1/6 Playscale scale hinges for Dry Sink

I’ve been working on the set of plans for the 1/6 scale Dry Sink and have gotten to the part where I need to either buy some scale hinges, or try and make my own. Unless I want to wait a week or so to buy some I might as well give it a shot and see what I can come up with.

I started out testing the concept with a thin piece of metal I found in the shop. I hammered it flat and cut off two pieces about a 1/4 inch wide.

I then bent the metal around a sewing needle using a combination of needle nose pliers, metal working vise and hammer.

Then I cut a notch in the center of one and cut the edges off of the other with the dremel tool. After putting the needle back in I cut the excess off and bend it over just enough to where it will not fall out.

Now that I proved the concept, I need to find some thin brass sheets of metal… I had a spent .38 round I hung on to for some reason after my last trip to the gun range and used it for the brass hinges I’ll put on the 1/6 scale dry sink. Don’t try this at home…and if you do, make sure the bullet has been fired previously. You don’t want a bullet flying around your workshop

After hammering the brass flat and squaring it up, I scored some lines using my calipers to ensure the size is the same for each hinge. Mine worked out to be about .234 thousandths of an inch wide each. That would be equivalent to hinges that are about 1.5 inches wide on a full size piece of furniture. I figure that should be close enough.

Here I have a few of the hinges bent, ready to be notched out to fit together.

A pair of hinges almost finished

One Door installed…

Inside view…now I have to make the other pair…Once I got the technique down it only took about 15 minutes to make one hinge. It would take that long just to find just the right set of hinges online, then add a week shipping time…I think it was worth the time spent I suppose.

Time for some final sanding and a coat of stain and varnish.