Skoolie Cabinetry Overlay Hinges, Knobs and Other Things

This video details what may be one of the more challenging parts of skoolie cabinetry, installing the hinge and other hardware.

The image below shows the completed cabinet doors.

The below image shows a closeup of the hinges. These are 1/2 inch overlay hinges. The brand I picked up was called Liberty. I spent $19.98 on a 10 pack of these hinges at Home Depot. If I were to do it again, I would have gone with the soft close option. Soft close means they have a piece of plastic inside the door hinge part of the hinge. That plastic pushes agains the hinge to soften the closing mechanism. It’s only a little more expensive, but it might add a bit more to the “wow” factor.

Here’s what the hinge I installed looks like:

Tips for Installing Half Inch Overlay Hinges

• • Use millimeters to measure your distance from the edge. 20.5 mm is far more precise than whatever it is in imperial increments
  • Use a square to draw a cross for exactly where you want your drill bit to start the hole.
  • The instructions say the mm size for the forstner bit. I used a 1-3/8″ steel forstner bit and it worked fine. It cost $16.99 at Home Depot. It’s available on amazon for $11.80 via this link (link). If blog saves you $5.00, let me know in the comments please. 🙂

• Have a fast square on hand. I have an aluminum one that I purchased a long time ago, but you can find them very inexpensive on Amazon for less than $5.00 (link here). The fast square is a very useful tool.
• I installed the hinges so that the center of the hinge is 3″ from the top and the bottom of the cabinet. I’m happy with this and I stole the idea for hinge location from some professionally built cabinets in my friends house.

Cabinetry Knobs

The bag called the knob that I used a Liberty 1-1/8″ scallop edge round knob of antique brass.

Be careful, these are for sale on Amazon for $10 each in some scammy places. At Home Depot I picked them up for less than $1 each and they can be found on amazon for the same price.

These are really easy to install. In the video I demonstrate the process very quickly. Here’s some quick details just in case reinforcing knowledge would be helpful.

1. Measure 1 inch down and one inch inside the doors to make your mark for drilling
2. Use a 3/16″ drill bit to go straight through the cabinet
3. Hand tightened the knob with your thumb on the back bolt

If I find in the future that they are coming off, I can add a washer to the back and use a screwdriver to ensure they never come loose.

Previously Posted Relevant Skoolie Cabinetry Posts

• Wood Trim and Pour on Epoxy Counter Tops
• Glueing the Mahogany Counter Top

Questions?

I would appreciate your feedback on anything mentioned in this post. Please feel free to leave a comment below with tips that I may have missed, or with specific questions you have regarding your own build.

Thank you for visiting.