# Butler Tray Hinges



## Willardz

I had to completely replace an end section on a butler table. It was broken off and lost by movers. I had the same dilemma of installing these hinges. On the other side of the table the hinges were intact, so I copied the mortise from those, and it turned out great. I have not seen these hinges on anything but Butler tables, so I thought it was interesting to use on a blanket box.


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## robscastle

Zeke,

Interesting reading, do you have any photos of your work or the finished product?
I am very interested in finding out if the Butlers Tray is still in use today, I guess not.
I did a search on the trays while I was attempting to find out information on the hinges.
There is no doubt the name relates to what was at some time a Butlers Tray.

The reason I wanted to use them on the blanket Box was, 1. Because I already had them. 2. They looked great. 3. The fact that they locked open, although in hindsight this would have been in error.
I spent another day perfecting the installation of them and with my template set and two routers I can
mortise a set in about 5 minutes not including the precise setup time they require.

Its also very interesting that the hinges are still produced, and upon talking to the supplier he did not give much away but did say that he had sold 100s of them, so somebody besides us must be using them.

Some points to note:
1. They do require orientation before installing
2 If they have lock tabs the tabs needs to be on the pivoting leaf.
3. They need to be offset as opposed to conventional hinges for cosmetics.

Have a look at Prototype No 3.

I am now ready to make a Butlers Tray all I need to do is see a concept drawing and the Hinges will be used.

Now this is of a standard that I would accept


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## Willardz

The table I worked on was similar to this one being sold on Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bombay-Co-Large-English-Butlers-Coffee-Table-Mahogany-/110863560133?pt=US_Tables&hash=item19cffbadc5

I don't have any pictures of my repair, but I had to cut out the end piece with my jigsaw, and also cut the handle. Was dark walnut. The ones that I have seen were all used as coffee tables. A search for butler tables on here pulls up a little info


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## robscastle

A very interesting Table Zeke,

If it was made in Queensland Australia the hinges alone would be about $150+ , let alone the cost for timber and additional materials for the legs then the labour, and its selling for $300 !!

I think I will make one just for the heck of it.

I agree with you there is little information regarding the tables available then the hinges themselves have some information, but the general comments are "never again use them"

The photos on ebay are protected to stop you from copying, but there is enough detail shown to start planning my table design

Thanks for the tip off!!


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## rolltopbox

I have used these hinges for years on my rolltop desks to support the drop fronts. They indeed do require careful layout to work properly and look good. It is the only hinge I have found that holds the dropfront vertical when closed.

The best ones are sold by White Chapel LTD


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## robscastle

Hello Bruce,

Our use of Butlers hinges in projects must put us in a minority user category.
Are there any installation notes included with them?
That was my biggest gripe about them, and the technical precision required to install them was unknown to me at the time of purchase.
However like yourself I find them most suitable for hinged vertical work.

I actually spent days perfecting a method to install them so that it was both precise and installed in a timely fashion.
Thinking that I had missed something originally so I searched and searche for info, of which not a lot information or support for them existed hence why I did the review.

They are certainly the only choice in desk and tray work.

Your desk work looks superb


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## Ms_Dovetail

Thank you Rob, you are a legend for posting up the info on these hinges. Yours is the only info I could find. I'm going to attempt to use them as the leg support for a hidden ironing board. This will be on the inside of a cupboard door. They'll be seen at 180 degrees when the board is folded and at 90 degrees when the leg is locked down for stability.If it works I may post a photo.Thanks again.


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## loxleystudio

I know this post is ancient but it has some of the best info I have found on the web for this kind of hinge along with this article, although the hinge type is slightly different.

I spent my day yesterday developing a jig to repeatably fit these hinge for a product that I make. I wanted to share some of the photos in the hope it can help others. The jig was cut using a CNC so that it fits together perfectly without any play and can be recut if ever the jig gets damaged. If anyone wants the drawings to make their own, I can supply them.










This photo shows the first and second versions of the jig. V2 on the right has a better version of the removable components that make it possible to cut the different mortises without having to reposition the jig. The large square shape keeps the templates more stable in the outer jig and stop them from pulling out when routing.










This shows the results from V1 and V2 of the jig. Very similar results but much easier to use V2.



















These two images show the final version of the jig that is designed to be clamped to the work piece and cut mortises for two hinges at the same time. I made the square template pieces even larger and added finger pulls to make getting them out easier. There is also the B side of the Jig that just cuts the round mortise on the leaf side. I find it best to cut the leaf side first, then I can keep the depth the same for the first cut on the more intricate three mortise piece. The Rounded corners left by the router need to cleaned up with a Chisel but this is quick and relatively worry free as the hinge covers any chisel marks.










Finally you can see both hinges in place in some scrap plywood (I ran out of Sapele offcuts)

I hope this helps anyone else. Happy to answer any questions!

-Felix


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## robscastle

Looks like more good info Felix thanks for adding it

if the drawings are done in sketch up LBD may be interested in the template aspect


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