Sash Repair - Joints

[wobs]

I'm in the middle of a sash repair. Two side windows, and while the frame has been repaired, the sashes are in need of some TLC.

One of the windows was broken when I stripped some of the paint off a few years ago (thinks happen slowly at Wobs Acres), and so I have removed the glass (without breaking it again - a real achievement for me), and now the joints at the bottom are loose. This is a bottom sash.

There are wedges there, and I could probably hit them home properly to improve matters, but was wondering if I should drill and dowel, or nail the joint together? or just glue?!

I have even invested in some cramp heads, following Feltwell's excellent work and example on his sash windows. Some of the other sashes show signs of the joints coming loose (there are gaps in them), so I may have to take other apart as well.

 

[88v8]

If you can get the top joints apart, dismantle the whole sash, clean the joints back to sound wood and reglue, carefully reusing the wedges.

More likely, the top joints are still good.
In this case, the quick fix is to remove the bottom wedges, clean out the joints and reglue with a waterproof PVA or a two-pack such as Aerodux 185.

The better job is to undo those good joints by stripping off the paint, soaking them in vinegar and applying gentle heat and gentle twisting. Patience required. Do not apply too much force, easy to break things. If the joints are resistant, then drilling some small - 1/8" or less - holes into them from the inside will help the vinegar penetrate.
The wedges themselves may have had glue applied, or not. Needle nose pliers may help get them out, then it's easier to attack the mortice & tenon.

If it has previously been glued with epoxy, then it can be undone with acetone.

Then you will be able to dry, clean up and reglue the whole thing, being careful to get it square. Fastidiously keep the wedges in their current positions, each one is likely different. A well-glued parallelogram would be a bit of a disaster.

Ivor