DIY Sliding Sash Windows

Some Progress on the Sash Window Plans

2010-05-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

My Appologies if you're waiting for progress on the plans for the sash windows. I've been distracted yet again, slowing me down but now I'm back on to it.

I've just completed a short analysis of the historical influences on the design of sash windows. Its the kind of background that helps shape some of the detail decisions I've had to make.

If you're interested to see where I'm coming from have a look here.

Feel free to leave me comments, knowing folks are interested helps me focus.

And, if you're up to speed with all this tinterweb stuff, the more who are keen, the more pressure on me to get cracking.

or share it from the web page

Cheers, Andy

Beginners Guide to Buying and Preparing Timber

2009-11-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

In answer to one of the questions I've been asked, here's a Guide to buying Timber and preparing it for woodworking, carpentry and joinery.

It's written for a beginner like I was but it covers everthing that confused me at the time.

What's redwood U/S?
How to buy the right wood for the job?
How long do I acclimatise it for?

If you're starting out on a project like making your own windows it could well be worth reading.

How to, Beginners Guide to Buying and Preparing Timber

Hope its useful.

Box Sliding Sash Window Plans and Construction details

2009-10-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

The first of my box sliding sash windows has now been installed for 10 months. It's still looking good and functioning well. The seals are keeping it draught proofed, there are no signs of any joint movement or wear and the double glazed units are performing as they should.

The only slight problem has been a sash cord stretching so one of the weight touches the bottom of box. I just need to move the knot up a bit.

Details and Construction of DG Timber Box Sliding Sash Window plans to Download?

It's now on my list to build the rest. Before I do, I will review the construction details and amend the plans if I can think of any better ways to do things. I'll write up and draw all the construction details, including measurements and installation. I'll also detail the manufacturing using basic workshop tools.

I plan to make all the details available as an ebook, available for a small charge. If you are interested please leave a comment to give me the motivation to crack on.

The sums seem to add up if you have the knowledge, skills and time. A bespoke bought window would cost around £1000 each and a home made window around £300. I've justified equipping my workshop/garage with part of the savings I'll be making. If I could have bought the plans a year ago I would have.

Let me know what you think.

Sash Weight pocket cutting

2009-09-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

I've just been having a conversation on a forum about the best way to cut out the pockets for the weights. A specialist chisel was mentioned but most folks make saw cut. I ground down an old chisel and did a quick test.

Here's the result..

I'll try a slightly thinner blade and witha bit of practice it will be real time saver.

The problem I originally had can be seen here http://slidingsash.blogspot.com/2008/11/big-mistake.html

Window ONE Fitted and Working well

2009-01-02T11:19:00.000-08:00

So the first window is fitted and working nicely. A few glitches and mistakes along the way, all part of the learning process. I'm chuffed with the result and so is Wendy.

Apart from top of the outside lining being too close to the brick arch. I think the proportion work well.

Inside it looks great and the double glazing doesn't distract at all.

I'll be re-working some of the design details with the benefit of hindsight. I'll also be monitoring the performance of this one for few months to see if there s anything else that can be tweaked.

My intention is then to detail the design and plans fully. Check everything by building the others. Then if all goes well making the plans available to purchase as an e-book or what ever they are called.

If anyone is interested email me or leave a comment any feedback will be gratefully received.

Fitting the sashes

2009-01-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

I was glad I had practiced this as time was running out, it was getting colder and I just heard the weather forecast for up to 60 mph winds and heavy rain.

The cords feed over the pulleys and then the top sash is lifted so the weight can be attached.

The Lead weights first as they have a hole running all the way through then the iron weight tied on so so it just clears the bottom of the box.

The parting bead can then be driven in. I had pre-painted these and it was a good tight fit. May be too tight if I ever have to remove them.

The bottom sash goes in exactly like the top sash. Just in time as the rain started coming down.

Next day I fitted the pocket covers and Staff beads. Then another few days latter I finish it off with some architrave.

Fitting the New Frame

2009-01-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

The frame eventually jiggled in quite nicely.

To lift the frame up from the stone cill I fitted a piece of squashed copper pipe under it. This went to about 35mm of the front edge. Just behind the drip groove. I sealed it with silicone later on. The idea behind this came after seeing Zinc strips under old window allowing the timber window to move with expansion and contraction whilst maintaining a seal upstand on the stone cill.

The whole frame is held in with four screws fitted at angles through the each corner into the brick work.

Taking the old window out

2009-01-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

With a full day allocated for the job and assistance from Dave on hand we went past the point of no return and ripped the old window out.

Leaving us with the reveal looking like this.

After about an hour chiseling the brick work to get rid of the high spots the frame would just squeeze in.

Trimming it down

2009-01-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

It was going to be tight fit. To give me an extra 6mm on the width I took the cover off one of the weight boxes, planed the rebate off and fitted some breathable membrane (roofing felt) on instead.

The top needed trimming as well. It's designed to allow for a bit trimming but I ended up having to trim more than I'd planned for.

Then It Went HORRIBLY WRONG

2009-01-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

I nearly cried after I just checked the size of the old window to see how much plaster I'd have to take off.

The new window was too small, how can that be? what went wrong? How could I possibly recover from this.

I tracked the problem to the spreadsheet I had done to work out the dimensions. I found I had subtracted the size of the outer lining lining lip instead of adding it, resulting in the window being 80mm too narrow and 40m too short. OH S*#T.

After I'd calmed down I checked the other window sizes and Lady Luck came to visit. It should fit in one of the other rooms. A tight fit and a little too high but workable. Phew!

I did a little investigating with a crow bar to get the exact sizes of the brick work.

Getting ready to install

2009-01-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

With the new lead weights collected I was ready for installation - Almost.

The Lead bought in one meter lengths need cutting down to the right size. The circular saw cuts it nicely. I also cleaned up and painted another 4 iron weights.

The weights dividers fitted in...

And the back of the weight boxes fitted. Made from 6mm ply.

I then did a trial fitting of one sash to make sure the weight would fit and to practice the procedure. To do this I fitted the cords using 25mm no.6 screws, 4 off on each cord.

With everything ready it was time to start ripping out the old window.

Finished Painting

2008-12-10T03:36:00.000-08:00

It's taken me near enough a week to finish painting the sashes. I can only do one side at a time, it takes at least 24 hrs to dry and its had an additional 3 coats. I'm now happy with the finish.

I'm not certain about the putty used to fill the screw holes, it had skinned over but was still soft underneath. As a result sanding it flat wasn't very practical. However I got them fairly flat and it's something I can redo after the window is fitted.

When the lead arrives, I'll be ready to fit it. It's going to be tight getting it done before Christmas!

