I’m designing a jewelry box that is a tower; drawers on one side, a door on the other. The sides are splayed, wide at the bottom, narrow at the top. The door is 30″ high. I want to hinge it on the splay side. Can it be done? How would I do it?
Michael Dresdner: I’m not sure I see the problem. As long as the side is straight, even if it is angled, you can set hinges on it to hang a door. Granted, the door will open so that the non-hinged side angles slightly upward, as opposed to parallel to the ground, but that only means it will close by itself due to gravity. Unless I misread your question, you don’t have a problem at all. But if you are not sure, make a small mock-up model first out of cardboard with duct tape hinges.
Rob Johnstone: I’m with Michael. I am a strong believer in creating mockups, and full-sized mockups when possible. I have found that there is no real way to get a true understanding of proportion, shape and shadows without a mockup. And the question you are asking is a perfect example of where a mockup will serve. Hang the door in the mockup using the actual hardware that you will use on the project. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to fall back and punt because I made some assumptions about hardware.Use the cheapest lumber and even stuff like cardboard to flesh out the mockup.
