Hopefully others will share their techniques........
First off is the tools I use....rigid cutting board, #11 blade, #80 drill bit, Xuron PE cutters...also, not shown, pointed tweezers and Gator's Glue.
Heat and naturally cool the hinges (what we commonly refer to as annealing) to get rid of the 'spring' and make forming them easier. Cut the end of what will be the 'knuckle' of the hinge and leave the 'wing' attached to the sprue. On this Griffon set, they alternate but still line up in a row for bending.
These call for a .3mm wire to be used as the hinge 'pin', so using a #80 drill bit and the tip of the #11 blade, I bend the first and last knuckles over. I use the drill bit instead of wire since I usually mangle the wire up in the process, and the bit remains nice and straight.
Once the bit is held in place , the rest are easy...use the blade and tweezers to form the remaining knuckles and then pull the bit out. These can be removed from the sprue now.
I use PE cutters to trim away the excess from the other half of the hinges, but all that's really needed is to cut the ends as above and form these knuckles the same way. After all the knuckles are formed, line up the hinge halves, insert the wire, and before pushing it through the last knuckle put a dab of adhesive on the wire. Now push the wire through the last knuckle and use tweezers to pinch the knuckles snug.
Finally, use a damp brush to wipe away the excess glue and cut the wire flush.....remove the finished hinge from the sprue. That's it...workable hinges in just a matter of minutes!
