How to Remove the Hinge Pins from an Antique Door

In most homes, doors are typically attached to their frames by means of a hinge. A hinge and pin system is what allows the door to rotate on a pivot and to be opened and closed. In older homes, one of the more common style of door hinges used was called the butt hinge. Butt hinges consisted of two plates; one which was attached to the door and the other to the casing. The two halves were joined together by means of a pin, called a pin hinge.

Historical older homes are filled with interesting door hinges with hinge pins that are much more elaborate than the flat styles seen in more modern homes. The exposed tip of the pin was either in the shape of a sphere, which was called a ball tip or had a fancy, turned shaped called a finial tip. Whether your door has a ball tip hinge pin or the more elaborate finial style, most of them can be removed the same way.

So why would you want to remove hinge pins in the first place? If you are wanting to remove a door for restoration, sanding, painting, or to squeeze that piano into the house, the pins must be removed before the door can be taken down from the casing.

Tools needed

Removing door hinge pins takes a few basic supplies. These include a long, flat head screwdriver (the thinner the head the better), a hammer, WD-40 and a utility knife. For pins that are beneath multiple layer of paint, protective goggles will shield the eyes from flying particles of paint.

How it’s done

When the pins were placed in the hinge barrels years ago, they were dropped in from the top and gently tapped into place. What’s a little confusing is that the bottom of the pin (or at least, where you’d expect the bottom of the pin to be) is also capped with a decorative tip. When removing the hinge pin, ignore the bottom tip and focus your efforts on the top one.

Step 1: If the pin is under multiple layers of paint, it helps to first score the paint with the utility knife. The scoring should take place just above the barrel which rests flush to the hinge plate. Scoring the paint not only makes it a little easier to remove the pins, but prevents the paint from chipping in a ragged fashion as the pin is pried out of the barrel.

Step 2: Next, place the tip of the screwdriver beneath the pin head and holding it at a 90 degree angle, gently tap the handle of the screwdriver with the hammer. The hinge pin should lift up 1/16 of an inch or so. If the pin has not been removed in several dozen years and is covered under several layers of paint, you will have to apply the tip of the screwdriver in a couple of other areas until the tip “breaks” loose. Apply a little WD-40 (if necessary) to the hinge barrel at this time.

Step 3: Once the pin has separated from the paint or hinge barrel, it can be lifted out. This is done by angling the tip of the screw driver at a 45 degree angle to the hinge barrel, and tapping the base of the screwdriver with the hammer once again. The pin will start to lift upwards. At this point, you can either grab the ball tip by the hands, or if the pin is stubborn, continue to gently tap out the pin with the screwdriver and hammer.

Special tips

Over the years, we’ve had to remove a lot of old hinge pins in our house, and there’s a few tips worth noting:

Remove the bottom hinge pin first and the top hinge pin second. This prevents the door from falling off the top hinge while you are on the floor working away at the lower pin. For the pins to come out easily, the door must be completely straight.
Next, always have a helper. Vintage doors are solid and tend to fall off when you least expect it. A helper can hold the door securely as you remove the lower pin, and prevent it from crashing down on your head.
Finally, if you accidentally break the hinge pin or bend it, don’t worry about it! Antique restoration supply houses have a wide range of reproduction pins, finials, and hinges to replace anything you may have broken by mistake.