Weight built up - slight problem

2008-12-10T03:11:00.000-08:00

Dam - worth a try on to plan B

I cleaned up eight of the cast iron weights and gave them a coat of hammerite. After much thinking about ways of connecting them, articulated so I could feed them in pairs into the pockets, I came up with this solution.

A length of stainless steel cable loops through the hole in the top weight down to the second weight. Both ends are clamped using a 12mm bolt with 2 holes drilled through, a washer and nut.

I had to keep the total length, after re-measuring, within 750mm to get full movement of the sashes. I just managed this, but realised I'd have to be really accurate tying it on to the sash cord.

I had calculated the weight of the sashes and set about adding squashed lead pipe to make up the weight. Easy enough to wind around but it took ages to mange to solder tack the spiral together. It was a cold night and iron took the heat away.

Disaster - I checked actual weight of the sashes using bathroom scales and I was short by 2kg on the made-up weights. More procrastination, I couldn't add enough extra weight without either increasing the width, or adding to the length. So it was back to the calculator and Plan B.

I'll use one cast iron weight and one proper (bought) lead weight. So not a total catastrophe as using the iron will reduce the lead I need to buy by half. I also think the ones I've made up will suit one of the slightly narrower window.

I've now ordered the lead and will be picking it up next week.

Shiny bits-hardware , note on paint

2008-12-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

After another coat, Its not as glossy as the previous. I'm wondering if I laid it on too thick, I'll make sure I go really thin on the sashes and see what difference it makes.

But it's good enough, especially as the inside parts will have a final coat after its all fitted.

To free up some space in the front room, with Christmas coming and trees going up, I fitted the pulleys. A good tap in fit. mmm shiny bits. Now its residing on the landing.

I've now got the sashes to paint and weight to sort out. Maybe I'll finish for Christmas?

Glazing the sashes

2008-12-05T06:47:00.000-08:00

This is the interface between old joinery with up to date fenstration (glazing)

I picked up the Double Glazed, after a slight delay - I've ended up with two toughened units for the price of one. On close inspection the two panes of glass aren't perfectly aligned and the edge spacer, being a flexible foam, isn't perfectly straight. I don't know what tolerances are usual so I'm not going to gripe about it. The edges are sealed with a hot melt black, slightly tacky stuff. This is uneven on the edges of the glass and compound the slight miss alignment of the two pieces. For the other windows I'll ask if they will pay a little more attention to this.

The sealed units fit in the sashes, resting on 5mm deep bridge packers to maintain ventilation around all the edges This should prevent any moisture from attacking the edge sealant.

The packers I bought are 24mm, the rebate is 28mm so I cut little tabs in edges so the packers will sit in the middle.

I'd ordered the units 10mm under the sash rebate sizes. The sashes are about +/- 0.5mm and the glazing (due to the misalignment and edge seal build up) are about up to + 1.5. So I had to sand down some of the packers to get neat tight fit without distorting the timber of the sash.

Next the adhesive backed EPDM seals are fitted.

The bottom seals extend horizontally and the side pieces end butt up to them.

After tinkering with all packers I was happy to screw the beading/clamp on.

Note: I had counter bored the holes a few mm to much, the head sank a bit more than I expected.

I'm generally happy with the result. The glass held firmly, the seals are well compressed, it looks neat and nothing like a plastic DG window.

The only thing that bugs me is all the screw holes that need filling. It does mean I can dissemble the sashes if or when the units eventually fail. However I keep pondering if there could be a more elegant solution, possibly using the mechanical strength of the actual units ????

Last bit of glazing is to put a bead of silicone around. I choose only to do the outside, I'll wait and see if there is any need to do the inside. In the spirit of experimentation I did one with no masking, point proved, I can't gun and tool neatly without have to scrape loads off the glass and frame. The other one I spent 5 mins masking up and did a much neater job.

USE : Low modulus - Natural cure , this is flexible, and doesn't have the solvents that react badly with Sealed units and glass coatings.

The stuff I found is labeled as a frame sealant, not glazing sealant.

This pic shows the silicone with a layer of paint on it. Can also see the silicone bead doesn't fill the flat on top of the bevel.

Note: Consider adjusting the design bevel. Reducing the flat and the over-all sash thickness.

Also prior to painting I've filled the screw hole with linseed putty. I'm not sure about this but it's reccomended by the paint manufacturer so I'm trying it.

Weights - cheap option

2008-12-01T06:43:00.000-08:00

I was ready to order the lead but had a quick look on ebay. I found an auction on with 24 hrs to go for an assortment of 10 cast iron weights, for pick up close to home. So I put a bid in and won for £2.50 - what a bargin. He had a load more when I went to collect so bought the lot for £20.

It will not be a perfect solution as the weights are oly about the right size for single glazing. I've worked out that if the weights are less than 800mm I'll get full movement of the sashes. So I can hang one under another and wrap some scrap lead pipe around them to get enough mass.

If this works out I'll have saved about £300.

Linseed Oil painting

2008-12-01T06:19:00.000-08:00

The main drawback with linseed oil paints seems to be the drying time required. 24 hours at 20 -25 degrees centigrade. With the weather as it is this means I've abandened the workshop and taken over the front room.

The first coat is of raw linseed oil, applied hot, 60deg. I decanted some in to tin and warmed it with a hot air gun, it only takes a couple of mins to get it up to temperature. It's brushed in vigerously in a thin coat. I ran over it with the hot air gun as well to aid it soaking in.

It's lovely stuff to use, pleasent smell and doesn't matter if you get it on your hands. The only problem was, due to slippy hands I dropped the tin. Small panic, but most landed on the news paper.

It took three days to dry, at and average temperature of 18 degrees. So a can't get away with not turning the central heating on, we normally rely solely on the wood burner in the dinning room.

Next step - Shellac on the glazing rebates and knots. Easy, Quick job.

The first coat of paint is worked in well and thin as with the raw oil

This dried within 36 hours after I closed the door and put the heating on.

The first coat covers well and dried to matt finish

Untill I've got the glass fitted I can't do anything else with the sashes but I can with the frame.

A light sanding of the frame and filling screw holes with puty, followed by another coat. A patchy gloss is developing,

I think the third coat will give a lovely finish.

Glazing Ordered

2008-11-25T07:17:00.000-08:00

I've been and ordered the sealed units today from a local company "Pro-Glass Glazing Services"
These will be with foam type warm edge spacer and hot melt sealed, one toughened one standard, with pilkington K.

Total price now with only 15% VAT - £114.12

The final straight

2008-11-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

With all the wood working done all I've got to do know is:

1. One coat of raw linseed oil
2. Shellac on the glazing rebates
3. Order, and fit the glazing
4. Silicon on top of the seals?
5. Paint first coat
6. Paint second coat
7. Order and collect lead or steel
8. Take out the old window
9. Fit the new one, that should be fun.
10. Paint third coat
11. Plaster up
12. Architrave
13. Decorate.
14. Have a beer or two to celebrate
15. Start on the others

Now there's a plan........

