I love the boxes Alan....you're reminding me of the 4 I have started and never put the lids on because the tubing got me frusterated BIG TIME. I also love the use of the zinc on the boarders.
With me using zinc came for the borders - the following is the method that I use...
The hinges are made up of:
- 1 - 2" length of 1/16" x .014" copper tubing inside 'pin'
- 2 - 1" lengths of 3/32" x .014" copper tubing outer hinge body
Initial positioning and careful soldering are the keys to this type of hinge - I have the box upside-down with the lid very slightly overhanging the back side (the lid is LARGER than the box by about 1/8" to 3/16" all around), place all of the pieces on the overhanging lip (with the inner 'pin' in place) with a slight gap between the outside pieces of the hinge - held in place with a bit of painter's masking tape (the blue stuff) on one end of each hinge set, carefully tack solder one of the outer pieces to the lid ONLY, remove the tape and tack solder the other outer piece to the box ONLY, repeat for the other side. Remove the 'pins' from the inside of the larger tubing and very carefully solder each outer hinge piece making sure that NO solder gets on the inside of the tubing and that the tubing does not move. Once all soldered, reassemble the hinges and carefully solder the inner 'pin' to the outer tubing - ON ONE END ONLY of each hinge set (I usually do the outside end - it's easier to reach and control the solder), if you solder each end of the hinge set - you no longer have a hinge - rather you have a lock!
Probably not the best method - but it does seem to work OK me and like soldering takes some practice to get a good looking hinge.
Found the two different sized small copper tubing at my local TrueValue hardware store in their hobby metals section - 3 pieces in each package 12" long.
