Recent content by woodspiral

Howdy I've got a few windows which are old and wonky with metal openers. The frames are wooden. Either the metal openers or wooden frames have got wonky overtime such that they don't marry together tightly or the mechanism (i.e. handle) which holds the the opener closed has got a bit loose...

I was referring to the expansion of the nail due to oxidation aka rust. Expansion due to heat would be negligible in comparison and not a concern in this situation.

Have a look at Andrew Crawford's smarthinge and smartlock. https://www.smartboxmaker.com/product/smarthinge/

I don't think you are overthinking this at all. Careful choice of the right materials can make the difference between a success and a disaster. I am thinking specifically of a couple of things which have grabbed headlines recently. On the home front, the roofer who attached the pantiles on my...

Looks like a very interesting project. I recently went through this with our house. Having moved in we moved out again 18 months later, then moved back in six months later. It's like moving three times. Installing UFH is a complete PITA but the end result is worth it, as I think it's a very...

I agree that Prodec precision edge is very good for painting. I've just used it on 11 windows and it is producing a nice crisp line. Our plasterer uses it too to mask off wood etc. I've also tried Frog for painting and agree it is just like most other average masking tapes. For general purpose...

Thank you, people. I think I'll go with Linseed Oil paint for now and see how that works out. I definitely can't face taking it down!

Hi, Last year I put cast iron guttering up. We gave it 2 or even 3 coats of primer (Bedec water based metal primer) and a couple of top coats of Zinsser AllCoat exterior satin, which I was assured by Brewers was the best thing to use for this application. Six months later rust started coming...

Your sister is a very lucky lady! Awesome work. I did a couple of box making courses with Andrew Crawford a few years ago, and came out with some nice results.

Thanks for the brush and mahl stick recommendations. I'm actually going to paint my first sign for the house, and learnt about the mahl stick for signwriting, so I ordered one a few days ago - yes I could make one, but I've got so many things to do, I have to pick my battles, so to speak...

That's a very interesting technique - I would normally mask off carefully with ProDec tape to create the sharp line. I might give that a trial and see how I get on. Good tip thanks!

Awesome people thanks for the extra suggestions - I do have indeed a stanley type scraper with a large pack of blades. I got this tip from a car body shop and it's a great tool for windows. What about puttying now at this time of year, is it safe, or should I leave it?

Yeah, I was rather shocked at the price of them. I looked at a YouTube video review of it where this guy used it to heat old putty on a window and remove it with a chisel which had a wheel on it as a guide - came off very easily. However in the comments to that video, a couple of people said...

Hi, Thanks for all the feedback - there's some really good suggestions in there. To respond to some of the various points: - I will definitely not be using a heatgun to burn off any of the paint on the putty as I said in my OP. I learnt this hard lesson from experience where I got too close...

Hello, I've got a lot of windows to renovate and they have all been painted gloss black on the outside. I'm going to be painting them white. I've managed to burn off the paint on the frames but there's a lot of black paint on the putty. I can't burn it off, so do I: 1) sand it down and prime...