Last bits for the frame

2008-11-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

All that remains is to cut the parting beads and staff beads.

I cut out a radius on the bottom of parting beads to ensure water wont lodge behind them.

The staff beads are mitered. As my compound miter saw, compounds and miters as it likes I set the cross slide on the router at 45 and trimmed the ends to get them bang on.

Glueing up the frame

2008-11-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

As I'm using fast PU glue I had to think this through and make sure everything was ready to hand. Even with preparation in place I wasn't confident about doing it all at once.

So I glued up the boxes first and using grease proof paper again I screwed the cill and top rail on to make sure it was all square.

When this had hardened up I took the cill back off removed the grease proof glued it and re-screwed it. The same with the top rail. And later I did the top inner and outer. It all worked well with only a little fettling with the plane to flatten a couple of the joints.

Clamp / Glazing Beads

2008-11-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

But first - don't forget the parting bead cut out on the meeting rail. Top Sash and bottom sash clamping bead/meeting rail. Should look like this.

After carefully marking out avoiding the vent holes, I drilled and counter sunk the clamp/beads

I came to the conclusion that gluing the clamping/glazing beads together would be a good idea. It'll be easier to paint, it shouldn't show up a join after painting, the seals will be easier to fit. so I glued and assembled them on to sashes with some grease proof paper in between to stop them sticking.

After fettling with the smoothing plane and some light sanding the sashes are ready for painting.

Seals experiments

2008-11-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

This is an area I pondered quite a bit. Originally I was going to use sticky both sides glazing tape. having bought some I decided it didn't have enough give in it to accommodate any movement and would be pig to fit. Hence to order for EPDM (foam rubbery) seals, after I'd tested some with linseed oil on them. Compression of the EPDM was the next thing I had to figure out.

As can be seen on the mock up the idea is the inside face of the sash is screwed on to the main sash, holding the glass in place and compressing the seals. The downside to this is the counter sunk screw holes will need filling, but its a compromise I decided to make.

I made up a mock 24mm glazing unit a tested the 3mm EPDM seals I had bought. you can also see the 5mm bridge spacer I'll be using to keep an air space around the unit.

I wasn't happy with amount of compression on the seals, only squashed from 3mm to 2mm. The ridges on seals were only just compressed. So another order this time for 4mm.

This worked out much better, all the ridges are almost completely squashed and the glass is held firmly. I think this should hold the rain out for a good while.

I then did a little experiment to see how muck clamping pressure is needed to compress the seals this much, so I could be happy with the screw spacing.

This showed me that a 200mm length of 4mm seal needs 15kg applied to compress it to 2mm.
I should think this won't be a problem to achieve with 1 1/2 no. 6 screws at 150mm spacing. The clamping wood is 15mm so I shouldn't think it will distort.

Cill rebate for backing cover

2008-11-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

This would have been easier before assembly as well. A rebate in the end of the cill to take the backing cover of the weight box.

As it was it didn't take long with a chisel, I could have use the router, but at this point hitting something with a mallet felt good.

BIG Mistake

2008-11-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

I went ahead and glued the frame up!

Can you spot the mistake?

I hadn't cut the weight pocket out... doh!

The pockets need an arrow shape at the top and and a stepped cut at the bottom. Not easy if I hadn't glued up the frame, but I should have been able to do it with a tenon saw and the long cut down the parting bead rebate with a jigsaw.

The first one I tried with a dremel, hence the burning. The second I used the dremel to cut a Stanley knife blade in to a makeshift saw blade which was a little easier. After the cuts are made a tap with the mallet splits the between the stepped cuts. Giving a pocket cover that only needs one screw to hold it in place.

Update on cutting pockets here Sash Weight pocket cutting

Pulleys and Fitch Fastner

2008-11-24T08:59:00.000-08:00

The pulleys are good quality and feel really nice with the bearings in them. Fitting is easy.

Using the Morticer

Then router to let in the face plates, corners with a chisel.

The Fitch Fasteners, I worked out eventually are supposed to fit on the top sash, to restrict both sash moving past a certain point. I however wanted only the bottom sash restricting and thought they would be easy to fit on the pulley stiles. The problem was, when closed the back end would interfere with the weights.

After some head scratching I drove the hinge pin out and took about 4mm off the back of the catch. At the same time I tidied up the rather poor fettling and re-polished them.

I'm sure they will do the job now.

Nasty little knot though.

Bottom Sash Bottom Rebate

2008-11-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

The bootom of the bottom sash is rebated 5mm for two reasons.

1. To create a drip stop.

2. to create a cavity behind where air pressure will drop so water isn, blown up to the upstand on the rebate. (thats the theory anyway)

Just a quick zip on the router table.

Extra relief for the pulley

2008-11-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

This is something else I needed to measure the pully for. The cord groove in the sashes fits the cord nicely but not the pulley it's self.

The groove at the top of each sash needs to be bit deeper, I went for 10mm, and long enough so the sash will slide all the way up.

Hardware delivered, Paint delivered

2008-11-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

The hardware order arrived, an excellent fast service from Reddiseals. Now I've got the pulleys etc. I can do the required cutting to fit them on the stiles.
I've also ordered and had delivered the linseed oil paint fro Holkam. I'm going to give it a go, after all the first window is suposed to test.
I've been busy over the weekend finishing off the wood working, all the piece are the front room ready to start painting.
I'll try and arrange the posts above to give a logical and efficent order although this wasn't the order I worked in, and I ended up wasting many hours.

Linseed Oil Paint

2008-11-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

More research, I've emailed "Holkhan" and had a good reply back.

The linseed oil may react with the edge sealing of sealed units, so they recommend conventional paint or shellac in the rebate, this is also so sticky backed seals will stick. They are still looking into the effects on EPDM foam seals for me.

I've had my own little experiment going for the last week. Some Boiled Linseed Oil on some seal samples. There's no noticeable deterioration yet. So its looking good.

LEAD weighty choice

2008-11-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some ringing around, emailing and web searches looking for a good price on lead weights.

I also checked to see what the maximum size of weight would fit in the boxes - result 45mm or 1 1/4 inch square will go in easily with plenty of clearance for fitting .

Each sash will need around 16kg, so each window 32kg and each individual weight 8kg. At 45mm square they will need to be approx 390mm long, leaving loads of room for up and down movement. Knowing how long they have to be also allowed me to work out how long the pockets in the pulley rail will be to get the weights in.

