Steel 'Dolls House' hinges

[Adrian Harris]

Has anyone ever found a source of miniature hinges in steel, rather than brass ?

There are quite a few on the US halftrack kit and they don't seem to have the necessary strength to keep their shape when used.

The middle one on the armour visor plate has lost its pin, so that's fair enough but the ones on either end are 'peeling' out of shape, which is presumably why the middle pin is missing as well.

I think steel, even this thin, would probably be much more robust and so stand up to more frequent usage.

Adrian

[Phil Woollard]

I know what you mean Adrian, and they all seem to be made from particularly soft brass at that, if the alignment is slightly off they destroy them selves.
I haven't found any in steel yet and I have looked! The longer Armortek Tiger hinges work fine but that don't help you with the half track.

[John Heath]

What size are the hinges?

John

[Fabrice Le Roux]

Hi Adrian,

If you put into Ebay/Google "brass plated dolls house hinges" you should be looking at steel products.

The plating can be cleaned off with a steel rotary tool, or grit blaster or (if you are careful) Ferric Chloride etchant.

If a brass hinge has distorted then it is worth heating it up and annealing it before bending it back as it can crack. This is especially true of photo-etched hinges.

If you find a good source, go back and stock up as these items tend to sell-out!

Good luck
Fabrice

[jseverett]

Go to: www.micromark.com (in the USA), they have some small hinges.

[Robert E Morey]

Adrian,
Here is a thought. Mcmaster-Carr here in US have piano hinge in steel. Its quite small -19mm wide, with 6.3mm tab width. It could be cut into smaller hinges and holes drilled to suit? The pivot pin dia is roughly 1.5mm. Here is a link: https://www.mcmaster.com/#15665a901/=17sruxx

I would think they would ship to UK. Or search locally for similar.

Best regards,
Bob

[Adrian Harris]

Thanks for the pointers.

To answer John's question about the size, they measure ~13mm across the two halves by 16mm wide. If they're imperial, that would make them 1/2" x 5/8".

Adrian.