Double barreled piano hinge?

[ron ll]

I have a situation where is seems a double hinged piano hinge would work, i.e.; three 3/4" leaves and two hinge barrels. I was thinking of having someone weld two standard 3/4" s.s. hinges together, or is this something that is manufactured?

[pcford]

There is something similar to this. The one I saw was about the size of a normal butt hinge, but it could swing either way.

This was a non-marine application, a shoji screen for a friend, but it is possible that it might be available in brass.

Not sure of the proper name for these. A large home hardware house ought to be able to help.

[Bruce Hooke]

For whatever it is worth, McMaster (http://www.mcmaster.com) has LOTS of different piano hinges (no double-barrel ones as far as I could tell). So, if you end up going the welded route they may be a good source for, say, 316 SS hinges with thicker leaves that will stand up better to welding. Edited to add -- McMaster appears to stock piano hinges in solid brass, various stainless alloys, plastic, and some other more exotic materials (and, of course, regular old steel).

[ 11-28-2005, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: Bruce Hooke ]

[Del Lansing]

link... bifold hinges (http://www.hardwaresource.com/Store_ViewCatLevel3.asp?Cat=775&OrderID=)

[joejapan]

ron, if you don't need them to be very large, why not go down to Chinatown and ask one of the shopkeepers where they get theirs, or if they've got some old ones lying around.

Those things are cool... :cool: 'course it doesn't take much to entertain me. :rolleyes:

My refrigerator went out and I had my girlfriend order a new one for me. It's one that'll open from either direction, either left hand or right handed. I love it! :D

[ron ll]

Good suggestions all, and I admit I hadn't thought of a "swing-either-way" hinge. My application is a bit different in that both swings would go the same direction with the second pivot point displaced 3/4" after the first swing. Kind of hard to explain, altho I'm thinking a double acting hinge as suggested does the same thing if its the right size. I kind of like continuous piano hinges tho in that they seem less suceptible to operator error. Might have to weld one up and try it.

[Bruce Hooke]

Keep in mind that a double-hinge is a very "sloppy" thing. Since both hinges can move at the same time, in any position other than fully closed the hinged edge of the object being hinged can move around much more than if a single hinge is used. As I see, what it basically comes down to is a double-hinge may be the only reasonable way to solve a given problem, but in most situations it is a somewhat "clugy" fix. It would probably work better if the hinge is vertical because then at least gravity is not trying to move things around as you open and close the door (or whatever it is that is being hinged). At the least I would do some full scale mock-ups before proceeding to make sure you will be happy with the results.

[StevenBauer]

I thought he meant like these:

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/Hardware/Hinges/00s0150s2.jpg

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/Hardware/Hinges/00s0150d1.gif

Used for bi-directional swinging doors, these double-acting hinges have two individually tension-adjustable pins, which are easily adjusted and fixed with the included lever rod and fixing pins.

Leaf height is 3" and overall hinge width is 2-5/8". Clear distance between the knuckles is just over 1".

Priced per pair, with matching flat-head mounting screws included.

Steven

[ 11-29-2005, 03:28 PM: Message edited by: StevenBauer ]