NOBLNG Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 (edited) I have another tutorial on making brass piano hinge, and also tried my hand at the hood hinges. This is a much better and easier way to make the hood hinges. I made a soldering “jig” that sits at about 45 degrees so that everything would sit nicely in place. First I sheared some .010” brass to approximately.156” wide. Then I put a tiny amount of flux on the 1mm tubing and laid it halfway across the brass strip. I put a 1/32” square of flattened solder on top of the tube and heated it with a butane torch until the solder flowed out (2-4 seconds). Then I cut the tube off with my hobby knife and filed the end square and flush with the edge of the strip. I notched the brass strip for clearance with my cheap P/A nippers and filed the notch clean and square. Then install a .020” brass hinge pin in one half and ream the other half with a .021” drill bit. This .020” pin fit snug in the tube and did not need to be soldered or glued. Cut and file to shape. Drill holes for pins and mount with CA. I wasn’t sure if CA alone would fasten them securely, so I added the pins. These hinges allow the hood to be removed for painting. You could make left and right hinges so the hood wouldn’t be removable, but then you would have to install the hinges after paint or paint with the hood installed. Previous thread here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/161632-fabricating-piano-hinges/#comment-2510325 Edited January 17, 2023 by NOBLNG 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yh70 Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 great job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteski Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Nice. That is a true scale hinge (as it is the same size as the molded in one. How exactly do you cut the brass tube (soldered to the brass strip) with a hobby knife without crushing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Beautiful work Greg! Those look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, peteski said: Nice. That is a true scale hinge (as it is the same size as the molded in one. How exactly do you cut the brass tube (soldered to the brass strip) with a hobby knife without crushing it? Just use a sharp blade and push straight down on it. It does deform it slightly. I poke it with a large sewing needle/awl that I have, then ream it with the .020” or .021” drill bit. Edited January 17, 2023 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteski Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 I see. Thanks Greg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I've done similar things to make hinges but instead of putting in a pin on one side I leave both parts open and connect them with a pin that runs clear through from one side to another. After everything is done the way I want it I cut the pin off at appropriate lengths to just fit the two hinge halves. Nice job on your work! They look perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) These hinges more closely replicate the early style two piece hinges that I had on my ‘71 Jeepster. The part bolted to the body had a slot in it, and the pins had two flats on them. When the hood was lifted to vertical it could be lifted up and out of the slots in order to remove the hood without unbolting anything….not that these old Jeeps needed to be worked on frequently.😬🥴 Having two identical hinges accomplishes the same thing. For my next one, I would like to find some .020” brass? rivets to use as bolts. I e-mailed a company that claims to make them, but have not received a reply…..so I made a prototype using the same 1mm tube for a head.…not sure if I want to try making 40 of them?🤔 Edited January 18, 2023 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeatMan Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Thanks for posting! I need a setup like that for my C-cab rear door. I just got the brass in last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 19, 2023 Author Share Posted January 19, 2023 30 minutes ago, MeatMan said: Thanks for posting! I need a setup like that for my C-cab rear door. I just got the brass in last week. Glad to be of help.🙂 Good luck with them and please post up some pics of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotnitro? Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 Perfect timing finding this post, I've been trying to decide how to make the door hinges on my school bus WIP in the rig forum. Your idea would work really well for having everything removable before paint and free to swing. Thanks ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatboy Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 Anybody try the very fine piano hinges available aftermarket? Thanks for the ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBorg Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 Nice tutorial. I appreciate your posting this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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