The Frankenjig

[Cherryville Chuck]

Wifey has been wanting me to screen in the porch. She hates bugs. The 4 window openings are about 7 1/2, 8, 10, and 10 so I decided the only practical way would be to put in a group of frames in each opening rather than try to screen them in one shot. So I milled up the rails and stiles and cut a rabbet and then a groove into one lip of the rabbet for the spline and screen to fit into. The only spline I could get enough of was .160 so I tried cutting a groove with a 5/32" slot cutter and it works but is a little tight. I should have given 3/16 a try to see if it would be tight enough but I didn't.

I wanted to use a wooden spline to join the rails and stiles so I built the jig in the pictures to hold the stiles upright so I could run them over a full kerf blade. I wanted to use a 1/4" spline so two passes side by side gave a wide enough slot. When I built the jig I cut a rabbet on the edge of a board that fit snugly onto the extrusion of the Unifence rail and attached it to the jig so that I could use the fence to guide the jig rather than a runner. Doing it that way allowed to adjust it to where I wanted by moving the fence. Simple and easy.

I wanted to do all the passes with the fence in one position so to do that I added 1/8" shims on the jig. The shims are the white plastic rectangles screwed to the jig. Available from LV and only about $4 a set of 4 each of 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4. I highly recommend having a set or two around. Without altering the fence position it was make one set of cuts on all the pieces with the shims in place and one set of cuts without them.

To do the rails to match I held them tightly against the face of the jig and pushed them into the saw blade up to a stop. Same thing, one set of cuts with the shims, one set of cuts without. The other end of the rails was a little trickier. I moved the jig on the fence rail so that the side closest to me was just about even with the front edge of the blade and I added a stop that was notched to fit over the blade. To notch the rails I had to put the rail up against the stop and lower it slowly onto the blade. I was a little concerned doing the first one but as long as the rail stayed against the stop it was a non issue. Same procedure. One set of cuts with shims in place and one set of cuts without. To make sure the jig stayed put I clamped it to the Unifence. One photo shows the jig set for that job.

This is probably the ugliest jig I've ever made. It is all from left over bits and pieces. Once done with it most of it went into the burn pile. Still, it got the job done. The frames are turning out pretty good and the spline joint is plenty strong enough.

[Stick486]

excellent!!!

[Bushwhacker]

Our back porch is 10 x 17, with two exits, one to the left side and one to the front or out into the back yard. The Studs are double 2x4s @ 3" OC.
I simply stapled screen to the top of the spaces, rolled it down, stapled the bottom and then the sides. Finally I trimmed to spaces on the out side. Done.
Squirrel's had a party back there while we were out of town and tore 2 different holes in my screens. I left a bag of bird seed out.
Yesterday, I removed the trim from the offending spaces, tore out the screen, and re tacked the tops then the bottoms,
Well you get the idea. Only took a few minutes.

Bushwhacker

[Nickp]

Very creative, Charles...job well done...!

[Herb Stoops]

Did you have any trouble stretching the screen without bowing in the long side?
Herb

[HandyDan]

Nice neat job. Well done. When creating a slot on the table saw and it is a little to narrow, a piece of tape on the arbor washer will turn the blade into a wobble dado blade and will effect a slightly wider slot.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Did you have any trouble stretching the screen without bowing in the long side?
Herb

I was concerned about that Herb so on the first few I cut a piece of wood to fit between the stiles to limit the possibility. You can see it in the one photo where I was in the process of installing the screen. It does a tiny bit. At least I think it does. I've stuck two finished frames side by side in one opening and there is maybe a 1/16" gap in the middle. I don't know yet if that will happen between every pair of frames. My plan is to either attach small blocks of wood about 1/4" thick to the frames and pull them together before screwing them on. Or add a full length strip. Stained the same color it won't be that noticeable.

One thing I found that helped prevent that was to take the proper roller tool to install the spline with and roll the screen down into the groove with the rounded wheel side. A kind of pre-forming it. It also made getting the spline in easier. I tried using it to install the spline but the groove is a little too tight for that. You have to push down too hard and eventually roll off it. If you roll off to the inside you cut the screen. I found it was safer to use a screwdriver I modified by grinding the tip a little fatter and putting it on the middle of the spline and rolling it towards the outside of the frame. That corkscrews it into the groove and I think the corkscrew reduces the diameter of the spline a bit. I should have tried a 3/16" cutter.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Nice neat job. Well done. When creating a slot on the table saw and it is a little to narrow, a piece of tape on the arbor washer will turn the blade into a wobble dado blade and will effect a slightly wider slot.

I could do that with the rails since the groove goes end to end but the stiles are stopped cuts. So the larger the diameter of the cutting tool, the farther back you have to stop and the more hand work needs to be done to join the grooves at the junction and to the correct depth. That's why I opted to use a slot cutter. It had the smallest radius of any tool I had to do the job with. My Fein multitool sliced the wood at the junction to the right depth and width and a 1/8" inch chisel removed the waste.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Our back porch is 10 x 17, with two exits, one to the left side and one to the front or out into the back yard. The Studs are double 2x4s @ 3" OC.
I simply stapled screen to the top of the spaces, rolled it down, stapled the bottom and then the sides. Finally I trimmed to spaces on the out side. Done.
Squirrel's had a party back there while we were out of town and tore 2 different holes in my screens. I left a bag of bird seed out.
Yesterday, I removed the trim from the offending spaces, tore out the screen, and re tacked the tops then the bottoms,
Well you get the idea. Only took a few minutes.

