Thread: Round windows, work in progress.

Thoroughly enjoyed the read.

I happen to have a router device made by a retired engineer that drives itself and can do circles and ovals. It just needs to have the cutter lowered with each revolution.

All in all I dont know that my router set up would work as quick as the lathe.

I have some octagonal windows in my house, round ones would have far less movement.

As I type you have me thinking, How to make an opening round window? Guess the only way would be a centre pivot. Fly screens would be a pain. Oh you got my creative juices flowing. These threads are so good as they make me think outside the box.

I have an idea for a pivot window with winder and fly screens.


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

Thoroughly enjoyed the read.



As I type you have me thinking, How to make an opening round window? Guess the only way would be a centre pivot. Fly screens would be a pain. Oh you got my creative juices flowing. These threads are so good as they make me think outside the box.

I have an idea for a pivot window with winder and fly screens.


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Hi Dave, as it happens I do have a few opening ones in my shed awaiting a future project and yes they do pivot from a central cross beam. I have seen another opener where the glass fits into external tracks and it can be rolled open by a knob fixed to the glass.

Hope you do a build on the opening ones at some point


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Managed to sneak in a bit of time to turn these windows between the paying jobs, so here is the latest update.
DSCF3767.JPG First the built up segments are clamped as accurately as possible to the face plate then screwed on with 100m x 14 gauge hex head screws.
DSCF3768.JPG To start the turning I like to true up the outside face first, the aim is to get it as parrallel as you can to the faceplate.
DSCF3772.JPG By using a straight edge that goes right across the window frame you can see how your going and adjust your cuts accordingly.
DSCF3773.JPG Once the face is true its time to tackle the outside diameter. For interests sake, the pedestal tool rest I am using is very heavy however the concrete slab on which it sits is not perfectly flat. A wobbly tool rest is a recipe for disaster and you should be able to see in this picture that I have chocked the pedestal underside with a steel rule to eliminate any wobblyness.
DSCF3776.JPG Time to skim the outside diameter now. I am not claiming these windows are huge in size but at 1 metre dia they are larger than your average turning and require certain method with the tools. It's not like roughing down say 100mm x100mm posts between centers where you can pretty well slide your roughing gouge or whatever with reckless abandon(for want of a better term) swiftly from one end of the tool rest to the other and back again. On the contrary. Although the lathe speed is pretty slow the diameter of the work means a pretty high tool speed so very slow and even movements of the chisel are the safest way to go here.
DSCF3778.JPG You can check the outside diameter for squareness using the straightedge and square.
DSCF3783.JPGOutside diameter is now done.
DSCF3787.JPG Inside diameter next. Using a scraper here but you can use a bowl gouge if you prefer.....
DSCF3792.JPG Don't think there are any rules here, just use what works for you.
DSCF3793.JPG The trickiest part is turning where the frame meets the faceplate. Your right on the end of the toolrest and its a good idea to go carefully. Using a scraper thats been ground to do the job.
DSCF3797.JPGOnce the inside diameter is done then the rebate for the glass is cut out and then it's just a matter of sanding the job.
DSCF3799.JPGA sanding block like this one works a treat. You use the flat side for the outside diameter and the rounded face for the inside diameter.
I realise that showing all this with pictures and descriptions may leave a bit to the imagination. Its nice to read things in books,forums etc but there is nothing like seeing it done in the flesh(so to speak). So for a special treat I have uploaded a video to youtube where you can hopefully watch this turning process in motion. Hope the link works.
Here it is...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7rWSl0koQw
As usual any comments, scathing criticisms or questions are most welcome.

