best way to drill cups for hinges?

[Ulmus]

Greetings.  I am making my first set of cabinets and plan to use cup hinges.  I request your advice on the best way to bore the 35mm hole for the cup.  I'm inclined to think that using my OF1400 router will give me the best control of both work piece and tool.  Correct?  If so, what is the best bit for the router?  Is the router too fast for a regular Forstner bit?  Thanks for your opinions!

 

[leakyroof]

If you have a drill press, then use a Carbide Drill bit made for drilling the hinges since they hold up better than a regular steel Forestner bit in materials like Plywood or MDF.
Router, same principle, dial down the speed since Cup Hinge Bits are large.
And yes, as others have noted, I never meant to suggest using a low speed rated Forestner bit in a Router. Was not my intent at all.... [embarassed]

 

[semenza]

Greetings.  I am making my first set of cabinets and plan to use cup hinges.  I request your advice on the best way to bore the 35mm hole for the cup.  I'm inclined to think that using my OF1400 router will give me the best control of both work piece and tool.  Correct?  If so, what is the best bit for the router?  Is the router too fast for a regular Forstner bit?  Thanks for your opinions!

Best way is going to depend on the tools you have and working situation.

Most forstner bits are rated for a max of 500- 1000 rpm. I think slowest on the 1400 is 10,000. So probably not a good idea.

Do you have a drill press?

Are you doing enough cabinets for a dedicated jig such as the Blum ECOdrill?

Seth

 

[live4ever]

Definitely a drill press and good quality Forstner would be my preferred method, but if you are without one, the router would be fine.  Many companies make 35mm hinge-boring bits that are appropriate for routers, Festool's 491077 ($90!) for example.  You definitely can't chuck a Forstner into a router.  I'm sure people have but it doesn't strike me as a good idea since Forstners are designed for much lower RPMs than a router can run. 

Kreg has a hinge-boring jig for power/cordless drills that is decent for the money if this is a one-off small set of cabs and you don't want to invest in fancier tooling.

 

[nclemmons]

You can use something like the LR32 set which comes with a bit and the carriage for aligning it with your rail.

Or your router alone.  The typical bit for cup hinges is 35mm.  But some may be different depending on the cup.  I'm always a little worried about the router alone plunging the bit due to the potential of it 'wandering' or being slightly off.

Some will use a drill press for placement, which is ideal.

An alternative for both spacing and control is to use a drill press or hand drill and bore a 35mm hole in 1/4" masonite or plywood.

Nail that to a guide block to index off the edge for your cup hinge spacing from the edge of your door.  Instructions for your hinge will give you this spacing.  And this spacing will vary depending on your door style - inset, overlay, etc.

This technique gives you a simple template you can clamp in place and use a drill to bore the hole with control and consistency of spacing.

Good luck!

 

[Cheese]

A drill press would my first choice because you can set the depth of the forstner bit for consistent results. Also, exact placement of the forstner bit is rather easy.
Blum & others make templates to use with a drill press.

Using the 1400 with a 491077 bit will work but it’s not nearly as easy as a drill press.  Rockler makes a jig if you decide to go with the router. 

 

[leakyroof]

Definitely a drill press and good quality Forstner would be my preferred method, but if you are without one, the router would be fine.  Many companies make 35mm hinge-boring bits that are appropriate for routers, Festool's 491077 ($90!) for example.  You definitely can't chuck a Forstner into a router.  I'm sure people have but it doesn't strike me as a good idea since Forstners are designed for much lower RPMs than a router can run. 

Kreg has a hinge-boring jig for power/cordless drills that is decent for the money if this is a one-off small set of cabs and you don't want to invest in fancier tooling.

. Had to look up that Router bit since I never knew it was even offered.... Kind of suprised it’s in a 8mm shank and not 1/2”, but I guess you can use it with the smaller Router if need be with that choice of shank size....

 

[live4ever]

Definitely a drill press and good quality Forstner would be my preferred method, but if you are without one, the router would be fine.  Many companies make 35mm hinge-boring bits that are appropriate for routers, Festool's 491077 ($90!) for example.  You definitely can't chuck a Forstner into a router.  I'm sure people have but it doesn't strike me as a good idea since Forstners are designed for much lower RPMs than a router can run. 

