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Custom Milling Window Stools

Scooter1 | Posted in Construction Techniques on December 2, 2002 06:41am

The home has a pile of custom windows, none of which have stools (finished sills). The existing exterior window sill is at a fairly acute angle, which will necessitate custom milling a stool, e.g., using a table saw to cut an angled rabbet (at God knows what angle), and a hand saw to cut the horns.

Any tips on doing this drill? There are about 16 windows, several of which are coupled together, so the stool will be around 8 feet. Others are more traditional stools. All will be stain grade. Finished trim is Doug Fir in some rooms, and Red Oak in others, but mainly fir. The specs call for a 1 inch stool, which is a tough order here, and even the rough lumber will have to be special ordered.

I am not a big fan of milling Doug Fir, as it splinters like h e l l. My thought was to do the whole mess in Sugar Pine, which machines like a dream, or making a template out of Sugar Pine, and having a local window shop make up the stool in 8 foot lengths.

Anyone out there ever milled their own stools? Any free tips?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Boris

“Sir, I may be drunk, but you’re crazy, and I’ll be sober tomorrow” — WC Fields, “Its a Gift” 1927

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Replies

  1. User avater
    Qtrmeg | Dec 02, 2002 05:14pm | #1

    Boris, unless I am misunderstanding your question this is a simple tablesaw trick. 2 passes on the saw and you have your rabbet, use a featherboard for the angle cut if you want.

    Cut to length, router your edge profile. This is the only part I would worry about the fir, make 2 passes and watch the grain direction, (you are milling a couple extra pieces, right?).

    Scribe the stool to the window and cut the crosscuts on the ts using the miter gauge. I freehand the rips for the horns, blade way up and finish with a chisel. Chisel the mullion notches.

    No?

    1. RW | Dec 03, 2002 01:39am | #2

      Ditto. And when you cut the recess, you'll want to make it just a touch deeper than you really need to give you fudge room for any wall irregularities. The tiny gap at the bottom is covered by your apron.

      1. fredsmart48 | Dec 03, 2002 10:43am | #3

        To get the angle just use a bevel gage transfer angle to the table saw and cut away. 

  2. Ragnar17 | Dec 04, 2002 01:44am | #4

    Boris,

    Here's a "standard" window stool I use (most of my work is on 1910s and 1920s houses).  Anyway, the picture will show you how the rabbet is cut at an angle to fit onto the sill.  Most of the time, the angle is 10 degrees.

    The front edge can be cut in a number of ways... this one is generically refered to as a "french stool" in my part of the country (Seattle).

    I use fir all the time, since it was so abundant up here, and there isn't much trouble machining it provided you can get quality stock (i.e. tight grain).  I'm thinking you should be able to special order some 5/4 vertical grain stock without difficulty.  If not, let me know and I can give you the phone number of the yard I work with most of the time, and you might be able to set something up with them. 

    If you're going to stain, I'd stick with the fir so that it matches the rest of the trim in the house you're working on.  Sometimes, you can fake it with hemlock, depending on the color of the stain.

    The installation goes as others here have posted: hold the stool against the window and scribe.  I use my Bosch jigsaw with excellent results, and sometimes perform the cross-grain notches on my chop saw, and then clean out the corners by hand.

    I wanted to comment on the ends of the stools.  The original work (and the way I do it today) simply approximated the profile across the end grain.  With the french stool, I cut a few 45-degree wedges out and then sand things out so the edges are smooth.  As an alternative, you could return the ends via a miter (one guy I know does it that way), just like you would treat a window cap.

    Ragnar



    Edited 12/3/2002 5:57:03 PM ET by ragnar

  3. r_ignacki | Dec 04, 2002 01:49am | #5

    You may want to entertain the thought of modifying a stock piece that can be bought at a lumberyard. Check their offerings, I 'm thinking you could get both 3 1/2" rabbited and 5 1/2" in hardwood or primed fj. Might save you some time routing an edge profile, as someone pointed out, it's not a big prodution to cut the rabbitt on a tablesaw.

    Lumber:   I take home the best, and build with the rest.

  4. Snort | Dec 04, 2002 02:46am | #6

    Most windows, in my experience don't come with stools. Would make 'em a bitch to install. Not so sure about the 5/4 fir, but 5/4 oak stair treads in 8' lengths shouldn't be at all hard to come by.

    We have to customize most store bought stool, anyhow. Do like everybody else sez, and keep it about 1/8th from the sash...I'm pretty sure Jim Blodgett had an article about trimming windows in FHB that had extensive stool coverage...that guy is so into scat;-) and, unless yer showin' off, use the jigsaw<G>

    Best of luck, BB

    It's okay, I can fix it!

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