The hinges on my 1940s kitchen cabinets finally wore out last month

I grew up in a house with these solid oak cabinets that my dad installed in the 70s. The hinges were these old brass ones with a little pin you could pull out. Last month one of them snapped clean through after 50 years of use. I found some modern replacements at the hardware store for $8 a pair, but they sit different and the doors don't close the same way. Anyone else run into this with old cabinets where new parts just don't fit right?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmasingh2mo ago

Actually read a blog post from a guy in Portland who restores old kitchens. He said most modern hinges have a different setback measurement than vintage ones. Something like 3/8 inch off. Explains why your doors sit weird. Might be worth hunting down some NOS parts on eBay instead.

jamie642mo ago

Yeah the new ones are never quite the same. Had to file down a couple screw holes on mine to get em to sit right.

shane_moore871mo ago

I saw a video a while back where an old cabinet maker was talking about this exact thing. He said the problem is that hinge manufacturers changed the standard backplate size in the 80s to save on metal costs. So now all the new hinges are just a hair narrower and the screw holes don't line up with the old mortises. He recommended taking your old hinge to a local welding shop and having them make a jig to drill new pilot holes dead center. That way you don't have to file anything down and risk cracking the cabinet face frame. Seemed like solid advice, even if it's a bit more work upfront.