How to Make a DIY Tiny Hinge

Watch the video tutorial here!

Look no further if you're looking for a robust, small hinge that you can DIY for your art or craft projects. This  instagram viral workhorse of a hinge is easy to make out of a few scraps of wire. You just need a pair of pliers and other common household tidbits.
You can use these hinges for kinetic sculptures, tabletop gaming terrain, or for the mini walnut boxes I wrote about here.

The step-by-step breakdown of how you can make a small hinge with wire ​is presented below. I think this one is easier to understand in video format as part of my Walnut Shell Box video. The hinge portion of that DIY tutorial is at 1:30.

Adjust the size and softness of the wire you're using to the size of hinge you want. I buy this wire at the hardware store. Cut two 8 cm lengths.

Start wrapping the wire in a coil around your rigid thing. The first two coils are the most difficult.

Pull out the rigid thing...

Bend the second length of wire into an "L" shape.

Bend down the free arm of the L.

You need something rigid (inflexible) to wrap the wire around. I'm using the pin of a thumbtack here. You could also use a finishing nail or a toothpick.

Continue until you have about 5 or six loops around the coil.

... and squeeze the loops of the coil together.

Slide the coil onto the L.

Trim the ends of the hinge to length and install using your desired method.

If you want help installing your hinge, there's a few options presented in the video tutorial.