware a strike plate like this would be needed. There are Plexiglas knobs available with peal and stick mounts that can be used, if just a magnetic catch is used.

There is also a self closing no bore hinge like this, which is screw mount...no drilling for a pivot. A stop would need to be used.

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[atgcpaul]

There is also a self closing no bore hinge like this, which is screw mount...no drilling for a pivot. A stop would need to be used.

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I used these on my first glass door project--a display case for Happy Meal Snoopys. One thing to keep in my mind is that glass is heavy. I didn't add a magnetic catch until later. I had to pad out the bottom hinge and also make sure the bottom of the cabinet tipped out more than the top so the glass door wouldn't open on its own.

[cabinetman]

I used these on my first glass door project--a display case for Happy Meal Snoopys. One thing to keep in my mind is that glass is heavy. I didn't add a magnetic catch until later. I had to pad out the bottom hinge and also make sure the bottom of the cabinet tipped out more than the top so the glass door wouldn't open on its own.

Thanks for your response. If you used the screw on hinge, that should have been self closing, where you would only have needed a stop. If it was the pivot type, the door should not have opened on its own if the upper and ower hinge were in alignment.

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[pelligrini]

They worked pretty well for some plexiglass dog doors I did yesterday too. I made the pivot point 2" below the corner because I didn't think of using the glass hinges until cabinetman reminded me of them. An offset pivot should work on a cabinet too if needed. Installation and alignment was a snap.

As to how practical my doors will be is another question. The dogs don't seem to like them much. The doors does keep the AC inside their house though. Won't help the dogs much if they won't use the doors. I'm thinking the clear vinyl strips on warehouses might be better.

[cabinetman]

They worked pretty well for some plexiglass dog doors I did yesterday too. I made the pivot point 2" below the corner because I didn't think of using the glass hinges until cabinetman reminded me of them. An offset pivot should work on a cabinet too if needed. Installation and alignment was a snap.

As to how practical my doors will be is another question. The dogs don't seem to like them much. The doors does keep the AC inside their house though. Won't help the dogs much if they won't use the doors. I'm thinking the clear vinyl strips on warehouses might be better.

I didn't mention orienting the hinges that way for a few reasons. First, for your dog doors, they would swing pretty good, but if the dog balks on their way in/out, the door could trap them. Next, hanging that way there's no decorative hardware that I know of to hold the door open (for a cabinet). The ones available have to screw to the back of the door. In that case, the screw holes could be tapped (for machine screws), but have the propensity to crack the acrylic. For glass it would be more difficult...maybe epoxy.

To orient the hinges with an offset for vertical action, the hinge side of the glass/plexi, would rotate inside the cabinet and likely hit full depth shelves. So, for the visual appeal, those hinges are figured to line up with the edge of the door.

But, I commend you on your innovation.

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[pelligrini]

I oriented the adjustment screws out so I didn't have to crawl inside to install them. I also had to add some spacers to the metal plate behind the screws since I was re-purposing some old thin plex I had.

Didn't think about the offset hinge extension hitting a shelf if it's too close to the door.