Sash Planes -- Making divided light windows with hand tools

[Andrew Swartz]

I've been looking for a good tutorial or book on using sash planes and hand tools to make traditional divided light windows. I'm primarily interested in case piece applications, like china cabinets, etc., but I'm also interested in how architectural windows were constructed and made.

Can anyone point me to any postings that cover this topic, or any tutorials or books that are helpful?

I'm interested in the pros/cons of different kinds of sash planes (there seem to be several different varieties) and sash fillisters. I'm curious about the different ways the pieces are joined together; how cabinet joinery differs (or is the same) as architectural joinery.

Thanks!

[Trevor Walsh]

I've been looking for a good book on sash-by-hand also... The closes I've come on traditional door and window work are two books Building Doors and Gates, (http://www.amazon.com/Building-Doors-Gates-Instructions-Techniques/dp/0811726789) and this awesome book The Handbook of Doormaking, Windowmaking and Staircasing.

While neither cover work on furniture type doors or lights, there is alot of good diagrams about sticking boards, layout, joints and things in them.

[Andrew Gibson]

Roy Underhill did a really good tutorial on sash making in one of the episodes of the woodrights shop over the last couple years... I believe it was one of the episodes for the corner cubbed he made on the show... it goes into using sticking boards and all... I think it would be more helpful then a written explanation.

Edit, give this a look, hope it helps.
http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/2900/2913.html

[Andrew Swartz]

Great. Thanks Andrew, and Trevor.

[Russell Sansom]

1+ pm the Roy Underhill. Also, try an internet search on "sticking board." As I recall that's how I tracked it all down.

[Andrae Covington]

I've been looking for a good book on sash-by-hand also... The closes I've come on traditional door and window work are two books Building Doors and Gates, (http://www.amazon.com/Building-Doors-Gates-Instructions-Techniques/dp/0811726789) and this awesome book The Handbook of Doormaking, Windowmaking and Staircasing.

While neither cover work on furniture type doors or lights, there is alot of good diagrams about sticking boards, layout, joints and things in them.

I also have the Handbook of Doormaking, Windowmaking, and Staircasing, by Anthony Talbot. My copy was published in 1980; I think they were previously three separate books from ~1977. I can't remember if I bought mine locally from Powells Books or an amazon.com third-party seller, but at any rate, check whatever used book sources you prefer.

In the Jim Kingshott dvd Special Planes, at one point early on he uses a multicolored posterboard section diagram of a window sill and sash to talk about rebates, grooves, and the like. He then uses a wide rabbet... er, rebate:) plane to create the sloped sill. Unfortunately for what you're after, he doesn't go on much further in the construction after that, moving on to tongue-and-groove and other topics.

Tangential, but there is also Working Windows by Terry Meany, a guy whose business is fixing old wood windows. I have the second edition but I see there is now a third. The book covers all the different problems one might encounter with old wood windows and how to deal with them... from just getting it unstuck to pretty major repairs. What you might find helpful is the section on (re)glazing.