We are thinking about going with a hangline system in our finish department. Now we bore for hinges as we assemble after doors are finished. For the hangline we will bore before finishing so we can hang the doors from the hinge bores. The problem is that we have to measure the doors to know how to bore them. Then we have to measure them all again after they are finished to sort them out as we assemble. This wastes a lot of time. We could mark them in the bottom of the hinge bore but then they have to be removed from the rack to read and replaced if it is not the correct door, again wasting time. Is there a better way?

Ages ago I worked for a shop that labeled doors on either the top or bottom edge, depending if it was a wall cabinet door or base door/drawer front. There's almost always a non-visible edge once installed. They used a hand engraving tool to buzz on a job number, cabinet number and then letter for door position, and it was deep enough to survive finish and still be readable.

I put the door name in the hinge hole. I always put it on the top hole so when you are assembling you know which side the door goes on. Plus if I use soft close hinges I put the soft close hinge in the marked hole so I still know that edge of the door goes up.

I just use magic marker and then place a pc of masking tape over it so it can be read after painting/staining.

Leo, when you use soft close hinges, you only use one then a standard hinge in the other hole?

Yes, most of the time. Occasionally you need two for bigger doors. But usually they get three hinges and I do 2 soft and 1 self close.

I thought about using a soft and a free swing, but they cost more than the self close because they aren't that popular.

I hate waiting for the door to close. And one seems to let it close quick but soft. Air pressure in the cabinet when it's closed off helps too.

Interesting, I have always used all soft close and when needed, just turn the soft close feature off to help the closing speed.

I know, but they are $2 more +/- than a regular hinge and it's not that hard to order both. Plus it lets you know which side of the door is up when you assemble. And when I install I take them off so it helps then too.

If you are just turning it off, then you don't really need it.

Isn't this a great forum? Josh was able to learn about potentially saving money on soft closing hinges from Leo. And it was in the professional finishing forum. Count me as weird but I love when this sort of thing happens.

"if you are just turning it off,then you don't really need it"

Leo
I think what he meant is,if the door is closing too slow you can turn one of the soft close hinges off
Just let one of them do the work

As far as cost,I don't know where you get your supply but where I get mine it is more cost effective to get the soft close
They also don't carry much of the non soft close at my local suppliers

To answer the OP
Many manufacturer uses a little round sticker to put inside the hinge hole and cover it with another
I just use a sharpie and mark it
Then a piece of blue tape

So if you mark the doors in the hinge bore, how are you staging finished doors for assembly? My thought is it takes a lot of time to take a door off of the staging/drying rack and pull the tape to see if it is the correct one. Then maybe place the door back on the rack because it is not the correct one. Then start over to find the correct one. Many of our doors are fairly close in size. This all may possibly take more time than remeasuring the doors to find the correct one. Other than the method Jared mentioned there may not be another way?

Maria
If you are using one of the boring hinge hole
Why not label inside and when using the hangline system you don't need to put tape over it
Then you can take the door to a rack and you'll be able to see the label
What so hard about that?

Your issue has to do with sorting after paint. Idea 1: hang the doors in numeric order on the rack, or 2: tag the top of the hook with a tape flag, sharpie with cabinet number, or 3: after they're cured enough to remove from the hang line, load into a Hafele-style wire rack or equivalent. Now your hinge cup labels are revealed and your hang line is back in action.

Well if it is to slow to peel back the tape when looking for a specific door... then why not just use clear tape?!! :-)

Bobbys

If you use clear tape and spray over it,how exactly can you see thru?

Someone should invent a small programable computer chip that fits into the hinge bore.Then you could scan it and it tells you what door it is.

Nicko

I boar my doors equal distance from each end of the door. Doesn't matter which end is up, only the width. Makes them easy to sort and I don't mark them or have to read any marks.

"Someone should invent a small programable computer chip that fits into the hinge bore.Then you could scan it and it tells you what door it is."

Something like this?
A little sticker that fit inside hinge hole

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Some great ideas here, IF, you are only spraying clear. Some type of reusable plug that has flexible barbs would be a great option for snapping in to the hole, whether you are spraying clear or pigment.

How about a identifying sticker that fits into the hinge bore that also has a removable clear plastic flim if you are painting or staining...sounds like a business opportunity.

The sticker above is not what i am talking about. I mean a programable electronic chip that could be painted over but you could scan it.

I use a ballpoint ink pen. The ink will bleed through most of the finishes I spray. (Tinted CV, 2K) Stain can be more of a problem. But on painted jobs, i just write a number in the hinge hole, spray the door, and the ink bleeds through, and is still readable.