Seems like some time ago that I added to this post, the finishing took quite some time. For these 2 windows I went for a marine grade varnish that required 5 coats!, and each coat needed some time to dry in the cooler climate down here.
Anyway, once the windows are ready to go I have marked the centre of the opening in the stud frame work and drilled a small hole right through the cladding. From the outside of the wall a set of trammels are used to mark the circle on the cladding, I have marked the circle with a 2mm clearance all round.
rr1.JPG The 2mm clearance all round is just the way I decided to go about it. No doubt if 10 different people had to do the job there would be different courses of action. As flashing a round window is problematic what I am after is a watertight seal. These windows have no eaves over them and will be exposed to extreme weather conditions.
Back on the inside of the room the windows are fixed to the studwork with suitable screws. The next picture shows the part of the window that protrudes through the wall. A weatherproof weatherboard gap filler has been squirted into the 2mm gap and then leveled flush with a putty knife. Have also used masking tape to keep the gap filler off the window frame where it protrudes from the wall.
rr2.JPG While waiting for the gap filler to dry, it's time to stick the glass in. Have glued it onto the rebate with silicone. The glass has been cut with a 3mm clearance all round to allow for possible movement of the frame. Have used 3 spacers here which will be removed when the initial silicone glue dries.
rr4.JPG Out of the picture there is a lump of wood leaning against the glass to hold it in place while the silicone sets. By this time the gap filler has skinned off enough to be able to paint over it. Have removed masking tape after 1st coat of paint and then re-masked for the second coat. The result is a pretty tidy weatherproof seamless joint.
rr3.JPG By this time the silicone has set enough on the glass to hold it in place, the spacers are taken out and then a neat quarter radius of silicone is applied to the outside of the glass using a fillet rubber of the right size. This one has been made from a bit of 3mm aluminium. I did mask off the window frame before putting the silicone in to avoid mess. So the following shot is of the fillet rubber and the finished silicone.
rr5.JPG So that's pretty well that! 2 shots of installed windows.........
rr7.JPGrr6.JPG Oh yeah, just for interests sake here is a picture of the internal stud frame work in case anyone was wondering.
rr8.JPG Still have to put in the internal lining yet. Will probably make a template of the outside diameter of the window frame so that it can be used to mark out on the timber panneling where the cuts have to go.

What a fantastic job. I am glad you posted a photo of the internal stud work as I had trouble picturing it.

Artful,

Thank you for the education. First class job, start to finish.

That is one very inspirational thread, thankyou for putting all that effort into sharing what must be a very satisfying job. Loved the video as well.

Thanks. enjoyed reading your process.

What other window shapes have you've done ? …. Guessing if they come to you for circles then you've got requests for other shapes. ovals ? love hearts ? suppose once the job gets away from the lathe it get a bit pricey.

ps. Got any spare pinch dogs you wanna sell ?

Hi Apricotripper. Must admit I have not made other shapes apart from round and square/rectangular. However using the segmented construction method (which is a really strong way of making them)you could really make them any shape you wanted like love hearts, ovals or even a big smiley face to go under the 2 round ones with eyebrows too boot!.....any shape you facied really. etc. The thing is you would have to somehow clean up the glued together segments once they have been made. It is all very possible considering how soft and easy to carve western red cedar is but it'd take a bit of time to do it compared to turning them. Yep! once it gets away from the lathe the price would go up. On the other hand there seems to be folk out there where price is irrelevant. Also if they are for your own place...who cares how long they might take to make, not as if you are going to charge/bill yourself!.

"Quote. Got any spare pinch dogs you wanna sell ? "

I don't have a pregnant "pinchbitch" in tow right now so cant help you there..... BUT...have seen them made from steel plate and am sure they would be easy to make. They are only really a square U section in profile with tapered internal sides( maybe say 10 degrees) on the inside of the bits that are hammered in.

Originally Posted by artful bodger

"pinchbitch"

Pinchbitch ! …. your attempts at humour are almost as bad as mine.

Don't you have a bucket full of them somewhere that you've been keeping for a rainy day on the chance some bloke asks if you have any to sell ? honestly. very inconsiderate.



hey thanks for the effort with all those photos. I found it easy to read.

cheers.

I would like to see a mouth shape window under the two round ones! But the glass would be pricey! Great job I must say!
I want to put vents in the gable end of the house! Might go with round instead of triangle!

Managed to sneak in a few hours last week to finish the inside of house, part of windows installation.
To start with, since blizzards and howling icy winds are a feature here in the winter and early spring, insulation is a must.
DSCF3858.JPG
Back in about 1990 when I was working with a bunch of blokes building pole frame houses, from Celery Top Pine! I bought a pack of reject grade myrtle panelling. I think it was reject grade because it might have had too much figuring, or a borer hole here, or some other equally abhorrent defection there,not straight grained etc,etc. So thought I might as well use and enjoy a bit of it before the inevitable.
DSCF3896.JPGDSCF3898.JPGDSCF3899.JPG
Nowdays you'd be lucky to buy a splinter of either Celery top pine or Myrtle as the "Orrible Green movement" seems to be calling the shots down here in Tassie. Jeez I could go on here but I wont.
Anyway back to the installation. Made a simple template of the outside diameter for the 2 larger windows and 1 smaller one out of 3mm MDF and used that to mark the corresponding radius on each bit of panelling. Used a jigsaw to cut the radius. A bit painstaking but the end result was pretty good. No need for architraves around windows.
Photo quality here is pretty average. The entry room is only 3.2 m x 2m and I dont have a wide angle lense for my camera.

Mate

thanks for this thread, even if I came in late
nice work, sorry very nice work

and that second grade myrtle looks brilliant