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What kind of screw is supposed to be used to mount this cabinet door hinge? You can see the screw holes circled in red. They look smoothly bored out, so not sure how the screws are held in place. Unfortunately I don't have the screws from the part that was removed. However in the bottom picture you can see what its supposed to look like when its mounted correctly. I tried to remove the screws in the bottom picture, but it doesn't seem like they will come out. So I'm assuming it's some sort of compression system that holds these in place.

Anyways, I appreciate any help anyone can give me.

enter image description here enter image description here

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Those are referred to as "european" or "cup" hinges and are made to fit into a system of pre-set 5mm holes using compression fittings. (More info. on the plastic fittings is here.) The same sets of holes are intended to also hold shelf supports. The hinges use "oddly-threaded" screws that aren't much good without the plastic inserts.

Euro-hinge showing compression fittings.

Euro-hinge showing compression fittings

The picture shows the fittings on the back of a similar hinge. Since it looks like you're missing some pieces of the hinge in the top photo, you'll probably have to pick up a replacement hinge (or hinges if you need to replace both.)

In theory, the "european style" hinges should all be nearly interchangeable so you have a good chance of finding replacements that will fit into the existing holes. Remove the one in the lower picture and take it with you to buy replacements. If you purchase a few varieties from your local BigBox, you'll be able to return ones that don't fit.

If you don't want to do that, you could plug the holes with dowels and glue then insert regular wood screws to hold the hinge in place.

Replacement plastic anchors and the required screws (undoubtedly of various quality levels) are also available from places like Amazon, eBay, etc. Measure carefully, read closely.

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  • Shopper be ware: "Nearly interchangeable" depends a lot on where the hinges came from. I've tried looking for replacement hinges for IKEA and a variety of cheap import Asian made furniture and haven't found anything remotely close to any of them.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Feb 18, 2022 at 12:57
  • @FreeMan Very true. Once upon a time (late 1940s) those components were all supposed to be part of a system where multiple European manufacturers could all get a "piece of the pie" using existing armaments/munitions manufacturing capabilities. As usual, somebody came along and started knocking off parts.
    – gnicko
    Commented Feb 18, 2022 at 13:58

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