With the other windows I've estimated I'll need around 160kg in total and I used this figure to get some prices. The obvious, easy to find companies must be making a big margin or are still selling stocks bought when the lead prices peaked. I eventually found a fairly local smelting company, I can collect from, that has quoted £1.60 per kilogram.

At this price I don't think I'll be smelting my own. But its still a possibility If I come across some scrap lead cheap enough.

HOWEVER - As there is plenty of up and down room in the boxes, I've done another quick calculation for using steel bar. At 45mm square it will still fit! even though I'd do each weight in two parts, segmented, so I wouldn't need a really long pocket. Some more ringing around needed to price up this option.

Sealed Units

2008-11-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

I've done some ringing around and found a very local company that manufactures the units for some of the local window companies. I asked for a number of options on the prices but all following are for 2 units, approx 1000 x 800mm as 4 - 16 - 4 (thats 4mm glass and 16mm space) with Pilkington K glass.

1. Toughened glass, standard spacers £121
2. Toughened glass, "warm edge spacers" £134
3. Standard glass, standard spacers £85
4. Standard Glass, "warm edge spacers" 98.24

The K glass and 16mm space should get me the required U value if I through Building Control regs.
I'll need toughened glass on the lower sash for some of windows, as the cills are low, again part of the regs.
The warm edge spacer sound like a good idea to me, as standard aluminium spacers cold bridge between the glass. At £6.50 difference for each unit I think I'll try it out.

I think I'll leave ordering these until I've started on the painting, there's no sense having big bits of glass laying around our house for longer than neccesary.

Hardware Order In

2008-11-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

Back to it after a fantastic few days relaxing in a cozy cottage at Robin Hoods Bay.

I've ordered the required hardware for 7 windows from www.reddiseals.com the following should be arriving on Monday.

DESCRIPTION, QUANTITY,PRICE,COST
PUZ011PB Polished Brass Ball Pulley 28 £3.35 £93.80
CW511 Weatherpile in Self Adhesive Carrier 21 £1.20 £25.20
CW512 Weatherpile in Self Adhesive Carrier 7 £1.35 £9.45
FS819B Brass Fitch Fastener 14 £1.95 £27.30
FS828B Brass Sash Handle 14 £0.85 £11.90
FS826B Brass Sash Eye 7 £0.75 £5.25
FS834B Brass Pole Hook 1 £2.10 £2.10
FP851 Weekes Stop 3 £1.30 £3.90
REW0309 EPDM Tape 1 £24.00 £24.00
SF2002 Glazing Silicone 2 £2.25 £4.50 (although I dont think I'll need it in retrospect)
Subtotal: £207.40 Inc VAT and Shipping £254.28

So per window £36.33 (plus sash cord I've already got)

Also on the hardware front I had to elsewhere for the "Bridge Spacers" these are little plastic packers (5mm) that go around the unit and leave an air gap underneath. £1 for 20 + £6 postage.

You can see above that Ive ordered EPDM Tape. This is closed cell foam 3 x 9mm sticky backed one side. I'll see how it goes.

Hardware Order

2008-10-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's time to order the sealed units, seals and hardware. I'm likely to ponder this for a while and check out glazing suppliers. I've got the latest Reddiseals catologue, they supplied the hardware for the small test window, so I'll sit and have a look through that.

The other main decision is the actual seal to the glazing. There are a few types of seal available so got some further research to do.

Whilst I'm at it I'll do some more research in to Linseed oil paints. I was going to go for conventional paints but from what I've read on various forums I'm tempted to go with "Holkham" paints.

If anyone has any experience, please let me know. I'm after the best solution and price doesn't mater.

Cord groove

2008-10-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

All the way down each side of both sashes the cord groove is routered.

Although the cord will only go about 200 down the sides the groove goes all the way. This can help stop water being driven on to the brush seals.

To make this a little steadier to cut, as its on the full glued up sashes, I knocked up another large fence. I'm sure it'll come in handy for other jobs.

I also need to widen the groove at the top to allow the pulley to pass. I'll wait until the hardware arrives to figure out the dimensions.

Back to the Job

2008-10-28T13:11:00.001-07:00

After a few celebratory beers on Saturday night, it was back to it on Sunday as there's still more to do.

The parting beads, Staff beads and weight separators.

Simple planing thicknessing and routering.

Client Approval

2008-10-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

This was the first time Wendy could get a proper idea what they will look like.

RESULT! yeah.

Making the horns

2008-10-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

As the rebates are so deep I filled them in by gluing blocks. One for the rebate and one to get the overall depth the same as when the "bead pieces are fitted.

Then I cut the horn shape with my jig saw. This is far from ideal as the longest blades only just manage it. The blade wandered of perpendicular towards the bottom of the cut and it needed a sanding to get the shape right.

However, it worked out well enough.

Now ready for assembly check

2008-10-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

With the parts cut and drilled its all ready for an assembly check.

I screwed blocks on cill to make sure the pulley stiles where square before pilot drilling. These will be removed before gluing.

I used 3" No. 8 for the outside and inside lining and 4" N0 10's for the pulley stiles. Pilot drilled for the full screw length, going in to end grain I didn't want anything splitting.

The top rail fitted nicely, just pulling a bit twist in pulley stile back in to shape.

With this fitted I could mark up and cut the top linings.

The top linings are fitted with blocks, crude but effective.

I glued and screwed the blocks on, after marking up on the frame. I used a rule to make sure they where on straight.

So that's it (ish) for the frame. Picture to follow....

Almost Ready for Frame Assembly

2008-10-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

With all the pieces cut it's all ready for for an assembly check. But a little more first.

Mark out and drill the screw holes in cill.

Machine out notches in the outside lining, these will stop water pooling where they meet the cill.

Round of any sharp outside edges.

Why? - It is said, and I can believe it, paint doesn't like staying on 90 degree angles. Recommendations are to chamfer corners or round off.

Remember to stop the rounding off:-

1. On the cill where the outside lining will meet.

2. On the outside lining where the outside rail will butt up.

3. While the router's set up do the sash pieces where possible as well - time travel - step now....

I should have rounded off the notched in the outside lining as well.

Setting the Frame Width

2008-10-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

The inside width of the frame is determined by the width of of sashes + clearance of 4mm. I marked this on cill and added the thickness off the pulley stile to give me the size of notches I needed to cut.

I cut these by hand. These extend the slope of cill, though the upstand to the width of the inside lining from the back of cill.

From this I could mark up the top frame rail, using the outer edge of the notch.

Cutting the slot to take the tongue of pulley stile using the cross fence, to the inside of the line.

Then (with hindsight) I should have cut the top rail ends to suit fit the outer rebate of the linings and slot the ends to fit the weight seperator. I realised later and ended up with this:-

I've also marked it up for drilling.

