Window Trim Fascia A Photo Essay

This is a little out of the norm for a post here at the Penultimate Woodshop, but I was working on the trim to my bay window today and I photographed the milling of the relatively complex (for a fascia board) trim which caps the sides of the bay window. I thought Id take a brief break from the Wanderful Saga and present the fascia milling photos as a photo essay. The trim is Versatex PVC and once milled it is fastened using stainless steel trim head screws. Here goes:

The trim piece set up under the jig I made for milling the 30 degree angles next to a test piece.

Milling the angle.

Using relative dimentioning to mark the slight cut that gets made at the end.

Cutting perpendicular to the main 30 degree cut. This cut to to adjoin the fascia  on the wall adjacent to the window. Yes, I know the saws not cutting, but I couldnt cut and take a photo at the same time.

All cut.

Determining the width of the fascia above the window by referencing the adjoining fascia.

About to cut of the excess at the other end.

Cut and ready for milling.

Determining the router bit depth by adjusting it to my line.

Marking of the angled cut needed to fit tight to the soffit, which is not plumb.

Using a melamine shelf as a reference for the bushing guided bit to mill the angled cut.

I didnt clamp the melamine to the trim piece well enough and made a small mess with the cut. Luckily this is the top and the joint between the fascia and soffit will get caulked anychoice so I can hide this.

Trimming the wide end ever so slightly so that it is perfectly flush with the adjoining fascia piece.

A test fit. So far, so good.

Milling the notch to accommodate the window.

I clamped this board to the fascia piece and used it as a reference for my hand saw to square up the router cut.

Cleaning up the inside corner (yes, you can chisel PVC trim).

The notch to accommodate the window.

A nice, tight fit between the fascia on the side of the window and the fascia along the eave.

The installed fascia piece.

The next piece of trim to mill and install will the the extension of the eave fascia to bring its bottom edge flush with the fascia on the sides of the window. Ill biscuit the fascia along its length to ensure the pieces stay flush.

The bay window, almost completely trimmed.

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Tooooot!!!

That noise you read in the post title is the sound of my horn. Yes, Im tooting it myself. Im lucky enough to have my Sliding Storage Cabinet featured as the winning Trick of the Trade in this months Popular Woodworking Magazine. (August 2011). Id like to thank Kari Hultman and the Popular Woodworking Magazine Editors for choosing my cabinet.

Revealing the slide out pegboard drawers.

The Sliding Storage Cabinet is one of the first projects I blogged about here at the Penultimate Woodshop. It has five (5) slide out pegboard drawers, each of which holds tools ready for quick action and keeps them dust free while the drawer is closed. Its a cheap and handy project that Id encourage anyone short on wall space to build. Just post a comment if youd like more info on constructing one.

The cabinet in all its glory, flanked by cords & hoses.

If you don’t read Popular Woodworking Magazine you’re doing yourself a disservice. Beyond publishing my Sliding Storage Cabinet the magazine is filled with experience, projects and insight from some of the greatest woodworkers practicing today. You really should check it out.

If you cant get enough slide out goodness, heres a link to the build photos.

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Its Wanderful Part 5

Finally, the sanding was done and it was time for finish. Given the shape of the wands, I made a drying rack for them before beginning the finish. The rack is made of two pieces of .040 aluminum which were bent into an L shape in order to hold the wand on the 40 mil thick end of the aluminum sheets.

My impromptu finishing station set up on my Dust Deputy.

On advice from The Wood Whisperer I used Charles Neil’s Blotch Control (luckily I was able to order it before his store went on summer hiatus). It seems to have worked well (no blotches in the final finish) but did raise the grain considerable. I sanded after the first coat of Blotch Control with 320 grit and after the second with 600 grit.

Between the coats of Blotch Control application.

Next came the dye. I used two (2) coats of General Finishes Water Based Dye Stain in Merlot for the business end of the wands. I applied the dye using a foam brush and rubbed it in and off with a cotton rag. For the handles I started with two (2) coats of General Finishes Water Based Dye Stain in Ebony. As the tone lacked the depth I was looking for, I added India Ink to the dye for the third coat. This added depth, though if I was to do it again I would be much more liberal in my adding of India Ink to the dye. I was given the India Ink advice on Twitter, and I’m embarrassed to say I don’t remember who recommended it, so whoever you are, thank you.

Merlot on the business ends.

Ebony on the Handles.

Once the dying was done, I finally moved on to finish. In order to finish the wands I applied 12 coats of 1 lb shellac. The shellac was applied with a foam brush in a manner similar to the dye. The first 5 coats were done using amber shellac, hoping that the amber color would add a richness of tone. When it didn’t, I switched to a 1 lb cut of clear shellac I already had mixed up rather than mix a new cut of amber shellac for the final 7 coats.

Eyeing down the wands, mid-shellacing.

The rapid dry time of shellac allowed me to apply all 12 coats in less than 5 days. Once the final coat had dried for 12 hours, I buffed it out with synthetic steel wool and wands were complete. They were apparently the hit of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II screening that my family went to on the opening Friday night.

The finished wands, ready for the movies.

Over the following weekend my Sister-in-Law even told me how much she liked the wand, and all she needed now was a wand stand. Work on the stands began the following week.

Its Wanderful: Part 1

Its Wanderful: Part 2

Its Wanderful: Part 3

Its Wanderful: Part 4

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