Advice on Sash window tooling

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philmitres

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:?: Hi all , Im a carpenter with a small workshop . ive got my self a spindle moulder and invested in Whitehill 96 x 55 heads and rebate heads plus 40 mm euro heads with various cutters, im trying to get into making replacement victorian styled sashes as im forever being asked for them . My question is can anybody advice me on the best cutters to make my sash mould plus scribe cutter, ive seen the CMT router cutters but im trying to make use of the spindle moulder ( No reverse on S M )
Ive got Various catologues but dont want to spend money on wrong cutters . Would be grateful for any help. Thanks
 
As you have a 55mm block the traditional window cutters that Axminster do will be your best bet, though they may not give as narrow a glazing bar as you need but blanks are available for custom ground profiles at a price. They don't show all the knives on their site so worth ordering a catalogue if you don't have one

There is not really anything in the 40mm euro profiles that will give a suitable ovolo profile & scribe.

And welcome to the forum but please don't post in bold.

Jason
 
Hi Phil

All the standard cutters for sale seem too chunky for traditional sashes. I have a number that were ground specially for the old-style Whitehill blocks as and when I needed them. I usually scribe by hand with gouge and coping sash unless there is a vast amount to do.

If you want to match the old style moulds it seems that having them specially made is the only way to go. They are more expensive but will pay for themselves in the long term - and try to standardise on one or two sizes/moulds where possible.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Malcolm
 
Thanks for the advice so far , looked into wealden tools and the cutters look just the job but would need to buy yet another head as mine only use 4mm thick cutters and not 5mm thick. Ive been pondering on buying the cutters mentioned from axminster tools and i will do a bit more homework about them and prob buy them this week. also a good idea about getting them cut , will go down that avenue also.
Thanks again
 
I had the Axminster trad cutters and to be honest there not really trad, not round here anyway. they simply aren't suitable for the thin sash rails.

I just had some made from a template from the sash windows I was working on by my local saw doctors. They didn't cost much more than the Axminster ones. That way you wont be buying the wrong cutters.
You'll be lucky to find any off the shelf imho.






.
 
Thanks proshop, is it as easy as sending a small sample of sash and posting it off somewhere and getting a set of cutters / limiters and a scribe set cut, or should i go down the rout of CMT router cutters £100 or so and do that way .
I think the Spindle moulder is the way to go as im thinking of taking off the sliding carrage from my table saw and somehow adapting it to fit on my S M tomorrow.May help me to get better scribes .
 
philmitres":8iju6kld said:
Thanks proshop, is it as easy as sending a small sample of sash and posting it off somewhere and getting a set of cutters / limiters and a scribe set cut, .

Yes it's that easy.
 
Hi here. I m new in this forum.
I 'm beginner joiner , I have my workshop where I did some windows , doors and some other few things. I bought TREND window modular system for High Performance Ovolo and Storm Proof ovolo.
Now I intend to buy the Sliding Box Sash System from Trend and I m little be concerned about making this windows style because Trend is poor in information about calculation (they send us to joinery software).
What do you thing guys ?
How you calculate the box sash windows ?

Thank you very much .

Jon :)
 
JonOnea":opod8ir5 said:
Hi here. I m new in this forum.
I 'm beginner joiner , I have my workshop where I did some windows , doors and some other few things. I bought TREND window modular system for High Performance Ovolo and Storm Proof ovolo.
Now I intend to buy the Sliding Box Sash System from Trend and I m little be concerned about making this windows style because Trend is poor in information about calculation (they send us to joinery software).
What do you thing guys ?
How you calculate the box sash windows ?

Thank you very much .

Jon :)
The Trend system information sheet gives all the various dimensions you need, or it used too.
I use this information to build my own spreadsheet which automatically gives me all the timber cutting dimensions I need once I have entered the actual window size I require. But don't forget you need to make an allowance/adjustment for the various seals you need to complete the window, and also an adjustment for wether your using weights or spring balance.
HTH
 
Off the peg cutters never match old sash mouldings but may be OK for chunky modern DG versions.
Easy to make your own and get near perfect matches.
Buy blanks, grind profiles with ordinary 6" grinder. You need four wheels - one square and one half-round, at 1/2" and 1/4"
 
Hi all

Newbie sash window maker here.
Does anyone have any resource videos on how to correctly grind new knifes. I unders stand the grinding part but after does it need to be ground like a knife blade. Or does the spinning cause sharpness. Advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Great site you have. :lol:
 
I used to grind all my own as basically you can never match an old window from off the shelf cutters.
It's simple once you've got the knack.
You grind it square on to match the sample you are copying, with no bevel.
You then grind a bevel at say 40 to 45º.
You then deepen the hollows a touch (45º) to match the sample but with cutter held at the cutting angle as near as you can judge.
Thats it.
Nearly all sashes and Georgian/Victorian joinery was in pine, sometimes pitch pine.
For your purposes 'unsorted' redwood should do everything. Unsorted means top 3 grades bundled, which would have been graded and sorted in the old days
 

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