Two of my friends are having their first child this summer and I'm planning on building a storage box for toys for them. Thinking about it, though, I don't want to hinge the lid in a way that might crush little fingers on accident in the future. Has anyone ever built something like this before? Or know of hinges that might be a good option?
Best type of hinge for lid on kids' toy box?
- Thread starter hmlee2008
- Start date
Use a hinge like this that is linked below. It is a lift assist hinge which makes the lid feel lighter than it is and also holds it in the upright position. Tension can also be adjusted. Do not buy the hinge i have linked without figuring out how much your lid weighs and what its dimensions are. They sell the same hinge but different for various sizes and weights. What is linked below is the hafele maxi hinge. I had 80 benches made for a nursing home and we used these hinges for all the lids, they worked great. Note, for the cabinet member you must use a 5mm euro screw. Anything smaller and it will strip out, i learned the hard way.
Also, while designing the bench since it is for kids, design it so that when the lid is closed, there is no possibility of their fingers getting caught. You do this by leaving a 1” gap between the lid and the side panels and front panel. You would have a post in the front 2 corners for the lid to rest on. So unless fingers are on those 2 outside corner posts, there is no way that a kid can injure any fingers. Thats how my kids toy boxes were built. Otherwise, with young kids, it will happen.
https://www.hafele.com/us/en/product/swing-up-individual-fitting-maxi/0000006500027c9b00020023/
Also, while designing the bench since it is for kids, design it so that when the lid is closed, there is no possibility of their fingers getting caught. You do this by leaving a 1” gap between the lid and the side panels and front panel. You would have a post in the front 2 corners for the lid to rest on. So unless fingers are on those 2 outside corner posts, there is no way that a kid can injure any fingers. Thats how my kids toy boxes were built. Otherwise, with young kids, it will happen.
https://www.hafele.com/us/en/product/swing-up-individual-fitting-maxi/0000006500027c9b00020023/
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I used some soft close stays for my keyboard cabinet. They are designed for toy boxes as they should not allow the lid to come down so fast that it could injure a child. My cabinet lid was beyond the specified weight but it still closes more slowly than it would without them.
Here is the video which is one of a series I created about the keyboard cabinet construction:
Peter
Here is the video which is one of a series I created about the keyboard cabinet construction:
Peter
chrisrosenb
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Recommend Douper lid support hinge, I bought these hinges for a couple of toy boxes that i was making for my grandchildren. I wanted some form of safety on the lids as they were quite large boxes. when i first got the hinges I struggled to understand the fitting instructions and found the diagrams to be a little unclear. However, the sellers attached a set of different fitting instruction sto an email they sent me and these made a lot more sense. The hinges themselves work well and I have set them up so the lids open 90 degrees. They lock at this and you have to push the elbow og the hinge to close it so this works well with small children. The 'brake' is easily adjusted using the allen key and seems to work very well. All in all pleased with the product.
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