tomakana
Well-Known Member
I'm in the process of building by first keezer (with plans to post the build pics at some point soon). I'm still largely in the planning stages, which have been going on for some time, helped along by all the incredible work people on the forum have done over the years. I'm running into one issue that's driving me a little crazy - I may be wildly overthinking it. Would love the group's thoughts. The basic design is a cabinet that will house a 5.1 cu freezer with a collar - I'm building the cabinet larger than technically needed to allow for eventually being able to put a larger freezer in it.
My top is going to be a 60" x 30" butcherblock (1.25" thick, listed at ~65 lbs) with a homemade 3-tap black iron u-shaped (n-shaped?) tower. I think combined the top will weigh around 85-90 lbs. I wrestling a little with access to the freezer inside the cabinet. For a variety of reasons, I'm thinking I need to hinge it at the front - the back of the cabinet will be open, but against a wall most of the time, but I can easily slide it out to access the freezer and controls, etc from behind. The frame of the cabinet will be 2x4s, so should be nice and sturdy. I think I have 2 options for the hinges:
- a piano hinge that runs most of the width of the front of the cabinet and would be relatively concealed by the front overhang.
- 3-4 more decorative, but heavy-duty hinges that would be more visible and give the piece a nice vintage feel.
I think either of these would allow the back edge of the top to be lifted and propped more than high enough to gain access to the freezer. My question is about the weight of the top - how worried should I be about the security of the hinges? I've seen a lot of keezers on here, but it's hard to find one that looks hinged and has the kind of weight I'll have. The top would never be opened anywhere close to 90 degrees - at most I would guess 50-60 degrees. From what I can tell researching online, I think either of my options should be fine, as long as I have appropriate fasteners into appropriate substrate, but I keep having visions of the top ripping free and sliding (crashing) to the ground the first time I open it....
So - am I too paranoid about this? Is either option probably OK? I've found some nice vintage-style hinges that would look good and have good weight ratings - 3-4 of those should technically support the weight fine.
Thanks!
My top is going to be a 60" x 30" butcherblock (1.25" thick, listed at ~65 lbs) with a homemade 3-tap black iron u-shaped (n-shaped?) tower. I think combined the top will weigh around 85-90 lbs. I wrestling a little with access to the freezer inside the cabinet. For a variety of reasons, I'm thinking I need to hinge it at the front - the back of the cabinet will be open, but against a wall most of the time, but I can easily slide it out to access the freezer and controls, etc from behind. The frame of the cabinet will be 2x4s, so should be nice and sturdy. I think I have 2 options for the hinges:
- a piano hinge that runs most of the width of the front of the cabinet and would be relatively concealed by the front overhang.
- 3-4 more decorative, but heavy-duty hinges that would be more visible and give the piece a nice vintage feel.
I think either of these would allow the back edge of the top to be lifted and propped more than high enough to gain access to the freezer. My question is about the weight of the top - how worried should I be about the security of the hinges? I've seen a lot of keezers on here, but it's hard to find one that looks hinged and has the kind of weight I'll have. The top would never be opened anywhere close to 90 degrees - at most I would guess 50-60 degrees. From what I can tell researching online, I think either of my options should be fine, as long as I have appropriate fasteners into appropriate substrate, but I keep having visions of the top ripping free and sliding (crashing) to the ground the first time I open it....
So - am I too paranoid about this? Is either option probably OK? I've found some nice vintage-style hinges that would look good and have good weight ratings - 3-4 of those should technically support the weight fine.
Thanks!
