Trying to fix my kitchen cabinet doors...please help?
Question:I am trying to fix my kitchen cabinet doors. The doors use hinges which fit into clean cut depressions in the door that are circular and go into the door about 3/4 deep into it. Next to these big holes that the hinge piece fits into are two smaller holes to fasten the hinge in with screws. My problem is that these holes are so worn away no molly bolt will go into them. The holes are chewed into crap and have no ability to hold anything. I have been told that there is no type of glue or wood putty which is strong enough to take the wear of a hinge area on a door so I just figure the only way to do this is to cut into the door and make a bigger depression around the areas where the screws go in so I can glue bigger pieces of wood in and then put the screws in...Is this the best way to do this or is there an easier way? It seems so complicated and expensive buying new cabinet doors that I thought I should try this instead. any thoughts?
Answers:
I build cabinets for a living. It usually is best to just buy new doors. They should run from 15$ - 25$ a piece for normal sizes. You can try cutting and plugging it , or you could try bondo, it works wonders.
Have you considered moving the hinges lower? Or if the original holes are too far down, you can put the hinges higher BUT then also add a third hinge inthe middle for added support. It seemed obvious too me, so whoever helped you before may be trying to scam you for new cabinet door money... Much luck!
blum brand hinges has a hinge that has a clip lock cam system built into the cup on the hinge all you do is insert the himge cup into the door and snap it shut and the hinge stays put without screws. just go to blum.com and look there youl find them
The hinges you are describing are called European hidden hinges and it sounds like the doors are particle board covered with veneer.
I would suggest that you replace those hinges but mount the new ones a little lower or higher than the ones you already have. You can either move the existing hinges and remount-- but you will need the proper size forstner bit for your drill to cut the new recessed holes or you can purchase new hinges that are the same type but don't require you to cut in the holes in the door. They are about 6 bucks a pair (I bought mine at Menards) and they will do the trick.
hi
you could by a dowel the size of the hole
dip the end in wood glue and insert it in the hole then cut off excess then when dry sand off excess
or used gorilla glue to fasten the hinge permanently
The hinges you have are european cup hinges. The ones they used on your doors were push in style. The little plastic buttons that were pushed into your holes are now worn. You can plug these holes and go with a different style hinge or you can go to a cabinet supply place and get new hinges that are press in and if the holes in the wood is worn to a point it won't hold the new hinges you can epoxy the plastic inserts in the the epoxy will fill the gaps in the wood while holding the hinge. You could fill the smaller holes with a wood plug and a good wood glue and then just use screws to hold the hinges on.
work a little glue into the hole and then use toothpicks to fill the hole tight, gently hammer the toothpicks to flush them up, and get a good snug fit, let dry, then see if the screws will hold, I've done this before and it has worked pretty good.
More Related Questions & Answers...