Only a parent can tell the pain of organizing their kids’ toys and managing to keep the living space clutter-free. It’s a lot of work.
And thanks to a popular essential item that can be found in many households with kids, the organization of toys has been possible to this extent. I’m talking about a typical toy box.
Some parents even consider the toy box to be a sort of discipline practice piece for their kids, as the little ones are put into the habit of using the box for keeping their toys once they are done playing with it.
Now even with the conventional benefits of a typical toy box, there’s this one fear that parents often suffer through with this compulsory piece. And it’s the slam mishap of the lid.
By knowing how to install soft close hinges on toy box you can actually shoo away that fear. What am I talking about? Well, keep on reading…
Discussing How to Install Soft Closing Lid Support Hinge on Toy Box
There are toy boxes that come with safety hinges. But are they really made from high-quality material and ensures qualified functions? Well, that’s something you could be worried about.
And the best solution for such worries is installing lid support on toy box. Soft close lid support hinge is the perfect nominee here. Those who have flush fitting or overlay lid, go for torsion hinges installation as well. These come with one of the finest support mechanisms with internal resistance as well as a simple assembly process. But still, in terms of advanced opening and closing, soft close types are better.
Let’s focus on soft-close ones for today. When buying one, you need to ensure the soft close hinges are light and capable of holding the lid upright. Something that comes with adjustable tension and prevents any sudden shutdown action. So that your kiddos can be around the toy box without you having to be present there due to the stress of their safety. Let’s make you aware of the entire installation process.
Understanding the Hardware
There are basically four parts of hardware you want to take some note of. Not knowing what these parts are called can make you confused about how to install lid support hinge. So, this segment was necessary.
There is mounting plate that looks round on one end while a bit pointy on another end. You’ll also find an accessory for the lid stay. Then there’s the arm of lid stay. And other parts are the center gear of the mounting plate, main body of the hinge, and the base of the lid. There should be mounting screws also provided for the installation. You will use a screwdriver, a drilling machine as well as some drill bit that matches the screw size.
Mounting the Accessory of Lid Stay
You want to start with placing the accessory of lid stay on opening door of toy box. Basically, the part that opens and closes for the entire box’s functioning. Now it should be placed close to the edge and of course downwards where it’s quite close to the joint of meeting the box chest.
You want to make sure the placement is done according to your need. As further down it is, the more opening you’ll get for the toy box. Your instructions provided with the soft close will tell you to follow a specific placement, it’s not a general measurement.
So, you should refer to the manual for finding out where it must be placed. Then simply mount the accessory of lid afterward. You need to mark the spot with a pencil, create a hole, and then mounting the part should not be a hard thing to accomplish. You’ll use a screwdriver and screws to put the accessory part in the lid just like that.
Marking the Spot for Mounting Plate
Now, this is the second piece that you need to attach with the tool box’s wall basically. To mark the right location of where this second piece called mounting plate will fit, we need to do a few extra steps.
There’s the arm of lid stay that you can easily connect with the accessory attached to tool box’s lid by holding it at a 90-degree angle along with the accessory and snapping inside. Then flip it around upwards and you should be able to bring it downwards from the front side of accessory.
Bringing down its other end so that it is touching the tool box’s wall where you’re mounting plate is supposedly going to fit. You want to mark at the spot where the lid stay’s arm’s open edge ends up touching.
You can insert the base of lid with this open edge and find exact spot to fix mounting plate. Hold the base of the lid on where you want it to stay, insert a pencil right on the gap that you can see on the center of base, and mark that specific area. Then this is your template of where your mounting plate bracket will go.
Fixing the Bracket
Make sure the L on the bracket is pointing towards the back of project. Create holes for the mounting plate and use a screwdriver next to fix the plate. Then you can attach the base of the lid to this installed mounting plate. And this should conclude the whole process.
Tips & Tricks to Keep in Mind:
Keeping track of the measurements is really necessary for such a hinge fixing process. So, at all times, try to keep a tape measure with you and whenever there’s confusion on placement, make sure you get proper measurements before fixing hardware.
Use a pencil to mark the mounting holes instead of scratching with a screwdriver or such pointy objects. Some don’t mind the scratches, but grabbing a pencil won’t even take a minute. It’s better than leaving ugly marks on the surface of the toy box.
When you are creating holes make sure the bit is slightly smaller than the mounting screws’ diameter. The holes have to be deep enough to allow the screws to start. And that’s all, it does not have to be of too much depth that can cause splitting the wood.
If you are working with a huge toy box, ask someone to assist. It’s going to be a hectic process holding and working on lid at the same time. So better get a friend who can lend a hand.
After finishing the installation, make sure to test by opening and closing the toy chest. There should be no banging sound or any issues once you have completed the installation properly. If there’s an error, you need to figure it out and fix it accordingly.
Wrap Up
Now that you know quite a bit about the soft-close mechanism along with how to install soft close hinges on toy box, it’s time for you to go ahead and try things for yourself. In all circumstances, reading the provided instructions first and noting down anything that seems like an important point or warning is a crucial step you should not miss.
There are parents who like to include this style of the hinge along with the existing no-mortise chest hinge inside toy box for having double support. You can think for a while and decide which route seems to be the best for your household.
This is Adam Sullivan, the author of tchardwaretools.com! I started my days as a mobile carpenter to become a full-time shop owner, and have been living my professional life for more than 8 years now.
Here I want to share my thoughts, experiences, and ideas through this platform. Stay Tuned!