Kreg has a hinge-boring jig for power/cordless drills that is decent for the money if this is a one-off small set of cabs and you don't want to invest in fancier tooling.

. Had to look up that Router bit since I never knew it was even offered.... Kind of suprised it’s in a 8mm shank and not 1/2”, but I guess you can use it with the smaller Router if need be with that choice of shank size....

I think that bit comes in the full LR32 kit, contributing to the vast price difference between the full kit and the basic set.  I’m sure they figure a lot of folks use the 1010 as their primary LR32 router, hence 8mm.

And dude, as a total aside, I’m waiting for your report on the MX split-shaft thing!

 

[tjbnwi]

If you plan on doing more in the future, CMT fixture in a drill press.

Tom

 

[escan]

Sommerfeld's easy bore is great if you need to be mobile.

 

[tjbnwi]

Sommerfeld's easy bore is great if you need to be mobile.

The CMT is a mobile unit, I chose to mount it to the plywood. It is still easy to take the plywood and jig in the field.

Tom

 

[escan]

Sommerfeld's easy bore is great if you need to be mobile.

The CMT is a mobile unit, I chose to mount it to the plywood. It is still easy to take the plywood and jig in the field.

Tom

I was looking at the CMT before grabbing the easy bore, looks like a nifty jig.

 

[tjbnwi]

Sommerfeld's easy bore is great if you need to be mobile.

The CMT is a mobile unit, I chose to mount it to the plywood. It is still easy to take the plywood and jig in the field.

Tom

I was looking at the CMT before grabbing the easy bore, looks like a nifty jig.

The reason I chose the CMT was the single driveshaft. I knew in time I'd like to use it in the drill press I did not own yet.

Tom

 

[fignewton]

I second the recommendation on the Sommerfeld Easy Bore!

 

[Peter_C]

Haven't used one but the Kreg drilling jig is cheaper at around $29. They also make a $5 one by Liberty and the like. Good enough for garage cabinets.

Tom, that is an interesting use of the Woodpeckers parallel guide stops.

 

[JFelchlin]

If youre making more than a few cabinets -
The Festool LR32 system is the way to go.
It has everything you need - For the cup holes and the shelf pin holes.

Festool’s Steve Bace has a great video on the set-up.
FOG contributor Erock has a whole series on using the LR32 system.
After the first 1-2 cabinets the “learning curve” is over.
It’s just repetition from there.

I coupled the LR32 with my Festool OF1400 router.
The OF1010 looks like it would work just as well.

Having said the above - If I was only going to make a couple of cabinets -
I’d have to to agree with Live4Ever:
“A drill press and good quality Forstner bit” would work.

 

[Sanderxpander]

If it's an entirely one off job you could also hand route with a smaller bit. It won't get as neat but you're screwing them anyway (I'm assuming) and the metal covers any less than perfect bits.

 

[LooseSox]

The Kreg jig for this is quite good. By far the best 'cheap' (ie under $100) that I've ever used for this purpose. Good for shop use and in the field. The incuded forstner bit leaves a good finish too.

 

[CrazyLarry]

*IF* you're going to be doing loads and already have the LR32 for other uses then go that route.

But for most cabinets with custom dimensions (non 32 multiples) where you'll do small batches of a specific hinge type / pattern / offset but not large numbers of same size doors the ECOdrill is very hard to beat.

TC bits so as clean as a router (cuts both cup and either marks screw dimples with the restrictor in place or without it drills holes for euroscrews / push in inserts) and used in conjunction with a blum transfer jig (story stick on steroids) for taking centerlines off doors to carcase or vis versa it's nigh on error proof. Quickset cup offsets from I think 3 to 8mm.

With a PDC it's very quick (it uses a quick release hex bit)

It's also very good for hinge sets you don't know; quickly trying out a few offsets on scrap. I have two scraps with 5 different offsets so I can test with things like inset or 135 deg hinges.

As for cost it lies half way between the kreg type basic template and CMT or full LR32 setup.

 

[sheperd80]

Ive been using the kreg jig for awhile and it works quite well. Its plastic so theres some wiggle room but if you have a center mark on your door its easy to line it up and be quite accurate. The only drawback is that its made for screw on hinges. If youre using push-in style hinges youll want something that can drill 5mm mounting holes.

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