Bushwhacker

It's been about 30 years since I added the porch but as best I remember the top of the openings is probably 3 two by tens laminated together. The height of the bottoms was probably an exercise to use the materials I needed as efficiently as possible with as little waste as possible. That left the openings 63" tall. The roll of screen I bought was 60" which meant I had to add some wood in the openings to get below that width. The openings are also at around 8 inches wide so even if I had screen wide enough, just stapling it to one side would look out of balance. I also hope to add either glass or heavy plastic (like boat canopy windows) at some time to the frames. On days when it is around -20 or colder here I figure that will help keep the house warmer and on warm winter days solar gain might be enough to be able to sit out on the porch and enjoy the view. If a bird flies into one of them it's a small job to replace that one.

[Herb Stoops]

Thanks for all the explanation and pictures,Chuck. Making screens is a challenging job,and I am sure most woodworkers are presented with that task at one time or another. I never mastered it, I must say and admire those that do. Making the frames I can do OK, but installing the screening is the hardest part in my book,especially large ones like you are doing.
I think the cleat to hold the centers together is an excellent idea, and by clamping them before screwing the cleat will help put that tiny bit of tension on the sides to keep them bowing.
Good job, Chuck.
HErb

[Cherryville Chuck]

You have to stay focused on the tool and how it is contacting the spline, either the proper roller type or the modified screwdriver I'm using. Let your focus wander for a few seconds and you slide off the spline and tear the screen. It is a tedious job.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Finished up a couple of days ago with the screen project the jig was for. I originally didn't think I was going to like the way they look, that I preferred just the large openings, but they seem to dress the overall look up a bit and the little woman who ordered me to do it is happy.

[Herb Stoops]

WOW, there is a lot of them (12), that was quite the project. Will you leave them in over winter?
They came out great, I am assuming you used the plastic woven screen. Are the plastic, or glass winter frames going to be in frames too?
Herb

[Stick486]

what Herb said....

[Nickp]

WOW...they look great...really dresses up the joint...

The little woman obviously had a picture in her mind of what she wanted...happy wife, happy life...

[Cherryville Chuck]

WOW, there is a lot of them (12), that was quite the project. Will you leave them in over winter?
They came out great, I am assuming you used the plastic woven screen. Are the plastic, or glass winter frames going to be in frames too?
Herb

I used aluminum screen because it's more durable, but it is harder to put in the frames. I haven't decided about the glass/plastic yet. I've looked at 40 gauge polished plastic that's used for windows in canvas boat canopies. I can only find it in 54 and 72" widths and that's from US suppliers which makes the shipping exorbitant. I'd ship it to a Kinek drop site in Oroville, Wa if I could cross the border to pick it up there. But right now that's not an option. I haven't found a Canadian source yet for the same thing. I haven't priced out storm type glass lately. There might not be that much difference, it's just harder to store when not needed.

[Herb Stoops]

Chuck, How hard was it to fix the squirrel hole? I guess he didn't care it was brand new?
Herb

[Cherryville Chuck]

Herb I have 3 cats that go outside and love to hunt. No issue with squirrels. However, I do have a hole in one of the screen sections in the door. I was told by one of my kids that a bird flew beak first into it. One of the reasons I decided on multiple screens instead of one large one per opening. There is one other spot of damage on the door caused by my sister in law's dog. I told her if it happens again I won't touch the dog but I will kick her in the ass.

[Herb Stoops]

I wonder if something like this would work so you didn't have to remove and store the screen panels.
HErb
https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Window- ... 790&sr=8-6

[Cherryville Chuck]

That's an interesting idea. It shows it being used on the inside of a window. It would be exposed to the wind on my porch. I would need it on the outside of the screens as I don't want snow blowing in and getting caught between the glass or film and the frames.

[Herb Stoops]

The problem with storing the screens is the chance of damage from removal and handling.
You are wise to put them outside,as the screen will help back up the plastic from the wind. Storing them rolled up around a cardboard tube might work well too.Hopefully the plastic will not turn yellow or too brittle in the winter. The labor difference might offset the cost of ridge plastic/glass and frames .
Herb

[Cherryville Chuck]

The plastic I've looked at is UV resistant. Boat windows usually go for a decent number of years before they turn and they are exposed to sun all year usually and the summer sun should be much harder on them than just winter sun. Plastic is much easier to store and won't break. Glass is much longer lasting but needs a good secure storage space where nothing can hit them. And they are much heavier to handle. With a 72" wide roll of the plastic I could do the openings with one continuous piece each which would save a lot of time installing them.

[Herb Stoops]

I just watched the videos and I think maybe I could even do that,
be sure to scroll down and read the 1 star & 2 star reviews, some very interesting ones. You may want to put a few screws in each side to keep the assembly in place.
Herb

[OutoftheWoodwork]

excellent!!!

What he said!!!^^^

[Cherryville Chuck]

Thanks Barb.

Herb I think I would probably put a few screws in too. There has to be a source up here somewhere.

[Herb Stoops]

Most of the complaints seem to be that the tape doesn't hold long. I have had the same experience with double back tape of different kinds, eventually they seem to let go. But that does accomplish the job of holding it in place til screws can be installed. The whole idea and concept is a good one.
Herb