This topic comes up in threads at times, and I know there's another how to out there but it's buried in a construction journal. So since I was doing one and had my camera handy, I decided to make a stand alone how-to on making a silicone living hinge so it'll be easier to find when using the search feature.
1) Mask off your area. I used painters tape and some duct tape on top for no real reason. The distance from the gap to the mask is about 5/16"-3/8".
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2) This is the size of the gap. I really wanted to just butt the pieces of glass together, but I couldn't justify it in my head because I know how much strain will be put on that area of the silicone and I'd like this to last as long as possible, so I settled with an approximately 1/16" gap.
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3) This is called CYA. Test your silicone before you use it. Put a dab on a paper towel, if it sets up and starts to skin, it's good. You do not want to come back a day later to find uncured silicone on your project - not fun in the slightest.
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4) Apply silicone and smooth it out. I'd ball park it's thickness at around 3/32" - 1/18". I just used my finger, but you can use any number of utensils to smooth this out. I've wanted to make a fixture to fix the width and thickness of the hinge, but I've not bothered in making one.
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5) While the silicone is uncured, carefully peel the masking off. The reason this needs to be done while the silicone is uncured is because the masking will peel off out from under the silicone if it's cured. This'll leave you to trim the hinge up with a razor, and that's no fun.
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1) Mask off your area. I used painters tape and some duct tape on top for no real reason. The distance from the gap to the mask is about 5/16"-3/8".
2) This is the size of the gap. I really wanted to just butt the pieces of glass together, but I couldn't justify it in my head because I know how much strain will be put on that area of the silicone and I'd like this to last as long as possible, so I settled with an approximately 1/16" gap.
3) This is called CYA. Test your silicone before you use it. Put a dab on a paper towel, if it sets up and starts to skin, it's good. You do not want to come back a day later to find uncured silicone on your project - not fun in the slightest.
4) Apply silicone and smooth it out. I'd ball park it's thickness at around 3/32" - 1/18". I just used my finger, but you can use any number of utensils to smooth this out. I've wanted to make a fixture to fix the width and thickness of the hinge, but I've not bothered in making one.
5) While the silicone is uncured, carefully peel the masking off. The reason this needs to be done while the silicone is uncured is because the masking will peel off out from under the silicone if it's cured. This'll leave you to trim the hinge up with a razor, and that's no fun.
