Related Products: Cabinet & Drawer Hardware
Cabinet hardware consists of hinges, pulls, knobs, catches, drawer slides, rotating shelves, tracks and glides for sliding panels and shelf rests and standards and brackets. Primary differences are style, finish and type of metal processing, such as casting or stamping. Quality finishes offer greater durability and are usually electrostatic and baked lacquer, not air dried. Thinly applied finishes may wear or chip, exposing the plated finish to air and subsequent oxidation. Quality knobs and pulls are cast for finer detail. Stampings are lighter construction and have less detail since stamping is not as exacting as casting. Decorative hardware has a continuing market for new as well as replacement items.
Cabinet Hinges
There are four basic cabinet door designs that determine the type of hinge required: flush mounted hinges, lipped hinges, inset hinges, flush overlay hinges, or reverse bevel hinges. Flush-mounted doors can use full-mortise butt or full-surface hinges, ornamental strap hinges and concealed hinges, much the same as any standard house door. Lipped doors are partially recessed into the opening, with a lip extending around the outside of the frame. In this case, the hinge must be inset to accommodate the lip. Semi-concealed cabinet hinges are designed so that the leaf attached to the cabinet frame is exposed and the leaf attached to the door is concealed. This means that the hinge must be inset into the closing side by the thickness that is recessed into the cabinet. A surface hinge for a lipped door must be offset to the outside of the door. Here the offset must match the thickness and shape of the portion of the door that extends outside the cabinet opening. Most lipped cabinet doors have a 3/8" inset, but the customer should measure to be sure he's buying the right hinge. Flush overlay doors (doors that completely overlay the cabinet frame) are usually mounted with pivot hinges mortised into the top and bottom of the door, butt hinges or a semi-concealed hinge with no offset on the door leaf. Reverse bevel doors (fingerpull doors) require a hinge that features a slant on the door wing that is compatible with the profile of the cabinet door. A self-closing feature can be built into several kinds of hinges. These close the door automatically from about a 15° opening. Most work on a spring-loaded cam principle and are made from heaviergauge steel than standard surfacemounted hinges. Self-closing hinges are offered in many styles and are available as direct replacements for standard hinges. The mounting hole patterns should be checked to ensure they fit.
Quality Features
Basic material, construction and finish are elements of quality in any hinge. A good cabinet hinge should have a five-knuckle joint for better load distribution and smoother, quieter action. Pivot hinges should have firmly riveted joint pins and nylon washers between the hinge wings. The material from which the hinge is made should be sufficiently heavy to prevent sagging and should be resistant to normal kitchen moisture.
Knobs And Pulls
Knobs and pulls are used on cabinet doors and drawers as handles. The basic consideration to the customer is usually style, but quality and design can be important. Backplates are available for both knobs and pulls. In addition to being decorative, they provide additional support for hollow-core doors and drawers. If the hardware is for replacement, consideration must be given to either using existing screw holes or being sure that the new hardware will cover the old holes. A two-screw cabinet handle, for instance, cannot be replaced with a single-screw knob, unless a backplate is included and is large enough to cover the second hole. Most cabinet knobs and pulls use #8 screws for mounting. Pulls are generally on 3" mounting centers; however, this should be checked before purchasing replacements. Many decorative knobs and pulls also have matching switchplates that can be used for decorative accents.
Cabinet Catches
Normal wear and settling will cause almost any cabinet door to sag eventually. When this happens, the doors will hang open unless cabinet catches or self-closing hinges are installed. Catches come in six types- friction catches, roller spring catches, magnetic catches, elbow catches, bullet catches, and touch catches (push catches). Friction catches hold by pressure of the catch on the strike. The catch is mounted on a door frame, jamb or underside of a shelf. The strike is mounted on the door so that upon closing it is inserted into the catch. Two common friction catches are alligator catches and lever spring-action catches, which features two floating jaws and is self-aligning to compensate for swelling and shrinking of doors. Roller-spring catches are available in single- and double-roller types. They feature quiet operation, easy installation, long life and easy adaptability to many door and frame designs. Magnetic catches range in pull from 8 to 40 lbs. Since holding power is greatly reduced if only part of the magnet makes contact with the strike, they must be installed carefully to properly align catch and strike. Quality magnetic catches feature a floating or self-adjusting action to insure proper alignment and contact. Elbow catches are mounted on the door with the strike installed on the frame or on a shelf. These catches can only be released from the inside of the cabinet and thus are used on one side of a pair of doors. Bullet catches are used primarily on furniture and smaller cabinet doors where it is desirable to hide the catch as much as possible. Touch (push) catches are mounted inside the cabinet and have no knobs or pulls. By simply pushing on the door, the catch releases and the door springs open.
Drawer Slides
Two basic types of drawer slides are monorail drawer slides and side mounting drawer slides with various models available in each type. Monorail features a single track under the center of the drawer with drawer rollers on the left and right side. This type is easy to install, requires no measuring or templates and is low in cost and fits both new and old installations. A side-mounting version consists of four tracks, one attached to each side of the drawer and one on both the left and right side of the cabinet. Each track has rollers on which the drawer rides. Self-closing slides are also available in side-mounted design. These close when the drawer comes within 4" to 5" of the back, regardless of the load or its position in the drawer. Quality slides permit little side movement, prevent accidental drawer pullout, have high-quality rollers and are precision made to close tolerances. Related Products: Cabinet & Drawer Hardware |
National Retail Hardware Association