Any advice for making plantation shutters?
I need to make some plantation shutters. I do not have a shaper so will have to use a router setup. About the only thing that I can find is Woodlines set: http://www.amazon.com/Woodline-WL-20.../dp/B000JES9XC Looks like the only bit that is not common is the bit to shape the louvers. They also have the pin and tension kit. I suppose that the bits are of a quality to make at least a set of shutters for one window---or not. At least they have the instructions for building the shutters which I downloaded from their site.
Any ideas or suggestions?
What about the quality of the Woodline bits? Other options?
Plantation shutters - alternate way to form slats
I built a jig to form the slats for plantations shutters using a planer. I have pictures somewhere at home.
The jig is pretty simple. Take three boards routing dados (if it is along the grain is it a dado or a groove I always forget) on two of the boards so you can assemble a long sled that from the end looks like an H . When you make the dados in the two boards make them different distances from the bottom edge. This will make the "H" sit a little sideways (like an italic H) This will determine the angle of planing.
Simply load a slat blank into the gap in the H, plane down, reverse the board and plane the other edge of the same face. This is the first side of the slat.
I took one of the boards with the first side of the slat ripped it and glued the pieces into the gap in the H that is on the opposite side. This provides a place to set the blank with the first side machined so the second side can be machined. This may be a bit cleared when I can get the pictures off my home machine.
Edges can be rounded over with a regular round over bit.
One of the issues will be jigging up to center the pivot pin hole consistently. One of the guys(a machinist by trade) from the woodworking club where I used live suggested a guide similar to that used to form the slat, mounted on end on a router table to plunge the slat directly on a spiral bit.
Luckily we moved before I had to complete the project. Plantation shutters may be nice to look at, but we found them a pain to live with.
Regards
John
5 Attachment(s)
Plantation shutter jig PICTURES
Here are pictures of the jig. I have also attached a pdf of the dimensions I used the jig. A sample of a slat is shown, (this is a slat that looks a little on the thick side. You can adjust your stock starting thickness to get the dimensions you want.). The last photo shows a short piece demonstrating the machining of one side of the slat.
John