How to Attach a Hinge to Plastic
- 1). Place the plastic part or plastic sheet on the work table. Ensure that if you are attaching a metal hinge to a plastic sheet, you do not remove the protective coating from the surface of the plastic.
- 2). Cover the side of the plastic part or sheet that the metal hinge(s) will attach with masking tape.
- 3). Stretch the tape measure along the plastic part or sheet and place a pencil mark at the location you will be mounting the metal hinge. Repeat the process if you are installing multiple hinges on the plastic part or sheet.
- 4). Align the metal hinges on the marks you made on the plastic part or sheet and mark the holes of the hinge on the surface of the plastic with a pencil.
- 5). Put on your safety glasses.
- 6). Secure the #7 drill bit into the chuck of the drill motor for the 1/4-20 tapped hole or a 9/32-inch drill bit for the 1/4-inch machine screws.
- 7). Place the tip of the drill bit onto the surface of the plastic, aligned with one of the pencil-marked hinge holes.
- 8). Pull the trigger of the drill motor and, with slight pressure, drill the hole through the plastic part or sheet. Continue drilling the remaining pencil-marked hinge holes.
- 9). Insert the 1/4-20 tap into the tap-tee handle if you are tapping a hole for the 1/4-20 bolts or skip to step 12 if you are passing a machine screw through the plastic part or sheet.
- 10
Align the end of the 1/4-20 tap with one of the holes, ensure that the tap is straight with the hole and turn the tap tee-handle clockwise to thread the #7 hole. Repeat the procedure to tap all the drilled holes in the plastic part or sheet. - 11
Set the hinge onto the plastic sheet with the holes of the metal hinge aligned with the tapped holes in the plastic, thread a 1/4-20 bolt into each tapped hole and tighten the bolts with the 7/16-inch ratchet wrench to complete the installation of the metal hinge to the plastic part or sheet. - 12
Slide a 1/4-inch machine into each 9/32-inch hole you drilled through the plastic part or sheet. - 13
Place a lock-washer and nut on each 1/4-inch machine screw and turn the nut clockwise to tighten the nut to the bottom surface of the plastic. - 14
Set the 7/16-inch wrench onto the head of the machine screw and slide the 7/16-inch ratchet wrench onto the nut located on the other side of the plastic. - 15
Turn the 7/16-inch ratchet wrench clockwise to tighten each bolt, securing the metal hinge(s) to the plastic part or sheet.
