Historic Window Restoration for the Cardinal Mill, Nederland, Colorado

The making of the usual Victorian windows, with hollow frames and sashes to slide up and down with cords and weights, was then a job cherished by the joiner. Every workman aspired to possess his complete set of sash ovolo moulding planes; his sash fillister for taking out the rebates to receive the glass; his brass-ended mitres for fitting the ends of the sash bars; his double-tooth gauge and mortice chisels.

Walter Rose, The Village Carpenter, 1937

Oh, to have my complete set of sash ovolo moulding planes! I spent all week restoring old sashes: two are original to the Cardinal Mill; I made an entire new one and in this photo I am trying to figure out how to re-size another old window to fit the openings at the mill.

This window is getting a new bottom rail, the old one was rotted and being on a tight schedule, I don't have the time to stabilize the wood with liquid epoxy. It's quicker to make a new rail.

This sash was missing all but 2 of its muntins, Mike and I spent about an hour milling some yellow pine into new muntin material. The only hitch was that I couldn't find a router bit that matches the original ovolo, and again, we don't have the time to have one specially made for the shop.

A brand new lower sash to mate with the original upper sash that I pulled out
of the mill. I made it as an exact copy of another original window as I could.

Here I am sawing out the mortise on an original stile for a new bridle joint.

Michael Lohr is a Park Technician II with Boulder County Parks and Open Space. He is also a wonderful photographer, do check out his website! In this photo, he is making his first muntins, he was very excited about learning how to make sashes. Mike is also a wonderful glazier, a hundred more windows and he'll be the best glazier ever! Hurray! That means I won't have to glaze windows anymore!

Last week, Mike had problems cutting glass, this week he got the hang of it, no more broken pieces, crooked cuts or over-sized cuts.

Yes, I do glaze windows and I am really good at it! We use DAP Brand Painter's Putty 53, it's readily available, it costs $9.95 at McGuckins Hardware in Boulder and it is a linseed oil and calcium carbonate glazing. Most other linseed oil based glazing is available only through mail order.

Stay tuned for more posting on work at the Cardinal Mill!