Plantation Shutters

[JimD]

I have mentioned these a few times in posts but not posted any pictures. I like others pictures so I decided it was time to post a couple. I have finished 5 windows, two shutters per window. I used the Woodline router bit setup. All except the center louver in each shutter is mdf. The center louver and the frame is poplar. Finish is Kilz Total one primer and then two coats of Resisthane gloss tinted white. I hate the finishing part but the rest is pretty easy. The hardware is from Rocklers - hinges, knobs and catch (the brass knob set comes with a simple catch). Pins came from both Rocklers and Woodline - they are the same. My jigs are some from Norm's plan and some from Woodlines (their plans come with the bit set) and some from me. I put my jig for using my PC 690 plunge router to make the pin holes and also the mortises for loose tenons. I use a woodscrew in the center for tension rather than the special pins that Rockler provides. My shutters are about 5 feet tall with no center rail so the woodscrew in the center helps to keep them straight.

One of my pictures is the setup I use for making the louvers. I messed with this awhile but it works well now. Feather boards are cut up cutting boards which hold the stock down and tight to the fence - in the center where the 3 inch wide louvers are flat. For MDF, I route in two passes removing 1/32 or less on the final pass. For poplar, I do three passes. My router table has a built in homemade lift so it is easy to raise the bit between passes.

Jim

[footprintsinconc]

very nice! i like the setup.

i cant show this picture to my wife, she's going to ask me where is our bed!?! that's the reason i was able to spend so much on the buying tools .

[jhart]

Turned out very nice Jim. I don't think I want my wife to see them either, she'll start getting ideas, and we have way too many windows!!

[lrogers]

Those are NICE! I watched his "NORMNESS" make those once, theres a lot work there!

[John Hunter]

Very nice.

[iceman61]

Great job Jim!

I purchased the Norm/Yankee Workshop plans last year & have had an itch every since. This is going to be my 1st project hopefully, when I get the shop completed. I've been wondering how to handle that taper on the slates, since Norm did it with the shaper & the special order bit.

Jim, I know I will have a ton of questions for you once the shop is completed. Anyway good job.

[skipwill]

Jim,

Shutters look great!

A year or so ago I made a small set for loml's bathroom window. Turned out pretty well...however....beware all....now she wants me to make a pair for all of the windows in the house...14 windows in all....

I havent started yet<g>.

Skip
www.ShopFileR.com

[JimD]

iceman,

The Woodline bit set has a router bit to do the taper. It takes a minimum of 4 passes to make the profile, however. I actually do 8 for mdf. It sounds worse than it is, however. I made about 100 (enough for 2 1/2 windows in my house) in a day and that included getting the mdf. I made 30 last Sunday in a little more than an hour. The picture of my router table above shows the setup for cutting the louver profile that I use.

I can make a set of shutters for one window in about 8 hours shop time. That does not include finishing, however. That is probably another 4 hours or so of shop time spread out over several days (the primer needs the better part of a day to dry and the mdf louvers need two coats of primer). I never work 8 hours straight in the shop so the initial cutting everything to size and cutting of the joints is about a weekend for me. If I am lucky that might include initial glue-up and sanding.

I agree with all the comments about the time involved. I told LOML that I would do at least our bedroom and probably the two guest rooms. I have the shutters for the second guest room in the finishing process at the moment. That leaves 4 windows in the two kids bedrooms plus everything on the first floor. The first floor is iffy because we already have wooden blinds and while we like the shutters better I don't think LOML will want to throw away the blinds. I will probably do the kids bedrooms but may take a break first. The bedrooms are a higher priority because the blinds in them are the inexpensive plastic plantation shutters (made of some sort of foam board) and are not looking so great (been up ~7 years - purchased just to get something in the windows of our then new house).

My other cautionary note is that even making plantation shutters yourself they are not exactly cheap. The hardware for one window is about $25 (I use 3 sets of hinges, pins for the louvers and a knob set, all inexpensive but it adds up). Wood is about the same so I figure about $50 per window not including the bit set. We did not pay a lot more than this for what we think are pretty decent wooden blinds on the first floor. To buy shutters for the windows I am doing would be at least $300 and at that price I would probably have to finish them myself (my least favorite part). It would not be hard to spend $500 per window to get finished plantation shutters similar in quality - especially since I am making a custom moulding to mount the shutters far enough from the window to permit 3 inch louvers. You save a bunch versus buying the equivalent window treatment but there are other window treatments that are not bad that will be close to or less than making plantation shutters yourself.


Jim

[skipwill]

Jim,

MDF does good for the louvers? I used basswood for mine, but would like to use something a lttle cheaper... I used poplar for the frames, etc.

BTW, a note for Iceman... Norm cheated big time! He used a big molding machine with a custom made cutter for the louvers. If you use his plans, you may have to substitute another way of doing those<g>... On my first set of shutters, I just rounded the edges of the louvers and didnt taper them. They looked ok. Since, I have bought (but not used) the plantation shutter set that Jim mentioned for the next pair(s)

Skip
www.ShopFileR.com

[iceman61]

Thanks for the ideas.

Skip, I picked up on Norm's big time cheat. Every since then, I've been trying to think of all the different way to accomplish the taper on the slats. Came up with a few but the router alternative Jim is talking about seems the most feasable, since the project bits are available. I have a JessEm table, Mast R Lift Excel, & the whole JessEm setup with a Milwaukee router ready to put in the new shop which should make short work out of the slats.

I'm leaning towards the basswood for the slats though since I'm still scratching my head over the MDF slats. As long as I can get this done for the same or under as opposed to buying I'll be happy, not counting the bit cost. I have a sneaking feeling that I'm going to doing Pinewood Derby cars before I get to work on the shutters because my son already has his order in. LOL

[smorris]

I used MDF and the woodline bits to make the louvers for the plantations shutters I'm making. Cut a sheet of 1/2" MDF into 2 1/2" x 4' strips and had those all shaped in about 8 hours. I did get some sniping at the ends but it was only the last couple inches of those 4 foot strips and that was in the waste area so all is well. Bear in mind the amount of dust to be made, my Delta dust collector was empty when I started and had to be emptied about 3/4 of the way through the process.

[Black wallnut]

Those look great Jim! Do you have a link to the bit you bought?

[Jeffrey Schronce]

BTW, a note for Iceman... Norm cheated big time! He used a big molding machine with a custom made cutter for the louvers.

I will be "cheating" as well! The moulder cutter is pretty standard stock now and run under $100. I am interested in this MDF instead of basswood.

For those of you planning to build these shutters, if there is enough interest I may run a bunch of this stuff on my molder.

[JimD]

http://www.amazon.com/Woodline-WL-20.../dp/B000JES9XC

If I did it right this should get you to the bits I used. They include some pins and a magazine article that effectively gives you plans. I did not follow the plans strictly but they were still useful to have.

MDF is cheap and works fine but is part of my struggle with finishing. Once you machine mdf, it wants to suck up any finish more than wood does. If anybody figures out a good primer that will allow only one coat to work well, I am interested. I use Kilz Total one which works but I typically need two coats with significant sanding after the first coat. I tried sanding the mdf first but I think that is a waste of time. I just put a coat of primer on, sand, and then reprime before applying the Resisthane water based lacquer. I spend at least an hour sanding 30 louvers (less than one windows worth) last night.

I also use four foot strips for the louvers. I have done shorter but 4 foot seems like a good length. I think longer would be hard to move smoothly and shorter gives you more ends where it is harder to have a consistent pace past the bit.

Jim