Can this medicine cabinet door be fixed or replaced?
April 8, 2019 2:42 PM Subscribe
The 19.5x27 inch mirrored door to my medicine cabinet fell off, due to a small piece of metal breaking. I'm trying to figure out if this is something that can be fixed or replaced.
Here is a link to some pictures: Imgur
The fifth picture (showing the broken and unbroken hinges side by side) shows what broke. It's a tiny piece of metal, maybe a milimeter thick. The whole contraption is "riveted" to the particle board on the back of the mirror, so I'm not sure if that can be replaced. I've found similar hinges, but those only work if there is something for them to hold on to.
Any suggestions on how to fix this? I would hate to have to replace the entire medicine cabinet because a tiny piece of metal broke. It seems like the part that broke is so small that if I glue it, it will just break again after a short period of time.
I can provide more pictures upon request.
Here is a link to some pictures: Imgur
The fifth picture (showing the broken and unbroken hinges side by side) shows what broke. It's a tiny piece of metal, maybe a milimeter thick. The whole contraption is "riveted" to the particle board on the back of the mirror, so I'm not sure if that can be replaced. I've found similar hinges, but those only work if there is something for them to hold on to.
Any suggestions on how to fix this? I would hate to have to replace the entire medicine cabinet because a tiny piece of metal broke. It seems like the part that broke is so small that if I glue it, it will just break again after a short period of time.
I can provide more pictures upon request.
You could probably get it to adhere pretty well using epoxy and clamping it until set. Otherwise, even if you can grind off those rivets and remove the old part, there's not really any way to attach a new hinge to that flimsy board other than with glue. Removing the board and replacing it with new plywood would give you the ability to replace the hinge, but that's a lot of work for what's probably a cheap cabinet.
posted by pipeski at 3:24 PM on April 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by pipeski at 3:24 PM on April 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't glue it because A) veneered particle board to metal B) not much surface area C) warm humid location D) when it lets go again, a glass door will be falling somewhere around your (probably) naked feet.
I take pride in fixing things but I’d replace this cabinet.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:14 PM on April 8, 2019
I take pride in fixing things but I’d replace this cabinet.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:14 PM on April 8, 2019
Best answer: Honestly I'd just epoxy the mounting block to the wood and not think twice about it. Yeah, it's not through the wood, but that's only what, 1/8", 3mm? The rivets aren't biting into a whole hell of a lot to begin with, and it doesn't look like there's room for a backing plate for the rivets to be mounted to. Damp doesn't bother epoxy, it's not holding up the Eiffel tower, and it's no greater a risk than it was when the stamped metal gave way in the first place. And when it cuts loose, it's going to slowly rip the veneer off the particle board, making it floppier and floppier until you finally go "well shoot, this didn't work".
But that might be a decade from now. Or next week. You roll the dice, you take your chances.
(Now, I don't know that I'd recommend using like JB weld to bond the plate to the pivot hinge again. That's just asking for a broken mirror.)
posted by Kyol at 5:13 PM on April 8, 2019
But that might be a decade from now. Or next week. You roll the dice, you take your chances.
(Now, I don't know that I'd recommend using like JB weld to bond the plate to the pivot hinge again. That's just asking for a broken mirror.)
posted by Kyol at 5:13 PM on April 8, 2019
I'd say there is a small backing plate – notice the slight air gap between the mirror and the wood where such a plate would be .
I suppose I would see whether I could easily remove the mirror from the wood - it might be glued only around the edges, maybe with hot glue or silicone - using a heat gun or a putty knife, then I'd drill out the rivets from the mirror side, then have the broken pieces welded or find a new pivot hinge with compatible geometry, then remount the hinge using the old backing plate, and flat headed bolts and nuts in place of the rivets, then reglue the mirror and remount the door.
posted by jamjam at 6:24 PM on April 8, 2019
I suppose I would see whether I could easily remove the mirror from the wood - it might be glued only around the edges, maybe with hot glue or silicone - using a heat gun or a putty knife, then I'd drill out the rivets from the mirror side, then have the broken pieces welded or find a new pivot hinge with compatible geometry, then remount the hinge using the old backing plate, and flat headed bolts and nuts in place of the rivets, then reglue the mirror and remount the door.
posted by jamjam at 6:24 PM on April 8, 2019
Your hinge looks a whole bunch like this one from Amazon.
I'm betting against rivets. I'm betting those are screws - "tamperproof" screws in T-nuts
The tamperproof screws can become non-tamperproof screws if you take a hacksaw blade and cut a slot in them for a flat screwdriver. Or better a cutting disk in a dremel tool.
posted by rudd135 at 6:32 PM on April 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'm betting against rivets. I'm betting those are screws - "tamperproof" screws in T-nuts
The tamperproof screws can become non-tamperproof screws if you take a hacksaw blade and cut a slot in them for a flat screwdriver. Or better a cutting disk in a dremel tool.
posted by rudd135 at 6:32 PM on April 8, 2019 [2 favorites]
Judging by the slightly hairy look of the cut edge, that mirror backing looks to me like it's made from MDF rather than particleboard.
A decent epoxy glue like JB Weld would be plenty strong enough to stick that snapped-off hinge block securely to the back of an MDF board, but I wouldn't trust the MDF itself not to peel itself apart under the glue joint.
