Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Making Window Sash

Custom window sash for a West Philadelphia Victorian home.


Test-fitting the parts...


















The intersections of the muntin bars are half-lap joints. Each one is cut by hand. The mitered cuts in the profile are done by paring with a chisel using a 45-degree guide block.







2 comments:

  1. Very nice! I'm a sashmaker here in Michigan. How did you cut your moldings? Glazing rabbets? I work with a couple of really nice old sash fillisters and a good selection of sash molding planes. Interesting choice on the half-lap muntin joint, don't see too many like that. They are usually mortise and tenoned for architectural work.

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  2. Thanks, Zach. I molded everything with a router because it was for a customer and needed to get done in a reasonable amount of time. I've done the muntins with mortice and tenons as well, but wanted to try out something new. I was happy with the result - it felt more solid with both pieces being continuous and the increased mating surface.
    I own a few old sash molding planes I picked up a while back, but haven't gotten to use them much yet. My plan for this summer is actually to make some practice sashes entirely by hand. I'm planning to go by Roy Underhill's chapter in The Woodwright's Companion as a "how to" guide. If you've got any advice or reading recommendations I'd appreciate it.

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