I shutter the thought

[Brian Ashton]

I started the first set in pic one a few months back for my wifes birthday and they were so well received that she wanted more. Pic 2 is the second set hot off the bench. So 2 down 1 to go.

Made a few changes on the second set: these ones come apart incase there's a problem where as the first set were done with mortice and tenon and they ain't coming apart for any reason. There is more overlap on the louvres to give a bit more privacy but still let in lots of light. First set was about 1/4" and the second set is 1/2" of overlap. Second set I used finger joint pine instead but I think I'll go back to #1 grade and absorb the extra cost, there were too many changes in grain direction...

Every part is entirely made with hand tools. So far I've hand planed about 230 louvres totalling 350 feet and style and rail… By the time the third set is done I'll add another 180 feet or 135 louvres to the pile… Second set went pretty quickly, all things being considered, and I should be able to whip the third set out in no time.

To buy them I would have been looking at at least $5200, by the time they're done I'll have coughed up about $1800.

And not a single electron was hurt during the project.

To be honest. For the home do it yourselfer I'm not sure using a router equipped with a proper louvre bit and a good router table would be much quicker, would be a lot less effort though. I was getting quite quick at churning out the louvres with a hand plane. Since I built the new bench, prior to starting the second set, planing became very quick (the first set was done on a knock off of the lee valley carvers bench and didn't have a very effective way of holding the louvres in place as they were planed) and I could switch from left to right easily (which really gave the shoulders and elbows a break and allowed me to go much longer stretches of time) and there was little to no sanding required. I think trying to control the louvres on a router would be much harder especially when it came to routing the second side while dealing with all the surfaces being rounded.

[Jim Koepke]

Looks great.

Any pictures of the work in progress?

Any detail pictures of the operator attachment to the louvres or how they are set in the frame?

jtk

[Brian Ashton]

Looks great.

Any pictures of the work in progress?

Any detail pictures of the operator attachment to the louvres or how they are set in the frame?

jtk

Thx. They really change how a room looks.

Sorry no pics of work in progress other than a pile of louvres with the plane on top.

I've attached a couple pics of the hardware and operator detail and the plane used.

Pic 1 shows the hardware and tools I used for assembly. The chrome eyelets were used on the first set but I found later on they were too weak and they would snap off. I switched to the brass plated ones for the second set and pulled all the old chrome ones on the first set. The brass ones are B on lee valleys eyelet chart. The little jewellers clamp was the real star of the show. I bought that over 15 years ago on a hunch that one day it was going to come in hand and it sure has paid off with these shutter eyelets. It only took 15 years or so to find a use. Makes putting in 200 eyelets in a real snap. The shutter pins for the first set were the stock standard you would find in any set of shutters (ordered out of the US). For the second set I used 1/8" aluminum rod cut in 1" lengths and found they worked just as well for a fraction of the cost. There were two types of shutter pins. The majority are the top type that freely spin in the hole and the bottom one is used to introduce resistance to the shutters so the louvres don't rotate too easily. For the first set I used a ratio of 3:1. The gray piece with the nail set is the method I used to open up the eyelets so I could connect the operator rod to each of the louvres. A 3/16" hole was drilled and that was plenty to open up the eyelet without causing metal fatigue. Oh ya I did sacrifice a few electrons using the cordless drill, but they died for a good cause. I drilled the holes for the pins by eye. It didn't seem to matter if they were slightly out, in fact I think having the holes not perfectly aligned was actually beneficial because there was just enough resistance on the louvres so they didn't rotate to freely when the shutters were assembled.

Pic 2 is the operator detail. You can see that it's that simple, two linked eyelets. The bar is where I screw the opened eyelets into and then close them with a pair of needle nosed pliers once linked with the louvre.

Pic 3 is the plane made for the task. I was cobbled together from an old fence post, a blade I had kicking round for years and a few parts off other planes I'd make over the years. The little holes in the side are small grub screws that make adjusting this thing much easier. The blade is D2 steel and I was quite impressed at how long it would hold an edge. I've only needed to pull the blade 4 times and hone it in all the wood it's been pushed through. The wood I've been told is brush box but no one seems absolutely sure, but it was intriguing enough that I added it to my stash of wood. I found it laying in the back garden of the house we moved into and I was surprised at how heavy it was when I went to pick it up. Had no idea it would turn out to be a wood that worked extremely well for making planes, very hard and durable but easy to work. I've made a few planes out of that post… The skids screwed onto the bottom allow me to plane to where once the plane stops cutting I know the louvre is at the right thickness and shape. Easy as pie, could almost do it blind folded. The beast weighs almost as much as my veritas jointer.

