Thornewood Antics

[Manalto]

After four long years, I've finally begun with wooden window restoration and have carved out a work area in my overcrowded little house for the process.



The delay wasn't entirely my fault; I got sidetracked by the steel casement window restoration and installation on the sleeping porch, and then there were unavoidable delays in the form of family business, Covid and hurricanes. The closing on the house in Connecticut was Friday so I am now officially an Alabama resident.

I have about a million questions and Jade hasn't been around lately so I'm hoping y'all (too soon for this Yankee to use a Southernism?) can advise. I'm getting ready to order spring bronze from Kilian's and wondered about the fit. Tracks are 1 3/8" wide. What width would you recommend? Any tips or suggestions for weather-proofing the horizontal seals on the sash, or any window restoration tips in general? (I had a tutoring session with Jade at her shop a couple of years ago, which was worth its weight in gold.)

[Gothichome]

James, no more living the life of a transient. With all the visitors to the site on a daily basis one or some of them should be able to help with southern translations and idioms. I may be stereotyping but shouldn’t you be purchasing a red neck pick up truck and confederate flag? I only jest of course.
I think you should be fine with 3/4 bronze. Any thinner with the crease there would be very little width to nail through.
By the way, is that wavy glass I see in your sash?

[mjt]

Regarding idioms: "y'all" is singular. "All y'all" is plural.

[Manalto]

James, no more living the life of a transient.

It's a huge relief not to shuttle back and forth. It seems I always left the thing I needed at the other end.

I think you should be fine with 3/4 bronze. Any thinner with the crease there would be very little width to nail through.

Not sure what you mean. If it's 3/4", that is not an option for spring bronze, from Kilian's at least. Instructions say to allow "a matchstick" for movement, which I'm translating to 1/4" - that would leave 1 1/8" width. They have 1 1/8" spring bronze in 100' rolls, which would do 10 windows. (I have 16 windows in total, but 4 of them are smaller.)

By the way, is that wavy glass I see in your sash?

Yes, it's beautiful wavy glass and I broke one. Grrrrrrr! The windows are 6/1 and, fortunately, it was one of the (6) small panes. I have some wavy glass for back up if I don't break too many. I have no wavy glass for the bottom (~ 28 X 30) panes.

Regarding idioms: "y'all" is singular. "All y'all" is plural.

Nope. "Y'all" is plural "All y'all" ​is emphatic. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday, ya know.

[PaulJohnson]

Manalto

Sound like you are on your way to restoring the windows.
We purchased our 1750's antique home 4 years ago.That is when I found this forum and had a chance to speak with Jade for about and hour. From there I tackled some of our windows.

The window casings in our home are original - the sashes are not. They were retrofitted at some point over the years. Based on what I have found so far the top sashes are stationary and sit in fixed rabbets. The bottom sashes are free moving (no weights or ropes).

I have been trying to chronicle the restoration in our home. Below is a link to a set of videos I have posted. I hope you find them even a little bit helpful. Seeing as spent time with Jade, they may be too rudimentary.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsAqjf ... jFSMFDKBeA

[Manalto]

Thanks for the link, Paul. It's always useful to see someone else's techniques.

One of the many valuable tips I learned from Jade was to apply a 50/50 mixture of boiled linseed oil (BLO) and turpentine - known around these parts as "blopentine" - to the wood after sanding. Let soak in for an hour or so, wipe off excess, and let dry for at least a day.

[Gothichome]

Paul, I gave your vids a watch, interesting see how others are doing things. I do not use heat to soften the putty but work with the putties hardness and brittleness. I try to get a pointed scraper behind the putty and gently pry against the sash frame. I find I can often get one to two inch chunks to pop off. Just work my way around the sash keeping an eye out for the points. I pull the points out as I go around, one thing I have learned over the years is, there’s always one more point than you think here should be. This is almost a law when trying to coax a piece of precious wavy glass out of the frame.

[Gothichome]

James, you are correct, 3/4 is not available. My point was the narrower the width the less area for the nails. Oh, one other thing when installing use a pair of needle pliers, your fingers will feel much better in the end.

[Manalto]

I pull the points out as I go around, one thing I have learned over the years is, there’s always one more point than you think here should be. This is almost a law when trying to coax a piece of precious wavy glass out of the frame.

Ain't it the truth! As inexperienced as I am at this, it didn't take long for me to learn to do a complete perimeter check for missed points - then do it again.

I use the same "pop out" method as you, which also means a fair bit of scraping for those areas that don't release easily. I suspect most of the windows in this house are mixed-media glazing - they used whatever was available. The negligence of the previous owners is helping, though. The putty is so old and cracked, a fair amount of it comes out easily. There is no bedding putty in evidence. Did they not use bedding putty in those days (1919) or has it just disintegrated over time? I'm hoping my restoration will tighten things up for a more comfortable winter this year.

The window tracks are closer to 1 7/16". I had some trouble ordering using my phone so I called Kilian's directly and he said 1 1/4" wide spring bronze would be good, so that's what I ordered. He said even 1 3/8" would work because the dimension is 1/16" smaller than stated.

Another question: My donor windows for replacement wavy glass have putty in good shape. I never did build a steam box and the windows are pretty large anyway. Is there a solvent I can apply to soften this putty? I wonder if some mineral spirits or turpentine covered with plastic would work?

[Gothichome]

James sorry for the late response, if there is a magic concoction I haven’t found it.