Challenge Met - Very Cool Tip for machining face tapers - Admin
Recently I was challenged by a problem. There is a pair of double hung windows that look out into my new sunroom. I wanted to replace the existing exterior trim with the same oak trim that I have done on the inside. I removed the old trim and went to install the new when I discovered that there was a gap between the sash guides and the casing. For me, this gap was not acceptable. The lower right corner was where it should be, but the top right was in about 1/4”. On the left, the bottom was in 5/32” and the top 1/2”. I would have to have wedges that were about 61” long with various tapers (0-1/4”, 1/4-1/2”, 5/32-1/2” and 5/64-3/8”).
I could trim out the window as usual and then add wedges to fill the gap. This is awkward and would not give the finished look I want. I could make some one time jigs to precisely cut wedges on the table saw that could then be glued to the underside of the casing pieces. I have an aversion to one time jigs since I have a number of them scattered around the shop that have only been used once. Cutting long thin pieces like this on the table saw can be dangerous and difficult. I could rough cut wedges with the band saw and glue them to the casing pieces. Then I could either hand plane them to fit, a lot of planeing for my old hands, or make a jig or jigs… Oops, I don’t like one time jigs and I’m not sure I could make a reusable jig for this application.
The solution was staring me in the face. I have recently built a custom PBB (Power Bench and Bridge) with the EurekaZone Bridge and rails. I rough cut the wedges from 3/4” X 1 1/2” oak stock which took about 5 minutes on the PBB. I glued them to the underside edge of the casing stock and then in about 15 minutes, set up the PBB (I had to raise the rail higher than usual - 3 1/2”) and cut them. A little hand fitting with the hand plane and they will be ready to install. I love my PBB, it makes the difficult easy an safe to do.
This is the setup, had to raise the bridge to 3 1/2".
This is the narrow end (5/32" on this one).
This is the thick end (1/2" on this one).
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Finally installed