Pulley Stile Tops

2008-10-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

To make sure the frame will fit the sashes, first check what the two sashes add up to. Rather than just rely on what they should be, why not glue the sashes up and work empirically.

A lot of things to remember from this picture.

1. I planed up two pieces square and flat and bolted them on the router table top. This gives me a flat frame to assemble the sashes on.

2. My cheap " Forged Steel" sash cramps are cheap for a reason, the adjustable back stops don't stay square to bar. Hence twist the rail when clamping. I need to drill, tap and put screws in to stop the movement. Or pack out with flat bladed screw drivers like I did this time.

3. Next time I'll chamfer the end of tenons so they don't push too much of the glue out of mortises.

4. After clamping pressure to close up joints, back off so the stiles aren't bent. Then check they're square.

5. Fox wedges do seem to work. Applying compression but without moving the joint

6. I can assemble and clamp up quick enough to work with PU adhesive.

(Time Travel - Round of the edges I can at before assembly - at the same time as the otside lining, cill and top lining rail, but first know the height, Oh No! chicken and egg time loop. Dr. please help?)

With the sashes glued up I clamped them as they'll be when closed and measured them. Then went back to the paper calculations. I'm glad I checked as I'd not accounted for a rebate on the bottom of the BS Bottom rail (Note: adjust cut list). Apart from that I was only about 1mm out. I'm happy with that.

Adding a 2mm clearance I then knew the height of pulley stile. These then needed cutting with a 5mm tongue added on.

To make sure they both ended up the same height I clamped them together with the bottom ends together. Then the top ends are machined square leaving the tongues.

Cutting the box bottoms

2008-10-27T13:45:00.001-07:00

The fitting of the boxes to cill is another departure from traditional designs, where the pulley stiles are set in to the cill and wedged. Thsi is point that is most likely to rot so I'm butt jointing with screws from underneath. Apparently this is common Scandinavian practice and I can see the benefits in theory.

The butting up needs to be accurate, for a good joint and to keep the frame straight.

First to get the angle on the pulley stile. I tried to get the angle from cill. Then cut with the mitre saw. Notice, I said tried.....

I then used the angled ends to set the mitre saw to cut the bottom of the outside lining.

So I thought I could cut it all nice, accurate and neat.

If I had a quality mitre saw this should have worked. The one I've got is OK for floor boards etc. but I've decided not stable enough for this kind job.

Plan B. Another little jig

Using a trimming off the end of the cill this jig works this way round for the outside lining and at 90 degrees against the cross fence to trim the pulley stiles.
I trimmed the inside lining on the table as well, so all the bottoms of the boxes are bang on.

Groove for parting beads

2008-10-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

First mark up which edges are going to be the outside edges. With these edges against the fence rout the grooves. As I've not got a 8mm bit I needed two cuts with my 6.35mm.

Pulley stiles and top rail , cut 1 (half top rail minus 4mm). Cut 2. move the fence to make an 8mm slot. Using the fence with the extra bit added that runs on the rebate ensures the grooves will line up.

Bed time

Flatening a new piece

2008-10-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

I've just mentioned the top rail of frame. The piece I had planed up perfectly to size, on closer inspection had a twist in it. Rather than try and work round it I picked another piece of rough sawn of the shelf. "It'll not take two minutes to plane up".

This had a twist in it as well, But with 25mm to plane down to 22mm I could use it. Hence another simple jig. I found another length that was flat and skimmed it smooth in the thicknesser. Made a couple of really thin long wedges on the bench saw.

Screwed the new piece on to the flat board, from the back, just at the ends and supported the twisted up sides with the wedges. Then sent the whole lot through the thicknesser.

Result one flat face. Flipped over and faced the other side, hence two flat sides.

Weight Boxes

2008-10-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Each side of the frame is made of three parts, Outside lining, Inside lining and the Pulley stile. These fit together with a tongue on each side of the pulley stile that fit in to a groove in the linings.

I've tried to come up with a method here to make them accurately with the least number of measurements.

Grooves in the outside lining and inside linings. First another fence for the router table so I can use just the one face to make all the cuts. the standard fence doesn't move back far enough to do this.

The inside linings need a groove 5.5mm deep with the side furthest from the face edge being the same as the thickness of the pulley stile.

The outside lining groove has it's closest side being 20mm from the face edge. I've made a 20mm wide stick to use as gauge, its also used in the next step.

The backs of the boxes will have a plywood cover fitting in to a rebate 5.5 x 6mm.

First the Outside lining. Move the fence back so the same face edge can be used, I ended up clamping the fence to a handle on the table, very Heath Robo.

Remember as I'm using the other side of cutter - Feed from Left to Right

Then with the same fence setting use the 20mm stick to pack out the Inside linings from the fence.

On to the Pulley stiles - These need rebating on each edge to make the tongues. The first rebate is easy enough. The tongue wants to be 5mm long.

The rebate on the other edge wants to be referenced from the rebate just cut. Doing it this way means I only need one good edge when I'm planing up - So another fence modification.

I added a piece to the top the fence that run on the inside of rebate. The width between the new fence and the cutter is set to width of the top rail. eg. cill - inside lining - outside lining.

Just had a couple a glasses of wine so apologies if linguist capability levels are dropping......

I was sober when I made them hence results bang on.

Cill- Profile cutting, the best way I could come up with

2008-10-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

I spent ages thinking how I could easily and acurately machine the the slope required on the cill. (Thanks for the suggestions folks).

I ended up making a simple surfacing table to use with the router. This has two rails bolted to the router table top to guide the router that sits in a cradle. I used it first flat, to get rid of bit of a twist in the cill then added a batton to one of rails to give me slope.

The cradle is simple enough but took a bit of thinking through to get fence to work.

Next time I'll take a most of the material off with a rough cut first. As I went deeper it got a bit heavy going and took a lot small cuts.

The result was good with only a few slight tramlines, I've improve the router to cradle clamp to hopefully eliminate this next time.

Just for the record the timber is held with a screw at each end clamping it down on to wedges.

Drainage and Ventilation on the Sashes

2008-10-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Nearly forgot, The drainage and ventilation for the space around the sealed units. This goes on the TS Meeting rail and BS Bottom rail.

First drill the holes, a little difficult on the BS Bottom rail as the stroke on my drill press isn't long enough. So I did it in two stages and added a packer for the second stage. Then router the groove in, this should allow any water that gets past the seals to find the hole and drain away.

Credit Dave - clamp a same height as the top of the rebate, use a low fence (to avoid the clamps )on the router table - easy, cheers Dave.

Re-assembled result

Sashes nearly done, on to the frame

2008-10-14T10:18:00.003-07:00

I thinks that's all the work done on the sashes for now. There will be more to do after they are glued up.
Do I dip the ends in preserver first? Or maybe even get the parts pressure treated?
Do I use PVA or PU ?

