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What I dislike most about the Summer 2008 issue is the fact that I didn’t get to build the Sea Chest that Glen D. Huey constructed. I had designed the entire issue around me getting to build the thing. Then we ran out of time. Or, put more correctly, I had to choose between building and occasionally chewing my food.
So Glen built the Sea Chest and did great job (grumble). During construction, he had to bend the hinges on the sucker to fit the canted sides. We promised a short tutorial on the process and here it is, with photos.
And by the way, the story has a happy ending (for me). I ended up with the Sea Chest gracing my living room as a coffee table. And I experienced some evenings of fine digestion. Win-win!
Manipulating hinges for the sea chest is extremely easy. To begin, use a combination square or small square to strike a line across the back face of the hinge leaf that fits to the chest. The line should be at 3/4″ off the barrel (or equal the thickness of your chest back).
Place the scribed hinge leaf into a vise leaving the line about a 1/16″ above the jaws. This compensates for rounding the metal as you bend the leaf. Then, grab a stout hammer and relieve your frustrations by pounding over the leaf. Be sure to make the bend toward you or so the barrel is folded away from you as you finish shaping the bend. Keep a hand pulling on the opposite leaf to help bend the leaf (the metal is not that rigid). Keep in mind hitting that hand with a hammer is not much fun, so slide back the leaf a bit.
That leaves the leaf at something near 90Ã?º. Due to the cant of the front and back of the chest, it’s necessary to continue the bend a few degrees more. To complete the bending, remove the hinge from the vise, hold the hinge against the vise and add a couple firm hits with my hammer. That should bring the hinge to a match with the chest.
– Christopher Schwarz (with captions by Glen D. Huey)
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I like the hinge you chose for the sea chest. Where can I find a hinge like it?
It makes me cringe to see you hammer directly on the vice jaws. I’d suggest using a mechanics vice, not a workworking vice.