Author: David Linnard

You may have noticed that we haven’t done much work on the house recently. That’s because it’s been so cold here. With temperatures generally below freezing it’s not very inviting especially when it’s dark outside. We have been working on some side projects such as the toledo chairs, a bird table and our test sash window, for which I’ve been working on the sash/weight pocket.

So what is a sash/weight pocket?

If you look at the anatomy of a sash window (see first picture below) you’ll see counter weights on either side of the window. These weights are of a similar weight to the sashes they’re connected to thus making the windows easy to open and close. Sash pockets are the small removable panels on the lower jambs that allow you to access the weights for both sashes.

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So why do you need them? You’ve built and installed your windows and they work great, what could go wrong? Probably nothing for many decades, but one day you may have a problem, your sash cord may break or you maybe you decide to reglaze with heavier glass and need to add additional weights? This is where sash pockets come in handy as they give you access to the sash cord and weights. If you don’t have these pockets you’re going to have to use a pry bar to remove wooden trim which will take some time patching up.

Next time you’re in an old house with sash windows, open up the lower sash and see whether you can see the sash pocket, it will probably be painted over but you may be able to see the joints underneath the paint. Note, not all sash windows will have pockets but you can dig further yourself if you’re interested.

As you can see from the following videos making these pockets is a skill and if you get it wrong your sash pocket will look ugly. I’m not sure I have the skills to make these cuts accurately, so I decided to find an alternative method.

The method I decided upon was to make the window jamb from multiple pieces, this allowed me to create the sash pocket separately and use magnets to hold the pocket closed so I don’t have to use a screw. As we’ll be making these windows out of a dark coloured wood, you probably won’t even notice the pocket and all you need to open the sash is another strong magnet. All these joints were cut using a table saw and tenoning jig. When we are ready to start production of the real windows I’ll set up a production line and make a bunch of these at one time.

The only down side of these sash pockets is that the jambs need to be assembled from three pieces of wood instead of just the single bit. It’s a bit more effort but I feel the results are worth it as these pockets work and look great.

I think I will name these DM sash pockets.

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I got the magnets from KJ Magnetics which has been my go to place for strong neodymium magnets for years. What’s nice is that they have a pull force calculator so I knew that my two magnets placed 1/4″ apart would have a pull force of 1.7lbs which is more than I really need. I only have magnets at one end and these are held in place with West epoxy, again my go to for epoxy for decades. For small amounts I always use a gram scale to get the correct ratio.

This being the season of window making and the generousity of ARC, we did a window inventory. We knew they all needed a lot of TLC but when you see photographs of all of them you realise how much work this will take.

Pictures for each floor start from the left and rotate anti-clockwise.

Ground floor

Everything on this floor is missing or is pretty much trash.

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First floor

We actually have two windows that are fully operational. These are protected by the porch, hence their condition. A lot of our windows were shot with BB guns, shame as the glass was old wavy glass.

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Second floor

Most of these windows are exposed to the full brunt of the elements, hence they’re in most need of repair.

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Cupola/penthouse

The cupola will have nine windows which don’t currently exist, hence no pictures.

Summary

Within a short time we’ll be pretty proficient at making or restoring sash windows and it would be nice to offer some window making classes. We’d need our friend Derrick to be onboard as he has the historical and practical knowledge and is the person I go to when I get stuck. Just an idea.

Lastly anyone want to sponsor a window pane? Not sure what that would entail, but we’d let you look through it and open and close it!!! Maybe have your name tastefully etched onto the glass as well.

We’re excited to announce that we have a designer and manufacturer helping us with our sash windows. Bob, president of the Architectural Resource Center, has very kindly offered to help us source supplies for our sash windows. We were blown away by Bob’s generosity and it has truly touched Aimee and I and is one of the few highlights of 2020. We had a lovely chat with Bob on New Years eve and hope to meet him in person later this year.

As a bit of a background, Bob stated off in the military before becoming a wood working lecturer which he did so for 19 years before starting up the Architectural Resource Center in 1985. Since then the Architectural Resource Center has gone from strength to strength and has an impressive list of clients including the The Biltmore Estate, Carnegie Hall and the White House to name a few.

To give you an idea of the hardware required for one double hung window, you need:

• Four pulleys
• Four sash chains
• Four sets of sash weights
• One window lock
• One or two sash lifts

That’s a lot of hardware for a single window and multiplied by eight it adds up quickly and that’s just for the ground floor. The majority of this hardware is brass for longevity.

Thank you Bob for helping us make our windows work!!

In a previous post I mentioned that we need to make a bunch of windows for the ground floor. We’ve already cut the wood for the window bucks and we’ve now started on the window sashes. For this I’m using the Infinity window sash router kit with our lovely Incra router table.

For my first attempt I made a smallish lower sash out of scrap pine. After milling to size and cutting the stock to length I used the Dowelmax to create the dowel joints. You can see in one of the photos that the dowel holes aren’t centered, this is a ‘feature’ of the Dowelmax and is really only noticeable on thin stock. By the way the Dowelmax is a lovely bit of kit, it is pricey but it will outlast me.

The traditional joint in a window sash is the mortise and tenon and this joint probably allows the pieces of the sash to move slightly when the wood changes shape due to differing weather conditions, but as we’ll be using a wood less effected by the weather this probably doesn’t matter. An added advantage to using the Dowelmax is that Aimee is comfortable using it where as the mortise and tenon would require using the table saw.

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From the photos you can see that on the inside of the window the router bit cut an ogee profile and on the other side a rebate for glass and putty. As a first attempt I was pretty pleased, you can tell that the joint isn’t perfect but I’ll dial that in tomorrow.

Today I worked on getting a single sash joint near perfect and repeatable and I’m happy with how it turned. All we need to do now is to run through making the case that holds the sashes, weights and pulleys as this determines the sash size.

Throughout this work I will be relying on experts to guide us including Bob at ARC, friend Derrick and The Window Sash Bible by Steve Jordan.

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