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The Charles Collinge Hinge

Posted by 141drew Posted onJul 31, 2015 at 10:33 AM and filed under Reviews & Features
Updated onUpdated on May 28, 2021 at 11:37 AM


So I spent some time in London last week and ran into a bit of history while doing so… An English buddy of mine and I were standing outside a pub when I noticed a gorgeous set of old carriage doors on the building. What struck me most was the hinges… I asked my buddy about them and a history lesson began.



Charles Collinge hinges were first manufactured and sold in 1811.  They were  sand casted out of iron and featured a ball and socket design that could  support an incredible amount of weight despite their relatively short span. It’s a design that is so damned effective that they are still being made (with only slight design modifications) to this day.

And, they are absolutely gorgeous…



 


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M

marty_p

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Those certainly are some ornate, interesting hinges, Ryan. When designers think 'outside the box,' their work product can be incredible.

Thanks for always sharing such unique garage ideas! :thumbup:
 
G

Gidge

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Very nice, however this design is not new (not that 1811 is exactly recent) .

There are many specimens that predate 1811 on New England Colonial-era homes.
 
S

Squankum

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This is GJ... who's going to make one with a nylon liner inside the joint, and a zerk fitting? And a flat roller bearing?
 
F

firworks

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Is there a good place to get new ones / reproductions or something? I'm gonna replace my garage door with carriage style doors some time in the future and have been investigating hinges. Pretty much all I can find are fake strap hinges intended to make a normal garage door look like a carriage door.
 
C

Cyberbear

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Based on the pictures, and not seeing them in person, I imagine they were originally designed to obviously allow the doors to swing, but also stiffen the doors for strength. The balled hinge pin sockets would provide a bearing surface and prevent the doors from being easily lifted out of place for security purposes. Today's older safe door hinges are similar and often have thrust bearings to facilitate operation while handling heavy loads.
 
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Lincolncruiser95

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firworks said:
Is there a good place to get new ones / reproductions or something? I'm gonna replace my garage door with carriage style doors some time in the future and have been investigating hinges. Pretty much all I can find are fake strap hinges intended to make a normal garage door look like a carriage door.
Click to expand...

This^

And what do you think the approximate width and height were the doors? Like to use something like this to replace sliding doors on my old barn.
 
O

oberst

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firworks said:
Is there a good place to get new ones / reproductions or something? I'm gonna replace my garage door with carriage style doors some time in the future and have been investigating hinges. Pretty much all I can find are fake strap hinges intended to make a normal garage door look like a carriage door.
Click to expand...

Lincolncruiser95 said:
This^

And what do you think the approximate width and height were the doors? Like to use something like this to replace sliding doors on my old barn.
Click to expand...

Here's a place in merry-olde that will sell them to you. They sell them by the each, in lengths from 18 to 72 inches.


http://www.oakleafgates.co.uk/collinge-hinges/
 
S

Schurkey

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Or buy a couple of automobile suspension ball-joints, and weld up some straps 'n' brackets. Worst part would be carving the tapers into the sections that receive the ball-joint stud. Tack-weld the stud nut for security--or not. You could probably rely on Loctite, and the natural holding power of the tapered stud. Thieves aren't that clever.
 
T

Thruxton

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firworks said:
Is there a good place to get new ones / reproductions or something? I'm gonna replace my garage door with carriage style doors some time in the future and have been investigating hinges. Pretty much all I can find are fake strap hinges intended to make a normal garage door look like a carriage door.
Click to expand...

These are pintle and gudgeon hinges from Tractor Supply I used on my carriage doors:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/national-hardware-294bc-16-strap-hinge-zinc

View media item 12789
View media item 30926
They are certainly not in the same league as the Collinge hinges, but not as expensive, and very durable.
 
R

rsnip988

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Thruxton said:
These are pintle and gudgeon hinges from Tractor Supply I used on my carriage doors:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/national-hardware-294bc-16-strap-hinge-zinc

View media item 12789
View media item 30926
They are certainly not in the same league as the Collinge hinges, but not as expensive, and very durable.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I've been looking for Cheap & Quick! Thank's for the link!

At least until I get done building my new garage with attached Blacksmithing shed, when I can make my own...
RKS
 
I

ishiboo

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Squankum said:
This is GJ... who's going to make one with a nylon liner inside the joint, and a zerk fitting? And a flat roller bearing?
Click to expand...

I don't know why someone couldn't make top-notch hardware without the insane prices that hardware gets these days.

The Collinge hinge is great, but I think a fixed pin hinge with ball bearing thrust bearings is probably the best thing for a heavy door. That requires technology much more advanced than was available back then, the Collinge was easy to do with sand casting and minor (machining?) cleanup work.
 
A

Aram9012

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Thruxton said:
These are pintle and gudgeon hinges from Tractor Supply I used on my carriage doors:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/national-hardware-294bc-16-strap-hinge-zinc

View media item 12789
Click to expand...

Thruxton, your doors look incredible! Really clever craftsmanship that looks upscale. I am going to build some carriage doors myself and wanted to ask about your hinges.

I checked the link to the tractorsupply store you provided and I wanted to ask which bolt/pintle piece you used to attach your hinge. I didn't see anything on that website that looked like your attached piece.

Secondly, your hinges look black, and the strap hinge for sale on that site seems to only come in silver/zinc plated. Did you paint yours? I didn't know you could paint on zinc plated hardware.


Thanks for any help! Really like the way you did your doors, and I definitely wanted to get the same hinge you got especially since you say it's really strong. There are a lot of decorative hinges for sale, but they are overpriced and it scares me that they usually don't specify how much weight they hold.
 
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