A few months ago one person asked me if I could make a wooden window for a shed. It should be a wooden window that instead of glass should have a metal mesh. The objective was that it should help to ventilate the shed, but animals should not be able to enter or leave through the window. But in order to install the window in the hole in the wall of the shed, a wooden frame was necessary. So, in this post I will make a window frame. Although it will not be a suitable window frame for any wooden window, but a simple and sufficient one to install in the shed.
How to make the finger joints of the wooden frame
First I have to cut the stringers and the frame cross members. And to cut two exactly equal stringers and two also exactly equal stringers, I can use the squad car and my homemade table saw.
To join the corners of the window frame I am going to make straight loop joints (those that we sometimes call finger joints). So I adjust my guide for cutting straight ties for milling the ties at the head of all the frame slats. The downside is that the stringers and crossbars are very long, and it can be difficult to keep them vertical in the guide for milling loops. I helped myself from the squad and a Homemade Quick Tighten Sergeant.
Another problem is that the cutting edge of the straight router bit that I use is not long enough to route the pins with the required height (and so sockets that are deep enough). So I start routing pins that are half the height I need.
And now I can raise the router bit, to finish routing the straight pins with the necessary dimensions, to make the corner finger joints of the window frame.
And I can already glue the finger joints and check that the window frame has all sides equal and all corners at 90 degrees. For this I use the square, and I also check that both diagonals measure exactly the same.
Once the glue is dry, here we see a finger joint in one corner of this window frame.
And here we see the finger joint after sanding to leave the pins flush with the surface of the window frame.
The jonquils to stop the window
? Look how to make the wooden window that goes in this wooden frame.
Now I cut the jonquils that go inside the frame, and that serve to retain the window flush with the frame when closing it. With the table saw sled I cut and I adjust them as best I can.
And with the window (we'll see soon how to make the window) inside the frame, I glue the jonquils in place in the frame.
And to avoid using lots of clamps, I also insert some nails. Although the truth is that I don't like to trust only in carpenter's glue.
This is how the jonquils look inside this window frame.
Finally, before installing this window frame in the hole in the wall of the shed, I apply a couple of coats of wood protector. Thus, this window frame will withstand a few years the weather and the attack of insects, before having to treat it again.
Excellent, great support
Thanks Luis 🙂