Decisions, decisions!

After gluing the joint end will need trimming, the sides machining for the sash cords, notches cutting for the parting beads, a 5mm rebate on the bottom of the BS.

I need to think about cutting the horns as well. I'll need to fill in the rebate in horn (traditionally the rebate upstand is cut off below the bottom rail, but these rebates are BIG). If I had the cutters I could do them on the router bench, I'll check what I can do with my set, otherwise it will be a job for the jigsaw and a bit sanding.

However now I've got the sashes and they ended up the right size. I can confidently start on the box frame. The starting point here is the Cill, cutting the slope on it, with an upstand is proving interesting... details to follow.

Top Sash side beads

2008-10-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

These are easy as the bottoms are a straight cut to face up to the TS Bb/meeting rail.

Clamp up the TS, place the beads on, mark up the side beads and cut.

Ops... just looking at picture, somethings not right. I've cut the rebate in end of the TS Bb/meeting rail at the wrong side. Luckily most of the wrong rebate will be cut away for the parting bead to fit and the rest wont be visable.... phew.

Bottom Sash Side and Top beads

2008-10-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

These need measuring to get the height of the bead. Rather then use a tape I assembled the bottom sash and clamped it up.

With a 5mm packer under the bottom of the BS Bb place the side beads on the sash.

Using the top bead as guide, mark where the mitre needs to go. All things being equal the other side should be exactly the same, so the mark can be transferred across.

Cut the mitres off on morticer and router off the excess( as previous step, and all the tooling should still be set up right).

Using the sides, mark up the width of BS Tb

These can then be cut using the the table saw.

The Mating mitre cuts in beads

2008-10-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

These mitres are in from the ends and so need a different method.

TS Tb and BS Bb - both ends (These are the ones cut to size with the rebate across the ends)

Mark them out using the mitred ends cut in the previous step.

Then set up the Morticer with the chisel at 45 degrees to the fence. A bit of faffing as the fence needs setting to the right distance as well and it wobbles a bit when clamping.

With the point of the chisel just a smidgen (getting technical) back from the edge of the moulding, make the cut. I found ,when pressures applied the curved end on the chisel pulls the piece in a bit, hence the smidgen.

It makes a good quick clean cut at bang on 45 degrees. There was just a little nib to take of as the chisel wasn't quite wide enough.

Using the end of the router with the bead flat against the fence take the excess moulding off. There's a little bit on flat that needs cleaning with a chisel.

The finished joints mate up well. I should be able cut the mitres on the Stiles and Rails in the same way.

First mitre cuts on the beads

2008-10-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

A bit more jigging required to make up for rubbish wobbly guide that came with the saw.

First, a cross cut guide, a piece of ply bolted and screwed on the slider bar. And a 45degree angle cut on the guide I made for the router table.

Cut mitres of the ends of BS Lb and Rb, ST Lb and Rb

Mark across from where the mitre cuts the end of the moulding and cut at 90 degrees. Ending up with it bang on like this:-

Rebates In the Beads for Brush Seals

2008-10-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

The beads also take the brush seals so a rebate is needed to take the carriers.

The TS Tb and BS Bb are 2mm deeper than the carrier so the pile of the brushes don't get crushed flat when the sashes are shut.

All the side bead rebates are are as deep as the carrier, I'm aiming for 2mm clearance each side between the sash and frame.

CUT the BS Bb, TS Tb and TS Bb to width using the width stick from earlier.

Then rebate the ends of these.

Note: Don't be a dummy a second time. Cut the rebate on the TS Bb on side opposite the brush groove. (not shown in picture)

You can see here I've made a 90 degree angle block to do these rather than have to set up the cross slide.

Beads - a big difference from traditional construction

2008-10-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

Apart from being internally glazed this is where I've made a big leap of faith in the design. Due to the extreme depth of the rebate. The up stand of any glazing bead would require a wide base to pin to and I want to keep the sashes as thin as I can. I also want the internal look as traditional as possible.

The solution I've come up with is to face the entire inner part of the sashes that will, when fitted clamp the glazing in place. These will be screwed on. Along as I get the right thickness glazing tape, I'm hoping it will work out well.

First, a simple quadrant moulding. I took the bearing off my bit so I could the profile I wanted. I made a straight fence for the router table, I was getting fed up with trying to the split fence lined up accurately.

I'll still call these beads even though they aren't.
I'm going to start using some abbreviations now to help speed up the write up.

Top Sash = ST, Bottom Sash =BS

Left stile bead = Lb, Right stile bead = Rb

Bottom rail bead =Bb, Top rail bead =Tb

What follow is procedure I used for accurate cutting of the beads.

Drainage and Ventilation

2008-10-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

Leaving aside the meeting rails for a while (this window is for the first floor so security is not so critical). Time to finish of the main sash pieces

The double glazed units will have a 5mm air all round. The bottom rails need venting to allow any moisture in the air gap to get out also any water that gets past the glazing seals needs to be drained away to the outside.

So first drill some holes. I've used 9mm at approx 150 centres. Easy job in the top sash meeting rail but I had to drill in two steps through the bottom sash rail as the stroke on my pillar drill would go the full depth. I also counter sunk the external face to aid painting.

Then with a batten clamped to rails making up for the rebate I routed from the first hole to the last with a round ended bit.

The resulting groove stops any water from the outer face reaching the inner bead. It looks like:-

Another point to the meeting rail design

2008-10-10T02:35:00.000-07:00

What about security. A dog leg in the face of the meeting rails would prevent the latch being reached through the gap. So there is a point to the traditional design.

Another re-think is due.

Meeting rail detail 2

2008-10-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

So with some more thinking, (with coffee this time), I sketched out some more ideas and came up with even more ideas. The result being:-

A brush to brush seal that will always remain uncompressed. So allowing moisture to pass through without letting draughts in.
The brushes will compress against both sides of the parting bead ending up as like a felt block for the windows to run up and down smoothly.

I might move the brushes down a bit to give a bit more around the upstand of the rebate.

First attempt at the meeting rail detail

2008-10-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

A few bits to think think about with this detail.

1. The two rails need to meet and seal .

2. The parting bead has to go between them at the ends.

3. If there is any condensation running down from the top sash, how do I stop water accumulating between the rails.

The permutations seemed endless and i got a bit hung up on traditional designs that have a lip or meet with an angle. I pondered it for a while, probably too long as I had a few cans at the same time. I thought I had the solution so machined the pieces.

I'm sure this would work. The idea behind a brush seal being, if water got to it, it will seep through. Thinking about it the next day I decided, the step is pointless and the sash latches pulling the rails together could over compress the brush seal.

