Advice re old wire hinges - old chest

Rob_H · 14 Jun 2010

I have an old chest which haas original wire hinges - the ones on the body of the base are ok but the that go through the lid of the chest and then bend back (like a butterfly clip) have broken. I've found a company that make iron replacements as I'm trying to keep them in character with the chest.

these will slide up (through a hole in the lid) and bend or splay back. They then snugly against the lid to hold it in place. As they are iron I guess they're going to be difficult to bend and I don't want to be hammering them too hard as the chest is quite old. Would a small blow torch work to heat them up and, if so, any ideas on a cheap blow torch as I don't have one - and I haven't ever used one.

AndyT · 14 Jun 2010

They should be bendable without any heat.
There's a great video of Roy Underhill and Peter Follansbee making a box and using these hinges here:

http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/2700/2701.html

- see about 20 minutes in for the hinge fitting.

Is that the sort of thing you are making?
Pics?

jasonB · 14 Jun 2010

If they are indeed iron or even mild steel they should bend fairly easily. Any heating is likely to scorch the wood if you were thinking of bending them hot.

It is possible to anneal the metal which would remove any work hardening that has taken place when they were formed, heat to red and then allow to cool naturally.

I use larger torches but anything from a shed should do the job, Taymar is one make that should be OK.

Jason