Taking the Squeak out of a Squeaky Door Hinge

How to Lubricate a Squeaky Door Hinge

It's a stock sound in every horror movie, one that even appears within Michael Jackson's iconic song "Thriller." We're talking about the sound of a squeaking door hinge. While the sound may be great for a Hallowe'en haunted house, you probably son't want to listen to it every time you open the closet door - or worse, the bathroom door.

The mess left by a little squirt of
graphite (photo: author)

Most people will wander out into their garage and grab a can of WD40 to attack the door - but you should know better by now! The active ingredient in WD40 penetrates and sucks moisture out of tight spaces, but it doesn't actually lubricate -- it's the material the active ingredients are dissolved in that lubricates, and that solvent will evaporate in time. In other words, it doesn't last and the hinge will sooner than later start squeaking again. Besides, using WD40 is, frankly, rather messy.

Neither of the previous owners (ptui!) of my last two houses knew how to lubricate a squeaky hinge. One sprayed on WD-40 and the other used the graphite you squirt into locks. Both of them made a mess, and by the time we'd moved into the house the doors were squeaking again. Why? at least in part because they'd done it wrong. Here's how to do it right, with only a few minutes' work:

Easy Do-it-Yourself Display Case for Models

When the Ms returned from a memorial service for her late father, she brought a dozen or so collectible models of Standard Oil trucks - not worth much in terms of cash (about $3.50 each on eBay) but full of sentimental value. She also had a little display case for Matchbox cars, but the trucks were too big for its little shelves. Thus came the request,. "Can you make something...?" Making the body of a case like this was no problem. Oh, sure, there was the usual question about making the joints: mitered, box, dovetail, butt… But, the overall dimensions and the general design were pretty much set in stone, including the desire for a hinged front that had to be mostly clear glass. I don't know about you, but I find making a frame for a glass door to be a major pain in the butt. So I decided to let someone else make it…

One Simple Trick

An ordinary picture frame (from
the Michaels website)

Yep, you guessed it, I stopped by my local craft store and bought a simple black wood picture frame. That became my ready-made face, including glass (and glazing points). All that was left was to measure the frame's outside dimensions and design a multiple-shelf display box to fit behind it. I bought six feet of 1 x 3 poplar and a quarter sheet of ¼-inch birch plywood. With a couple hours' work with the table saw and router and I had a case. I cut my shelves and back from the plywood and painted them black, like the picture frame. The poplar I stained with some leftover wood stain I had in the shop.