Best hinges for cabinet lower back panel? (re: Project Arcade cabinet)

[sofakng]

Well my cabinet is definitely coming along... a lot of the sides are not 100% perfect but I figure that with some sanding and wood putty the end result should look pretty good.

I've come to the part when I need to attach the front coin-door panel and the cabinet lower back panel.

Now I don't have a coin door (YET), but I will in the future.  However I don't want a hinged front door (it would take away from the effect in my opinion).

So what I want to do is hinge the cabinet back panel.  The book mentions getting "piano hinges" or "european-style hinges".  Which is better?  The back panel sits flush with the side panels so I'll need to trim it down a little bit to make the hinge fit.

Any suggestions for me?

[FractalWalk]

They both work well. A piano hinge will be visible, while the European hinges are hidden inside the cab so you can't see them from the outside. But if it is a back panel does it really matter if they are visible or not?

Euro hinges are a little harder to install, but still not too difficult. A router would help with those.

[rdagger]

http://www.rockler.com/ has a large selection of hinges and if you have a store in your area, they have a display with most of the hinges installed.  Do you really need hinges?  I like being able to quickly remove the back panel.

[RayB]

All cabinets I've ever encountered dont use hinges on the back door. They are freely removable, so you have unhindered access.

[sofakng]

So, do you suggest I use velcro or something like that? (for the back panel)

Furthermore, do you suggest I screw on the front coin door?  (eg. I won't be able to remove it what-so-ever)

[sofakng]

I'm going to stop by Home Depot later tonight... anybody have any suggestions for me?

[Generic Eric]

I am employed in communications.  Some of the fully enclosed racks I have encountered have a door on the rear that would open with "quarter turn" handles.  The door was held in place veritically by small, spring loaded rods at the top and the bottom of the door.  Perhaps that is a style of hinge, put i wouldn't know the proper name for it.   At any rate, the spring loaded rod-hinges were pinched when removing the rear of the cabinet was necessary for maintenance.  

That is the road I plan on takeing for "rear access"

[hyiu]

sorry... I haven't keep track on your project...

but I have mamed an old cab before....
for the back door... I used 4 Magetic catch... (use the STRONG ones...) and it holds on very tight...

if you don't want that.... I guess in the back.. piano hinge is good enough...

depends on how you put your stuffs... you might or might not want to be able to open the front....

but if you do want to open your front... you'll want european style hinges... (where you don't see the hinge from the outside...)

and most european style hinges... you need to bore a hole to install... but there are now a few types of hinges that are completely hidden, but no need to bore a hole.... easier to install for beginners like me....

good luck...

[rdagger]

for the back door... I used 4 Magetic catch... (use the STRONG ones...) and it holds on very tight...

Magnets can be damaging to monitors, hard drives, disks, etc...
You can just put a small wood lip on the lower portion of the door to hold it in place and then some type of  latch or lock on the top.

If you really want hinges, you could use lift-off hinges.  They work like a regular hinge except you can lift the door and the hinges come apart so the door can be removed like on a jeep.

[RayB]

Soakguy:

Here's how Midway did it on my Galaga:

They routed out the side edges so that there's a "lip" that the door fits in and rests against without falling "into" the inside.



The key latch keeps it from opening out.

The bottom of the door panel has a "tongue" which fits in a groove at the bottom.



So you put the bottom in, then swing the top into place, lock the lock and it all holds in place.

The main reason I am against hinging the door, is that whenever you need to get in there you'll have to move the heavy cabinet far out enough to swing that door open. With a removable back, you just need to move it out a foot if you need to quickly grab something...

[hyiu]

Magnets can be damaging to monitors, hard drives, disks, etc...
You can just put a small wood lip on the lower portion of the door to hold it in place and then some type of  latch or lock on the top.

If you really want hinges, you could use lift-off hinges.  They work like a regular hinge except you can lift the door and the hinges come apart so the door can be removed like on a jeep.

well... if you put a magnet next to a monitor... then yes,  you can cause discoloring effect...

but to be honest.... you'll need a VERY POWERFUL electromagnetic field to distrub hard dirves or other stuffs...
a STRONG MAGNET CATCH MAGNET simply will NOT be strong enough to cause any harm....

I have numerous magnetic catch in my cab now.... (cos my front and back can be opened...) and no effect whatsoever....

not that I'm forcing anyone to use magnetic catch....
but our day to day use magnets (even heavy duty ones...) will NOT cause any effects on appliances....

[sofakng]

Ok, I bought four "Double Magnetic Catches"...  It looks like there are three magnetic strips inside of these.  I plan to plan two of these on each side of the cabinet.

I was really unsure which kind of latch/hinge to get.  I wanted a way to completed remove the panel so really my only options were velcro and these magnetic catches.

I'm still a bit worried about them interefering with the TV or the computer.  Are you sure they won't cause any problems?  Suppose I take the case off my TV?  The back of the TV is going to be right above the back panel containing the magnets...