Author Topic: How to - soft close for chest/coffer lid?  (Read 2654 times)

Offline CrazyModder

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 86
  • Country: de
How to - soft close for chest/coffer lid?
« on: November 25, 2018, 09:22:55 AM »
I am building a chest with a multiplex lid of about 100x40cm, 10mm thick, weighing roughly 5kg. I am trying to find a combination of hinges and dampers so that...

- When I open the chest, the lid must stay open in the vertical position (it must not be necessary to hold it).
- When closing, the lid must come down softly. Even if I just nudge it a bit in vertical (or someone accidently knocks it), and it has all of its kinetic energy available, it must go down slowly - especially at the end, when it's about to hit the chest.
- I do *not* need to keep it open in any arbitrary position; only fully opened or fully closed.

I am free to use any part of the chest to add any fixture that makes sense - i.e., the back, or the side walls.

I have looked at what's offered for things like that, and I found a few items... simple hinges (the type used for cupboards), gas struts (e.g., pneumatic cylinders), and plenty of different kinds of articulated dampening soft close hinges. Unfortunately, I have no intuition which might be the correct/best type to use. I would like to avoid wasting ressources by buying whatever, and trying to find out it's the wrong thing.

Can you suggest anything?


Offline awemawson

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8966
  • Country: gb
  • East Sussex, UK
Re: How to - soft close for chest/coffer lid?
« Reply #1 on: November 25, 2018, 09:37:42 AM »
It just so happens that I've been researching toilet seats (!) as our holiday cottage guests keep breaking them, and by far the most robust ones that I've found so far are solid moulded plastic (NOT wooden core plastic covered) that incorporate soft closing hinges.

If you think of the needs of a loo seat it's opening and closing requirements are remarkably close to what you need for your trunk. The loo seat I'm selecting weighs 2.4 kg so same order of magnitude as your lid.

They are relatively cheap to hack about and fashion the bits you need hopefully hiding their origin  :lol:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline picclock

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 613
  • Country: gb
Re: How to - soft close for chest/coffer lid?
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2018, 03:32:49 AM »
Had a footstall/storage box with our previous 3 piece suite. It used a gas strut as you have suggested. Weight of upholstered lid would break a kiddys finger if not for that. Very effective took about 10 seconds to close. Similar to the ones used for car boot doors I would guess. I would go with that because its a proven solution.

Best Regards

picclock

try  : -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Cabinet-Strut-Close-Hinge/dp/B00I0ACL9K/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_60_lp_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2NFM8XYBZKAGE1KNCTCN

or a smaller version, at £1.18 delivered super cheap.
« Last Edit: November 26, 2018, 04:25:11 AM by picclock »
Engaged in the art of turning large pieces of useful material into ever smaller pieces of (s)crap. (Ferndown, Dorset)

Offline kayzed1

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 294
Re: How to - soft close for chest/coffer lid?
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2018, 07:42:09 AM »
I use these people for the stuff i need.
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-struts

Lyn.