Chataigner
Established Member
Please note, french windows here refers to windows in france! :lol: :lol:
I need to replace several very old windows in my house (17th C, though I think the windows are a bit more recent!). They are in oak, and clearly hand made, so not soooo recent. I've never done this before, so the plan is to copy the old ones which have stood the test of time rather well, but make them deeper to allow for double glazed panels.
I expect most people know that windows in France normally open inwards so the weather proofing arrangements are more like a UK door. This has several advantages as far as I'm concerned, not least that you can repaint or whatever (and clean) first and second floor windows from inside. Other benefits include kids not hitting their heads on open ground-floor windows when running around the outside and finally, uncluttered window sills, so you can actually see out! External window boxes provide planting space for those who must have half the window blocked! :roll:
The windows are all hinged double casements. The first, which is also the smallest, has overall size of 1m30 high by 1m10 wide. My local saw mill provided some very nice 54mm thick oak around 60cm wide, just band sawn from the log, then air dried. I was able to select mainly ¼ sawn boards.
First job was to cut out some rough blanks, I did this using a BIG portable circular saw as my band saw is not really up to supporting 60kg+ boards, these were then left for a few days to allow for possible movement, then planed and thicknessed.
The profiles were cut on the table saw, and left me a bunch of nice little laths that will be turned into trellis panels for climbing plants in the summer! Bit of burning, must change the blade.
The lower horizontal member has a gutter leading to a central drain hole to the outside. This was cut using a half round router cutter and boards clamped to either side of the section to guide the router, but at a slope to give the fall on the groove.
Tenons are also cut on the table saw, using the parallel fence as a depth stop. I cut a gnat's c**k oversize and clean them up with a shoulder plane when fitting to the mortices.
The mortices were cut using a half inch hollow chisel moticer, good fun setting out with everything in metric except the cutter!
I have set up the chop/miter saw and the morticer side by side and level to share the same bed extension, so a simple stop block arrangement first ensures sides of the same length, then that the mortices are exactly the same distance apart on both sides.
To be able to clamp up the frames, I had to buy some clamp heads and fit them to 120mm by 25mm beams to have something long enough. I made these nearly 2m long as the next window I have to tackle is over 1m60 wide.
The bench is not free, the floor is not adequately level, where to clamp up? SWMBO suggested the island unit in the kitchen, it's level and big enough, so here it is!
A spot of tuning with the shoulder plane, a squirt of polyurethane glue (for the waterproof properties) and tighten the clamps. Check for square – moment of truth! Well, I must have done something right, it's bang on.
While that lot was drying (today), I cut the tenons on the horizontal members of the casements. That's as far as I've gone, more in a day or two...
I need to replace several very old windows in my house (17th C, though I think the windows are a bit more recent!). They are in oak, and clearly hand made, so not soooo recent. I've never done this before, so the plan is to copy the old ones which have stood the test of time rather well, but make them deeper to allow for double glazed panels.
I expect most people know that windows in France normally open inwards so the weather proofing arrangements are more like a UK door. This has several advantages as far as I'm concerned, not least that you can repaint or whatever (and clean) first and second floor windows from inside. Other benefits include kids not hitting their heads on open ground-floor windows when running around the outside and finally, uncluttered window sills, so you can actually see out! External window boxes provide planting space for those who must have half the window blocked! :roll:
The windows are all hinged double casements. The first, which is also the smallest, has overall size of 1m30 high by 1m10 wide. My local saw mill provided some very nice 54mm thick oak around 60cm wide, just band sawn from the log, then air dried. I was able to select mainly ¼ sawn boards.
First job was to cut out some rough blanks, I did this using a BIG portable circular saw as my band saw is not really up to supporting 60kg+ boards, these were then left for a few days to allow for possible movement, then planed and thicknessed.
The profiles were cut on the table saw, and left me a bunch of nice little laths that will be turned into trellis panels for climbing plants in the summer! Bit of burning, must change the blade.
The lower horizontal member has a gutter leading to a central drain hole to the outside. This was cut using a half round router cutter and boards clamped to either side of the section to guide the router, but at a slope to give the fall on the groove.
Tenons are also cut on the table saw, using the parallel fence as a depth stop. I cut a gnat's c**k oversize and clean them up with a shoulder plane when fitting to the mortices.
The mortices were cut using a half inch hollow chisel moticer, good fun setting out with everything in metric except the cutter!
I have set up the chop/miter saw and the morticer side by side and level to share the same bed extension, so a simple stop block arrangement first ensures sides of the same length, then that the mortices are exactly the same distance apart on both sides.
To be able to clamp up the frames, I had to buy some clamp heads and fit them to 120mm by 25mm beams to have something long enough. I made these nearly 2m long as the next window I have to tackle is over 1m60 wide.
The bench is not free, the floor is not adequately level, where to clamp up? SWMBO suggested the island unit in the kitchen, it's level and big enough, so here it is!
A spot of tuning with the shoulder plane, a squirt of polyurethane glue (for the waterproof properties) and tighten the clamps. Check for square – moment of truth! Well, I must have done something right, it's bang on.
While that lot was drying (today), I cut the tenons on the horizontal members of the casements. That's as far as I've gone, more in a day or two...