Pic 4 is just an end shot. You can see the cracks and I really didn't think the plane would last as a result but it's been rock solid. To get the blade and plane right I first started with shaping the bottom of the plane and then adapting the blade to it. It takes a bit to set up, the grub screws really help to fine tune it and lock the blade in. But once it's set up it really sings. I'm surprised at how well it peals off shavings. At 2 3/8" wide I think I'm at the limit of width for such projects.

Pic 5 is a pile of louvres and the plane and the old carvers bench I used for the first set. I'm glad for the sake of my shoulders and elbows that I'm not using that anymore.

The shutters are butt jointed with two dowel pins to stop the rail from moving or twisting and a 4" 10 gauge screw driven in between them. I wanted these ones to be easily disassembled if ever there was a problem. I could have used cross dowels and bolts but there isn't any pressure on these shutters so I think the 4" screw will more than do the job it needs to do. The first set were mortice and tenoned together and were over kill and a waste of time.

[Jim Koepke]

Brian,

Thanks for the response. I may want to do something like this some day.

You may find it easier to install your eye hooks by making a hook from a small nail and using that in your Makita.

jtk

[David Weaver]

That's a pretty serious hand effort!! I wouldn't want to hear the router blanging away the whole time to make all of those, either. You may never get as fast as a router, but the sense of satisfaction of improvement with hand tools is pretty hard to match.

When I saw your post this morning, I was going to ask how your elbows and shoulders are faring, but you covered that at the end of your post :)

[Mel Fulks]

Real nice. I didn't at first see they adjust , that is a lot of work. The old Reynolds aluminum building in Richmond (1960s?)
has vertical louvers on the south side that are computer adjusted to allow maximum light without without direct sun. The original setting was supposed to last beyond 2000. Big deal in their day . I would guess there are a number of members who could set up something like that a lot faster than the work required to make your louvers.

[Brian Ashton]

Real nice. I didn't at first see they adjust , that is a lot of work. The old Reynolds aluminum building in Richmond (1960s?)
has vertical louvers on the south side that are computer adjusted to allow maximum light without without direct sun. The original setting was supposed to last beyond 2000. Big deal in their day . I would guess there are a number of members who could set up something like that a lot faster than the work required to make your louvers.


If you had access to a moulding planer you could crank out hundreds of feet of material in a day that was at least 95% clean and ready to go. The most complicated part of the process when making them with power tools is to have a bed or fence that fits the elliptical shape of the machined surface of the louvre perfectly or you'll find things will move and drama and a lot of very unpleasant noises will ensue.

Or you could go to Rockler and buy them there. They have bass wood louvre material in a variety of lengths and widths. The shipping to Aus was the killer though, it was more than the louvre material. I tried to find them in Aus but the costs were more than shipping them from the US (I love this place, they've taken gouging to an art form).

[Chris Griggs]

Very cool Brian!

[Mel Fulks]

I know a guy who has one of the old machines that cuts the little swivel pins . Not sure if he has ever used it, but it's the only one I've seen.

[John Stankus]

I posted a non-neander method using a planer sled quite a while back.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?64102-Any-advice-for-making-plantation-shutters&p=653482&highlight=#post653482

John

[Brian Ashton]

I posted a non-neander method using a planer sled quite a while back.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?64102-Any-advice-for-making-plantation-shutters&p=653482&highlight=#post653482

John

You could do that, but it doesn't look like you get a nice elliptical profile. You could if you had access to what I was describing was a moulding planer that does both sides in the elliptical shape of the finished shutter at the same time.

The more I look at this the more I think now that it's much easier to do them by hand. Mine have an elliptical profile that blends well but the router bits I've been googling that could come close to a nice elliptical profile look like they're more work than they're worth. That is unless you have the money for a moulding planer…