Some comments I've had

2008-10-08T03:11:00.000-07:00

It's been suggested by some experienced woodworkers on forums that:

1. I wedge the tenons. Thinking about this I don't know why I need to do this if the tenons are tight, is it so I can get glue in the joint? Is it so the timber of the tenon can be compressed so if it shrinks it will spring back and keep the joint tight? I have read that only the shoulders and wedges should be glued, is this to allow the tenon to shrink and contract? Any comments please let me know.

2. I should consider haunched tenons (and wedged) instead of dovetails. I don't know how much haunch I need so there is enough timber left on the end of the rails to resist side force from the wedge. I suspect more the than 10mm would be required.

I'll ponder these for a while but will have to make a decision soon.

Still not had the blog unlocked, hopefully today!

Too many posts in a day

2008-10-07T02:37:00.000-07:00

Oh no - scary stuff, I posted loads yesterday and the blog has been identified as potential spam.

Please, Mr. Real Person who is reveiwing this, don't delete it, I spent most of yesterday writing it and I'd cry if I lost it.

The finished Mortice and Tenon joints

2008-10-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

From the outside.

I'm not wedging these, I currently don't think its necessary as they are good tight fit.

From the inside
Note: Make sure the thicknesser cleans up all the wood. Luckily this bit will be hidden eventually.

Cutting the bevels

2008-10-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Router up to the marks, set the height using a scrap piece or end and one of the tenon ends to check it.

Note: It would be better to slide the piece along a rail in the rebate so the height is taken from the rebate and not the edge of the bevel

Note 2: Don't try and use the router backward to do the other end. It doesn't work!

Trim up to marked line, I found it easier and neater to use a Stanley knife. The chisel, although sharp compressed the grain.

Marking out the mortices

2008-10-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Time for the second measurement. Mark one of the bottom sash stiles to the right finished length.

Mark up the mortice from this length using the tenon of the bottom rail.

Offer up the two stiles and transfer the top mark across to the second stile.

Mark the bottom of the mortice on the second stile using the other tenon of the bottom rail

5/8 bit in the morticing machine and cut to the marks making sure the upstand of the rebate is flat against bit.

Assemble the bottom sash as far as the bevel will allow. Offer up the top sash with the rebates of the top rail of the top sash against the bottom rail of the bottom sash. Then mark up the mortices for the top sash meeting rail.

Cut these mortices and assemble. Mark across using the flat chisel against the bevel of the rails, to see where the bevel on the styles needs cutting back too.

Bottom rail side step

2008-10-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

As the tenon on the bottom rail of the bottom sash doesn't want go all the way to bottom of the stile, it needs cutting back.

With the smaller step of tenon set to the sacrificial piece I used the full length of the cutter.

Marking out and cutting the Bottom sash meeting rail female dove tail

2008-10-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

With the width gauge fitted to the meeting rail, mark using the stile how deep the female dovetail needs to go. Then mark the angle on the end grain, again using the stile as a template.

Using the mortising machine to take end of the female dove tail through to the other side.

Mark the other side and hand cut the rest. The joint should look like this.

Bottom sash meeting rail male dovetails

2008-10-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

The bottom sash meeting rail (left) and the stile right. This shows how the joint will go.

Using a angle gauge mark out the male dovetails.

I hand cut these but I suppose I could use cut most of the angle more accurately with the mortising machine.

Top Sash female dovetail in stiles

2008-10-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

Use the male dovetail to mark up for the female on the Top Sash Stiles

Use the morticing machine as much as possible to remove material and transfer the shape on to the other face. Saw and chisel the rest by hand.

Short side of male dovetail - top sash top rail

2008-10-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

Mentioned on the list of cuts is the an angle jig for cutting the Top sash Top rail male dove tail.

This is what it looks like:

Ops... I cut this one a bit thin, so I glued a bit back on and re-cut it. I suppose I should also own up to cutting the other end the wrong way round.

Note: pencil in the cut, stop, think, then cut

Cutting tenons - List of cuts

2008-10-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

So the next time I can cut them in the right order with a minimum of tooling adjustments: -

1. Long side of the tenons -
Back stop and cutter height to suit first template,
Bottom sash Bottom rail both ends
Top sash Meeting rail both ends
Top sash Top rail both ends

Change back stop, to suit Bottom Sash Meeting Rail template
Bottom sash styles tops only

2. Short side of male dovetail top sash top rail -
Back stop set for rebate in first template, Use angle base (see later) height to suit
Top sash top rail

3. Short side of male tenons -

Set Height using Mortice chisel

Bottom sash Bottom rail both ends
Top sash Meeting rail both ends

Change back stop, to suit Bottom Sash Meeting Rail template rebate
Bottom sash styles tops only (hand cut later to make dovetail male)

I Think !

Cutting stepped tenons - short side

2008-10-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

To cut the short side of the tenons

Note 1: The tops of the Bottom Sash Stiles (verticals) need a different setting as this is for the dovetail male to mate with the thinner meeting rail.

Ops...I went wrong here. So cut a new template off the meeting rail to do this to get the setting.

Note 2: The top rail of the top sash uses the first template BUT is an angled to creates the required dovetail (see later post). Ops... I made an added cut processI didn't need.

Step 1. Setting up the back stop as before but using the rebate on the template.

Step 2. Set the height of the cutter using the mortice chisel as the guide (5/8 inch)

Step 3. Refit the Width guide to rail using the same screw holes and cut upto the MDF/fence stop.

How the Long side of the Stepped Tenon should look

2008-10-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

A neat cut to the same depth as the upstand of the rebate.

Cutting stepped tenons - step four setting with the jig

2008-10-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

Its all ready now to cut the long side of the tenon

Clamp the rail to the cross slide and set the cutter height to just take off the beveled side of the rebate

With a series of cuts, feed the rail towards the fence. DONT GO TOO FAR.

The last cut has to be set with the end of the screwed on jig set against the MDF pressing upto the fence. Once set and clamped, remove the MDF and make the final cut.

The other end needs cutting in the same way.

Cutting stepped tenons - step three , width jig

2008-10-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is the only step that involves a measurement. Measure and cut, with square ends, a piece that will fit in the rebate, to the exact width of the finished sash.

Screw this into the rebate (screw only need to just grab). Cut off the excess timber but leave a bit (less than the thickness of the MDF) for trimming on final assembly.

Use the same piece for a jig on all the horizontal sash rails, I marked an L & R on the jig and rail as the jig will need refitting on the same screw holes.

Cutting stepped tenons - step three setting the back fence

2008-10-03T08:56:00.001-07:00

The back fence needs setting exactly to a tight sliding fit with the template fitting between the cut on the sacrificial piece , the template in the middle and flat piece of against the fence (I've used mdf. Just in case the fence isn't perfectly parallel to the cross slide make sure you take the settings from the same part of the fence.
This distance now set will give the longest side of the tenon accurately. Why I've used the MDF as a removable space will become apparent.

