Anyone using strap hinges to attach the default frame to a wall?

[Metalmaslow]

anyone using strap hinges to attach the default frame to a wall?
one on top of each 2x4 leg? Seems like it would work in my head.

Nailing a short 2x4 to the wall above the frame would make attaching the hinge easier. shown on left.

Having the hinge behind the frame as shown on right would be tricker to attach the 2x4 to the hinge. One would need a 2nd helper to lift up the 2x4 to screw it to the wall stud.

I did a search on wall mounted frames and there are a few designs out there, but not in love with any of them.

[explorien]

I’m about to build a hinging wall-mount frame and I’m considering attaching it like you sketched, with a small piece of 2"x4" above each leg. I’m curious how many of these hinges will be necessary for a safe weight distribution.

Also, looking at hinges, an alternative seems to be a garage door hinge (which is designed to hinge along a horizontal axis) instead of a gate/strap hinge (hinging on a vertical axis). Something like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Clopay-QuietFlex-Replacement-14-Gauge-Steel-1-Hinge-for-Overhead-Garage-Doors-0124111/312929358

[dlang]

the machine is not that heavy, two hinges should be enough

David Lang

[explorien]

Glad to hear you think 2 can be sufficient. I’m wondering whether all the mounting hardware can add up in weight.

I sketched up a design with 3 straps to suspend three 2’x4’s with a 10’ unistrut between them as a top beam. To mount the top beam, I cut three 2 foot long unistruts into 1-foot long pairs to fashion adjustable L-brackets. One leg of each bracket is bolted to a 2’x4’, and the other leg will suspend the 10’ unistrut.

[multibeast]

Yes, I’m using these alternate sized gate strap hinges and i use the longer side on a 2x6 affixed to the wall and the thinner side on the top of my top beam. It holds just fine and the frame hangs about 0.5" off the ground when it is laying flat against the wall.

[explorien]

@multibeast, what is your frame made out of and how do you prop it out at 15 degrees? I used a unistrut top beam, but only wood 2x4s for the vertical beams and there is a lot more warping than I expected. For adjustable legs, I used 3/4" conduit tubing attached to a lower unistrut rail.

Here I propped up the frame to figure out how long the legs need to be to get everything level.

[multibeast]

@explorien

what is your frame made out of

@explorien my frame is made out of 2x4’s similar to yours but with added 2x4 cross beams on the top and bottom. Everything is pocket screwed together and then i have a 1/2 inch wasteboard screwed in. Told it off the wall i have (2) 2x4s hinged from the bottom rail so that when i pull it away from the wall they fall out and create 2 standoff points for me. A bit of a pain to pack them back up without a second set of hands, but it holds pretty stiff when in place. To figure out how long to cut them i just kept pulling out the frame until i found close to 15* and measured from there.

I’ve actually been having a hard time figured out how to push my motors out far enough from the frame (not even sure how far i should go) but i like your idea pretty well.

[dlang]

how far out depends on your sled/router/weight combination.

You first want to setup your sled so that when you hold it in the air by the
chains, it hangs straight (adjusting the height of the ring from the sled), this
way as the chains pull on the sled, they won’t be trying to tip the sled.

Then you want the motors so that as the sled sits on your workpiece, the chains
are parallel to the workpiece.

The design of roller chain and sprockets allows for up to a 3 degree angle, but
that’s a max that you should not get near.

This doesn’t have to be exact, but you want it close. in the upper corner, when
the chain length gets as short as ~10", you want the motors to be no more
thanabout 1/2" from the height of the ring.

if the difference is too much, the chain will skip.

David Lang