butt joint or mitre joint?

[StevieB]

OK, for skirting going into an internal corner one should butt joint rather than mitre, for a worktop one should butt joint also, using a worktop jig.

What do people suggest for window cills? I have two internal corners in my conservatory to do and cannot decide whether to mitre them or try to butt joint in the manner of a worktop but by hand. The conservatory is square (supposedly) so mitring would seem to be the most simple solution, but I have a nagging suspicion that because the wall return is not in line with the conservatory return a perfect 45 is still going to look odd. However, I am also not sure whether my hand scribing and joining skills are going to make a butt joint 'a la worktop style' look any better :roll: So, as I dont have much spare stock to work with, and the cills are up to 3.8m long I only want to do this once :wink:

Cheers for any opinions,

Steve.

 

[ike]

BTW - butt joint 'a la worktop style' = 'Masons Joint'.

I reckon a masons joint should be pretty easy without a jig. If you mark and cut female profile on the first board, then overlap and mark onto the second board. It'll be easier to shave the male profile to fit the female.
You'll then get a snug joint regardless if the first profile is not 'perfectly routed'.

Ike

 

[ike]

Or it might be 'masons mitre', come to think of it.

 

[Aragorn]

How wide are the cills?
Are you worried about the mitre opening up in time?
Could you not use a kitchen worktop jig to cut the worktop style mitre?

 

[StevieB]

The cills are standard 9" cills, although I may trim them down to 8". I was more worried about the mitre joint showing and not looking square to the corner. I aim to stain the cills rather than paint them so the joint will show. Dont think the joints will open with time, the whole cill would have to shrink/warp for that to happen.

not sure you can use a worktop jig as the pegs are distanced for a worktop. I could clamp it to the cill I suppose, provided I can get it square to start with, but would the run in to the butt ie the little angled cut at the curved end be the correct angle for a cill?

What I may do is go and buy a small length of cill, try a masons mitre and a 45 degree mitre and see which looks best. Dont you just love trial and error :roll: :wink:

Steve.

 

[Anonymous]

How about mitre and use one of those rather nice trend angle setting thingies (red plastic). These will allow you to find the exact centre of any angle that the builders dreamt up :wink:

 

[Neil]

How about mitre and use one of those rather nice trend angle setting thingies (red plastic).

Is that one of those nice trend angle things that you've bought and never used, Tony

NeilCFD

 

[Anonymous]

The very same Neil


But I'm sure I'd use it if I fitted window bords, skirting etc :wink:

 

[Aragorn]

Steve
In that case, I reckon go for a normal mitre.
There's no reaon not to get the joint to fit a corner, even if it's not 90º. Just use some offcuts or ply or MDF or something similarly sized to find the perfect angle.
If you reinforce it with biscuits and glue you should be OK.

 

[Anonymous]

Another idea to confuse you a little more. Quite often when fitting conservatories i will use this method which looks fantastic when done. Use square edged timber or remove the nose off window boards, butt joint your corners and preferably biscuit joint for stability (massive temperature fluctuations in most conservatories), then use a bearing guided cutter in a hand held router and run round the cills, this will create an elegant sweeping curve at the internal corners which never fails to impress people, one thing to bear in mind is the first 6 inches or so against the wall and also door returns will need to routed before installation. You will also need a dust extractor or a large sweeping brush.

Finally, if using raw mdf it is essential to seal the underside against moisture ingress from the cavity.

regards

steve

 

[Midnight]

ummmm...... not trying to cause any trouble.... but skirting should be coped... not butted..