If your cabinet door did not come with hinge bores, we have a simple solution for you! Using a 35mm forstner bit, a few more tools, and just a few minutes, you will be able to attach hinges to your door in no time. Follow Justin in this quick tutorial, and you will be one step closer to finishing the kitchen, bathroom, home office, or mudroom of your dreams!
Video Transcript
Introduction
It's a glorious day here at Cabinet Joint! I'm Justin, and in today's video, I'm going to show you how to drill out for hinge bores. If your door, like this one, did not come with any pre-drilled holes, this guide will help you.
There are some unique situations where you will need to drill the holes yourself. One of those is a full-door sink cabinet, where the sink basin comes down and would hit your hinge if it were at the typical height. In such cases, you need to position your hinge lower than usual. Other situations include pocket doors or hidden pantry doors, where you need to drill the bores for your hinge yourself.
So let's get into how to do that!
Tools & Supplies
First of all, the tools you'll need:
An impact driver with a Phillips bit to install the hinges
A drill with a 35mm Forstner bit (if you can't find one in millimeters, you can use a 1 3/8" bit, which will work just fine)
Hinges for installation
A pencil
A spring center punch
Now, let’s go over how to measure and drill for your hinges.
Before we begin, just to address the elephant in the room—I do have a broken finger. But don't worry, it wasn’t from assembling or building cabinets! The show must go on.
Locating & Drilling a Hinge Bore Into a Cabinet Door
To find the center point where you will drill the hinge bore:
Measure down from the edge of the door 3 inches.
Measure over 15/16 inches.
That mark will be your center point for drilling.
I like to use the center punch to indent a hole, as it creates an easier path for the drill bit to follow. If you don’t have a spring center punch, you can use a nail and tap it to make a small mark.
Once you’ve marked the center, take your Forstner bit and center it on that hole. Go ahead and drill out the bore.
Things to Remember:
Drill to the exact depth of your actual hinge cup.
Use a slow speed with a Forstner bit—high speed is not recommended.
Apply steady pressure while drilling.
Ideally, you want to get pencil-sharpener-style wood shavings as you drill.
Once drilled, clean off the dust, place your hinge in the bore, and confirm the fit. It should fit snugly like a glove. From there, the next steps are the same: square up the hinge, drill out for the screws, and install.
The Finished Product & Summary
As you can see, I now have the hinges attached to my door.
A few important things to note when using a Forstner bit:
Do not use high speed; Forstner bits are designed for slow speeds with higher torque.
Keep your drill bit square to the door. Avoid tilting, as this can create an uneven bore.
Be mindful of your depth—you don’t want to accidentally drill through the front of the door!
Your depth should match the depth of your hinge cup.
Now that our hinges are mounted, we can attach the door to the cabinet. There may be some slight adjustments needed around the edges, but we’ll take care of that in a jiffy.
Drilling into a brand-new door might seem daunting, but as long as you follow these measurements, you’ll be just fine. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your cabinet coach or call us at 888-211-6482.
Thank you for watching!
