hidden hinge

Would one of these work: A barrel hinge?

A barrel hinge was my first thought. When you say the lid is recessed, are you saying there is a rabbet around the lid?

Yes the lid is rabbeted. The barrel hinge would be nice. The material is only about 1/4" thick so I’ll have to find one that will fit.

Woodcraft sells one that is 5mm. in dia. Im sure other places have them too.

Given that thickness, the 5mm is really the only choice. The Soss pictured above is too large (the smallest they make is 10mm and requires at least 10mm depth).

The other option might be a quadrant hinge: http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2003454/2674/Economical-Quadrant-Hinge.aspx

You’ll have to mount it to the lip of the rabbet, which will be tricky given thin stock.

I’ve also seen the use of small finish nails used for this application (pivot points on both ends). If I’m not mistaken, Steve Ramsey (woodworking for mere mortals ) used this method on a recent project. He’s also been doing a lot of projects with pallets. Very creative,

I gave it some thought and I think the best and probably easiest idea is to use regular butt hinges with one leaf bent and the barrel morticed into the top edge of the box. It won’t be hidden but it will be partly concealed.

I think the barrel hinge looks great but requires thicker material. The finish nail idea is great too but requires some forethought before building. I should actually plan out some of these projects LOL.

I’ll post the finished product when I’m done. Thanks everyone for the tips. They will be useful in future projects.

If I had a nickle for every time I said “I should plan” … well I’d be sailing around the world on a yacht with a shop.

Sometimes the workarounds are what will standout.

LOL exactly. Often I’m not even sure what the outcome should be much less have anything more than an ethereal outline of what to do. I didn’t even think about hinges before I started. I really just wanted to practice mitre joints and do something nice for my daughter.

Brian, How’d the daughter’s jewelry box turn out?

I didn’t finish it. I messed it up trying to retrofit hinges. Poor planning! I’ll give it another try sometime. I like the minimalist all mitred joinery.