Woodend windows

Howdy all you chipper chaps!

I'm going to add 3" of insulation to the outside of my 1920's vintage home and do a half-timber treatment. I have to re-do the windows to accomodate the 3" added thickness.

The house presently has the most disgusting, ultra-cheap, poorly made slider windows I have ever seen. However, there is nothing wrong with the glass.

I'd like to build my own deep-framed traditional style casement windows and reuse the existing glass.

I have built MANY different kinds of things but I have never tried making my own windows. I thought there would be at least some DIY window-makers sites on the Net but I haven't found any.

Anybody know good sources of info on traditional window making? (I don't want to make mistakes where other's have already figured out how to do it right!)

Thanks gang!

Reply to
Calamity Jane
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I would find an antique window that I like and dissect it to see how it's built. You will need to settle on the type of wood to use. You will need to plane the wood for thickness and straightness, allowing for the tendency wood has to bow and warp after it's milled. The tools I've used when making a new sash are as follows, Table saw, jointer, thickness planer, shaper, hand planes, chisels, combination square, tenon jig, drill press (for mortises), and so forth.

There is an out of print book , "Getting the Most Out of Your Shaper", published by Delta, that has an excellent section on sash making. The book is available from Amazon and other sources on the net.

You'll enjoy the adventure. :-)

Reply to
Lowell Holmes

One consideration is the used glass. If you can make the windows that same size it maybe fine. If the glass has to be cut, you may have problems. Old glass has minute, invisible scratches that can make it break in odd ways. Re-cycling and cost saving is great as long as it does not add to the problems.

Post some photos of your progress as it sounds like an interesting project.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

"Old glass has minute, invisible scratches that can make it break in odd ways."

Thanks for the reminder Ed. I have cut lots of glass, some of it over

100 years old, so I am not too worried about that part.

There's quite an investment in time in making windows so I want to do it right. There is a very well known wooden window company not far away so I am going to see if I can get a factory tour (without telling them that I want to steal their ideas).

TTFN

Reply to
Calamity Jane

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