Cutting stepped tenons - step two, setting the table

2008-10-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

I have a cross slide on my router table, (something can be knocked up to replicate this if the table only has a back fence). The cross slide needs setting to 90 degrees and a sacrificial piece of wood adding.
Cut the sacrificial piece with the router to get a perfect mark for where the cut will be.

Cutting stepped tenons - step one, template

2008-10-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

First make a template for the profile of the sides.

Dead easy

Accurately routered off the bevel as the joint wont include this. Then take a slice of the end, this will be the template to set up the router perfectly to make make the stepped joint.

Cutting the tenons- reasoning behind the method

2008-10-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

I've spent some time working out the best way of cutting the tenons accurately, being stepped this makes them a little trickier. I found on the test piece that measuring, marking and setting up on router table introduces inaccuracies The following procedure (if you read this bottom to top) describes and illustrates the method I've worked out.
Remember it relies on accurate profiles to start with.

Cutting The glass Rebates in the sash timbers

2008-10-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

I'm going to fitting double glazed units in the windows, these will be 4-16-4 to meet Building control U-Value specifications. This means the units will be 24 thick.

I need a huge rebate compared to traditional sashes, this where the design detail differences start to come in.

I'll be fitting the units using glazing tape either side (2mm) thick, so the rebates I've cut are 28mm wide. I might end up adjusting this if I need some extra compression on the seals.

From research I found that the glass has to be supported on spacers to allow an airgap all round. This ensures the edge seal of the units won't fail prematurely due to moisture attacking them. Its also a good idea to hide the edges behind the up stand of the rebate to shade them from direct sunlight. I've cut the rebates 20mm deep.

I cut the rebates first with the table saw, leaving about 1mm to do with the router to the finished dimensions. I then used a 45 degree bevel bit with a roller to add the bevel. The bevel is to simulate putty hold the glass in, keeping the look of the window as traditional as possible.

And in case you were wondering the sashes will be internally glazed.

There's a flat at the top of the bevel that will take a bead of silicon as an extra seal.

Final sizing, sawing and planing

2008-10-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

I took my time over this, I'm sure experienced woodworkers and joiners would have no problem but I'm learning as I go along.

Some of the Sash pieces had bowed, fortunately I'd left enough on to correct this. After setting the saw up really accurately ( as mentioned before it didn't come out of the box accurate) I set to work sawing to within about 3mm of the finished sizes. The bowed ones I screwed at the ends on the convex side to a straight piece that then slid along fence.

Then it was down to planing. I need these really accurate so I could get all the joints bang on without having to make little adjustments to suit.

With the thicknesser I recon the average tolerance is about +/- 0.2mm

Seasoning the Timber

2008-10-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

I left the timber at the rough cut stage for a couple of month to allow a little extra seasoning. In my opinion its kiln dried it should be good to work straight from the yard. But, I was warned that it can still have a way to go, it seems its an cost cutting practice from the suppliers and merchants.
I didn't want to get all the pieces planed, straight and square only to find them warping badly.

Update - I've expanded on this subject. There's more about seasoning and acclimatising timber here - How to, Beginners Guide to Buying and Preparing Timber

Timber for the first window

2008-10-03T05:51:00.000-07:00

I bought a load of timber from Arnold Lavers for this window, spiral stairs and some shelves. I'll work an accurate price at some time.

This is all the timber required for one box sliding sash window (overall dimensions 1300 x 1900). Its all U/S grade a mix of Swedish/Finish and Russian redwood. I dont know exactly what U/S means I think it's Un-Sorted. But I was advised it was the best grade available.

The shifty looking character next to it is me, to give an idea of scale. The stack to the right is for the Box frame, to the left is for the two sashes.

I've rough sawn these to planeable dimensions. Working ecconomical cutting is quite on art to reduce wasteage. I've not fully mastered this art yet and ended up with quite a bit of off cuts. This wasn't helped by some shakes in the timber and knots I wanted to avoid.

Next time I'll select the timber myself down at the wood yard, I'll also have another look at timber sizes to reduce wastage.

Update, Nov 2009 - I've learnt a lot since writing this have a look at How to, Beginners Guide to Buying and Preparing Timber

Tooling Up - New Toys

2008-10-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

With a potential massive cost saving I had no problems getting authorisation from Wendy (the Missus) to purchase some new toys for the workshop.

Bench saw

From Screwfix, "Wood Star" not an expensive one as a result I've had to do some tweaking to get it running smooth and true. I've bought a decent blade for it and it's working well enough although a bit fiddly to set to accurately.

Planer Thicknesser

From Screwfix. It's another Wood Star product but with a much better build quality than the Bench Saw. The side fence for planing however isn't very accurate so I now clamp a hardwood block to the table. The in-feed part of the table doesn't sit true and I have to tap it in to the correct alignment. After some practicing I can now dimension wood accurately and square.

Router table and Router

This was the most expensive purchase (from Screwfix again Record Power) and works well. However I'm surprised the back fence isn't easier to adjust accurately. The Router extension that came with it also seems to be out of balance at high speeds. To go with the table I splashed out on a Trend half inch Router, which so far seems to be excellent.

To fnissh tooling up I bought a morticing machine on offer at the time from screwfix.

I knocked up a dust extractor to go with these and now have all the tools I need. These tools have already been put to good use making the spiral stairs for the loft conversion.

Refining the design of Timber Sliding Sash windows

2008-10-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

With the first designs sketched out I've built a mock up to test my thoughts, work out joint design and check clearances.

This all seems to work well. I've made a few refinements and tweaks but it looks like a goer. So I'm ready to start on the first full sized one.

A Quick Introduction

2008-10-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Our house is an 1890 semi. The current windows are single glazed softwood casements fitted in the early Eighty's I think. They, due to neglect are slowly rotting away and some are in desperate need of replacement. We definately don't want plastic and want to replace the windows with Box sliding sashes.

The options are therefore limited. I've had quotes for supply of timber box sliding sashes that come out at around £1000 each. This is way over our budget. We could get cheaper but when looking for longevity, research suggests that I'd be making a bad choice.

Next step was to find out what it take to would take to make them. The advice and construction details available on the web all seem to relate to single glazed windows. The timber sections are available for these but nothing for double glazed windows.

So I've spent some time over the last year researching timber window design to modern specifications, asking questions on forums and then applying what I've learnt to my own designs.

I'll go in to more detail as a go along.

Blog Start

2008-09-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

It's time to start making a record of my sash window building exploits. I've spent a year or so on research and design, I've got the wood and ready to start making some saw dust.