Thread: Series 3 (Stage 1) bonnet hinges splitting

Thanks all - I had them in the wrong way!

Many thanks for the suggestions.

Originally Posted by garrycol

Hey Old Sheep Chaser,

CBC in Fyshwick have teflon/nylon rod (strong and not brittle) that would be about the right diameter - get a small length and cut to size, drill out the center to the required size and slot as needed - will not break like the cheap plastic originals.

Had a go at this- here's what I did.
My hinge inserts were 16mm in diameter, so I got some 16mm nylon rod from local plastic supplier.
Routed a groove with a semi-circular bit into a lump of wood deep enough to hold the plastic rod so it was flush with the bottom of the wood. Put a screw through the wood from the other side so that it just went into the plastic to locate it firmly in the groove. (Too deep and the saw might hit it).
Placed my one good hinge insert into the end of the groove and measured the distance from the edge of the slot to the edge of the wood. Set this distance on my saw bench's rip fence. Set the depth to the depth of the slot in the existing hinge insert (I did this by experimenting with a piece of timber to get the depth of cut just right).
Using a short scrap of rod (an offcut) mounted in the groove I did a couple of experimental cuts until I had the location of the slot left by the saw blade in the right position and at the right depth in the plastic.
Then put the long rod into the jig and ripped a groove right along the rod.
The saw blade is just under 3mm wide, but the slot needs to be wider than this. So I cut off a length of rod to match the length of the hinge insert, placed it into a vice, and filed the groove out to the right width. This wasn't easy as the files tend to clog readily and need to be cleaned often. But the end result was a hinge insert that fitted nicely and should last.
The only surprise was that the saw blade gets hot and tends to melt its way through the rod. To overcome this, cut a little at a time and don't rush it. The melted stuff can be sliced off with a sharp knife (I used a stanley knife).
Now, if I break one, I just cut off another length, file out the slot and install it.

C00P
Hinge construction 2.jpgHinge construction 5.jpgHinge construction 3.jpgHinge construction 1.jpg