Stupid, stupid mistake...

I mentioned in another thread that I'm converting my sectional concrete garage into a workshop. Today went well: five of the concrete panels came out (intact) and a timber frame (assembled in situ) is now secured into the gap. The centre cross-ways rafter has been attached to the top member of the frame (having been held up in the interim by the excellent Lidl ceiling prop: a splendid tenner's worth).

The final task for today was to fit the secondhand uPVC window into the frame.

Unfortunately, the window is 1/2" wider than the aperture in the frame. It must have grown since I measured it.

I really don't want to have to remove the entire frame, take off one (or both) of the side verticals, trim it (or them) down and then put the whole thing back again (but that might just be because I'm tired and annoyed with myself: I could well feel differently in the morning).

Here's the frame:

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How practical would it be to cut down the frame in situ? I suppose I could drill a series of small holes, chisel them out to form a gap and then use a handsaw. Or... I've never done it, but can you use a circular saw like a chop saw, to start a cut away from a corner? I'm not desperately keen on the notion of using a heavy and powerful circular saw vertically, though.

Any thoughts will be very welcome!

Many thanks,

Reply to
Bert Coules
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Have you got, or can you borrow, a router?

Not hard to run that against a guide and open up the frame a bit.

Depth might be an issue..may need a BIG router with a long bit.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

That's a brilliant idea. I wouldn't even need that big a cutter: I could make several side-by-side grooves, slightly overlapping, in the inner face of the frame and widen the opening that way. And the window isn't as deep as the timber (timber 100mm, window 60mm) so I needn't cut away the entire depth. In fact, it would give me a lovely secure ledge to bed the window onto.

I wonder if my cheapo router is up to the task? I'll find out tomorrow.

Many thanks!

Reply to
Bert Coules

60mm should be OK

use it like a planer and go full depth and a few mm at a time gradually moving inwards, If you f*ck up,. go further and take less off the other side.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Actually, might it even be better to make the opening a little *too* wide, so the window frame could be packed out with those plastic spacer bars and the gap filled with sealant or foam? Is there a danger in making a wooden frame for a uPVC window the exact width of the frame? Should there be some small allowance for movement?

Reply to
Bert Coules

That should work. You'd probably have to use it from inside and outside to get sufficient depth.

It should also be do-able with a hand-held circular saw - but you'd only want to cut in an upwards direction, which means doing one side of the frame from the inside and the other side from the outside. To get started, you pivot on the front of the baseplate and let the blade sink in - a bit like using it between floorboards. It probably wouldn't have enough depth of cut to go right through the frame, so you'd have to finish off with a hand-saw.

Reply to
Roger Mills

I'm not keen on that. I think the router is the way to go. I have a 10mm cutter, so six or seven parallel cuts should do it, without putting too much of a strain on the machine.

Thanks for the reply.

Reply to
Bert Coules

In article , Bert Coules writes

Mistake excepted it's looking good.

My choice would be a circular saw, 2 half depth cuts, one from either side. You don't need to get a perfect start in the corner as a sharp chisel and mallet will make short work of what's left there that.

I'd see a router as a faff, loads more passes and using a long cutter on a long extension.

No fixings in the way I assume?

Reply to
fred

Plane 1/4" of each side of the window? If just PCv and no reinforcing within 1/4" of each side why not?

Reply to
Fredxx

Good point..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

exoperiencence suggests many light cuts have less chance of pushing the thing sideways and gouging out more than you wanted.

However in your case you can nail support bars to fully support it in a slot..so you can jig it pretty well.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Thanks for the suggestion. I did consider it, and I suppose I could make an experimental cut to see if there is anything there but uPVC, but I do wonder about how well the material would plane. There's also the point I made above about leaving an expansion/contraction gap round the window: if that is desirable it would mean cutting back a bit more than 1/4". That would be doable, but there's more of the frame than the window to play with and it might be better to lose the surplus from the wood rather than the plastic.

Reply to
Bert Coules

That was my first thought, too, but I'm still dubious. Perhaps if I had a smallish battery circular saw, but I don't relish the idea of using my hefty mains model not only vertically but also at head level.

I don't mind taking my time about it.

I don't quite follow that. I'm not a regular user of the router, but I've cut a 10mm wide slot about 5mm deep in a length of wood before now, and used only a normal short-shank cutter. I don't really understand why I would need anything longer.

One bolt each side, but well sunk into the wood. Easily work-aroundable (though perhaps not with a circular saw).

Thanks for the thoughts.

Reply to
Bert Coules

Fred,

Sorry, I meant to respond to:

Thank you!

Reply to
Bert Coules

They do that ;-)

cut one vertical free at the middle and top, trim to size and refit with a small packer to make up for lost material in the saw kerfs.

Router as suggested or

create a notch at the top with a couple of overlapping holes using a spade bit drilled into the side of the timber, and then saw down with a long blade in a reciprocating saw or

bit slow, but a few plunge cuts with an oscillating tool or

good quality jigsaw and long blade would let you cut in at an angle and then straighten up and follow a line, flip the saw over and cut down the last bit. (or start using same spade bit trick) or

you can do a plunge cut with a circular, but you need to take the riving knife off it first. Its often safe to use the saws depth of cut adjustment to set it to zero cut, position it and get it spinning, and then plunge in using the depth of cut mechanism until the required depth. The other way it to rest it on the nose of the sole plate and then rotate it into the cut.

Probably not too bad with a 7" one. Better still with a 5" cordless.

Reply to
John Rumm

'cause fred is thinking of using the router on the outside of the frame not the inside making slots like you are. B-)

TBH if you are happy using the router that is the way I would go and as you have also said you can leave a rebate for the window to fit against.

One pass to cut what will be rebate then maybe two more to give deepth guide for chiseling out the rest of the waste. Big wide chisel would be good, 1 1/2" or so.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

As I realised, as soon as I'd posted my reply.

I was thinking of using just the router, no chiselling at all. But I'll do the first cuts and see how I feel.

Many thanks.

Reply to
Bert Coules

Ah, that's an interesting approach.

I've never owned or used one of them. Are they effective? Any recommended makes or models?

Again, not something I own.

A good suggestion but here again it would mean buying or hiring specially.

A small cordless might be something I could borrow. Not sure about the make, though. Would a (probably) budget model have the heft?

Thanks for all the thoughts.

Reply to
Bert Coules

As Dave pointed out, yes, I had blinkers on and was thinking of using the router base in the same plane as you would use the circular saw base. Using it on the inner face of the frame sound eminently sensible. Maybe add a couple of battens inside and out to make sure the router base stays stable as you are removing frame material.

Reply to
fred

Good idea, thanks.

Reply to
Bert Coules

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