How To Make Windows

[Bob Fraser]

Hello All,

I just found your great resource foroum a few months ago,
this a terrific place to learn and share, that's for sure.

I am looking to build some single pane windows for the exterior of a 100 year old General Store that is our shop, and Pottery studio.

I am not having much luck with search engines, searching for "How To Make Windows" comes up with tons of Microsoft info, but no real "how to's" for construction with wood.

Same thing when looking for books - tons of stuff on window dressing, but little on building?

Does anyone have a good source suggestion?

Thanks in advance,
Bob

[Jon Bell]

Hi Bob,
I need to make a bunch of windows myself. I ordered this set and sometime in the near future i will embark on giving this a try. I am a total beginner but have looked and found very little about buiding windows.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=8285

there are better prices than woodcraft. keep in mind i havent built any yet, but the process looks pretty straight forward. hope this helps some.

[Ronald Nelson]

Hi Bob,

I had to do the same thing this summer for my old building. Wood Magazine has an article on how to do it with bit sets like the CMT sash set.

http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/wood/story/data/302.xml&catref=wd21

Have fun.

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Folks
Made 10 windows for a Maple Syrup evaporation building this past fall.
All are single sash not double sash - hence easier.
Some are fixed and some tilt inward.
Sizes are: 9 of them about 30 x 48 with 9 lights;
and one of them is 24 x 72 with 16 lights

Lets see: equipment used
Number one and most important - get a "sled" for the clamping and set up of the rail end cut. Buy the steel sled from Delta or one of the aftermarket sleds . The rail "end grain" cut is the important dimension in order to have the horizontal muntins fit the one piece vertical muntins.

bench top mortiser
band saw
table saw
cross cut miter saw
router table
router bits = Freud 99-050 and 99-051
The instructions have a couple of incorrect dimensions. But will keep you on the straight and narrow.
Because they can also be spaced out to 1-1/2 inches, by experimentation.
I stuck with 1-3/8 inches thick

Made the windows 1-3/8 inch thick; rails and stiles
Top rails = 2-1/4
Bottom rail = 3-1/4
Stiles = 2-1/4
Made the muntins 1 inch wide but should have made them wider - maybe 1-1/4 inch wide - Why?
Because it would have given the glazer more of a rabbet to set the glass.

There are allot of little sub sequences that have to be done to make things fit correctly. Mainly: get two routers and two plates for your router table. Set up the routers for the proper height and switch between. It gets ugly at times switching back and forth.

Well that touches on the process except to say - get the processes straight in your head and stick by them. I have the time to do one process a day (retired) and that's how I got through it successfully.
I do have some photos on another website, but you've seen windows.
Daniel :)

[lou sansone]

the latest issue of FWW has an article all about it.

lou