Cabinet hinges
Cabinet hinges attach to a cabinet door, allowing it to open and close. The appropriate choice of cabinet hinges will be partly determined by the type of cabinet they will be used on. As there are many different types of cabinets available, several types of cabinet hinges are possible as well.
A full inset door is used when the door edge butts up against the cabinet opening. These can use either butt hinges or surface mounted hinges. European hinges, on the other hand, are hinges that are entirely concealed within a European style cabinet. European hinges are attached to the door in a bored hole and to the cabinet with a mounting plate.
Surface mounted hinges are visible on the outside of the cabinet. Installation of these hinges is the easiest because it does not require chiseling a mortise. Surface mounted hinges are often decoratively designed and may be referred to as butterfly hinges, Parliament hinges, or H hinges. Butt hinges are simple hinges that are not visible from the outside of the cabinet. They are installed in chiseled indents known as mortises.
Some cabinet doors are overlaid, meaning the entire door sits on the cabinet. They may have a ¼," 3/8," or ½" overlay. These require special hinges called overlay hinges. With an overlay hinge, the rotating knuckle is visible while the leaves are concealed within the cabinet.
Some cabinets have partial inset doors, meaning they have an overhanging edge, or lip, that sits on the cabinet frame. Nearly all partial inset cabinets have a 3/8" inset, though some cabinets from the 1950s and 1960s have a ½," 5/8," or ¾" inset. These cabinets require an inset semi-concealed hinge. Part of the hinge is mounted to the face while part is concealed behind the door. Likewise, some doors are offset with a triangular lip and require offset hinges. The most common offset is 3/8".