To reduce the likelihood of that, you could drill a 2x4 array of 1/16" holes into the rectangle of MDF that the glue was going to cover, then expand those out into little volcano cones using a larger drill or preferably a countersink bit. Do that with a very light touch, because you don't want the drill to smack into the back of the glass as it comes through the MDF. If you can slip a metal shim between the MDF and the glass before doing the drilling, so much the better.
The intent here is that instead of a high-strength film of cured epoxy bonding a high-strength metal part to an easily torn MDF surface, you'd end up with bumps in the epoxy bonded to the edges of your volcano cones as well, to almost the full depth of the MDF; unlike solvent- or water-based glues, epoxy doesn't shrink as it cures. The end result should be almost as strong a joint as you'd get from tee nuts.
Also, before gluing the hinge back on I'd thoroughly rough up its surface with 80-grit sandpaper. I'd also use only just enough clamp pressure to hold the assembly still while the epoxy set up so as not to squeeze out an excessive amount - unlike wood glue, epoxy between dissimilar materials works better with a thicker-than-minimum film layer.
If you did manage to fit a metal shim between MDF and glass for the drilling, you could slip a bit of waxed paper in there before the gluing just to keep any epoxy that squeezes all the way through the holes off the mirror; it would be a shame if normal movement made your glue want to tear little pinholes in the mirror backing.
posted by flabdablet at 5:26 AM on April 9, 2019
A decent epoxy glue like JB Weld would be plenty strong enough to stick that snapped-off hinge block securely to the back of an MDF board, but I wouldn't trust the MDF itself not to peel itself apart under the glue joint.
To reduce the likelihood of that, you could drill a 2x4 array of 1/16" holes into the rectangle of MDF that the glue was going to cover, then expand those out into little volcano cones using a larger drill or preferably a countersink bit. Do that with a very light touch, because you don't want the drill to smack into the back of the glass as it comes through the MDF. If you can slip a metal shim between the MDF and the glass before doing the drilling, so much the better.
The intent here is that instead of a high-strength film of cured epoxy bonding a high-strength metal part to an easily torn MDF surface, you'd end up with bumps in the epoxy bonded to the edges of your volcano cones as well, to almost the full depth of the MDF; unlike solvent- or water-based glues, epoxy doesn't shrink as it cures. The end result should be almost as strong a joint as you'd get from tee nuts.
Also, before gluing the hinge back on I'd thoroughly rough up its surface with 80-grit sandpaper. I'd also use only just enough clamp pressure to hold the assembly still while the epoxy set up so as not to squeeze out an excessive amount - unlike wood glue, epoxy between dissimilar materials works better with a thicker-than-minimum film layer.
If you did manage to fit a metal shim between MDF and glass for the drilling, you could slip a bit of waxed paper in there before the gluing just to keep any epoxy that squeezes all the way through the holes off the mirror; it would be a shame if normal movement made your glue want to tear little pinholes in the mirror backing.
posted by flabdablet at 5:26 AM on April 9, 2019
Why not swap the hinge for something similar to this?
posted by Big Al 8000 at 7:37 AM on April 9, 2019
posted by Big Al 8000 at 7:37 AM on April 9, 2019
Response by poster: Thanks all for your suggestions.
I'm going to just try epoxy, as Kyol suggested, and if that doesn't work then go the more involved route suggested by jamjam.
posted by sacrifix at 8:13 AM on April 10, 2019
I'm going to just try epoxy, as Kyol suggested, and if that doesn't work then go the more involved route suggested by jamjam.
posted by sacrifix at 8:13 AM on April 10, 2019
Not to undercut my own answer, but flabdadlet's very legitimate concern about marring the silvering of the mirror has left me wondering how easy or even possible it would turn out to be to dismount the entire mirror without scratching it from behind.
If the expoxying doesn't work, a more conservative approach would be to attempt to delicately slip a putty knife under about a 2"x2" section of the corner of the board to which the broken remnant of the hinge is attached, cut that corner out with a knife using the putty knife as backing to protect the mirror, then rotate the piece 180° and install a new hinge on the new corner using a very thin metal plate with a couple of holes punched in as backing, then glue that back onto the mirror. And then you might want to glue a larger chunk of fiberboard over that corner, with a small bit cut out to accommodate the hinge, in order to integrate it with the rest of the board.
I think that would actually be easier than what I originally proposed even if there was no danger of wrecking the mirror.
posted by jamjam at 12:33 PM on April 10, 2019
If the expoxying doesn't work, a more conservative approach would be to attempt to delicately slip a putty knife under about a 2"x2" section of the corner of the board to which the broken remnant of the hinge is attached, cut that corner out with a knife using the putty knife as backing to protect the mirror, then rotate the piece 180° and install a new hinge on the new corner using a very thin metal plate with a couple of holes punched in as backing, then glue that back onto the mirror. And then you might want to glue a larger chunk of fiberboard over that corner, with a small bit cut out to accommodate the hinge, in order to integrate it with the rest of the board.
I think that would actually be easier than what I originally proposed even if there was no danger of wrecking the mirror.
posted by jamjam at 12:33 PM on April 10, 2019
« Older What to grow in a window with no direct sun? | How can I find out about street surveillance? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:59 PM on April 8, 2019