Stainless Steel Repair Brackets?

[Geoff Flegg]

Anyone know where you can buy "L" shaped stainless repair brackets from?

Loads of places (Screwfix, Toolstation) etc sell them as self-coloured steel, Bright Zinc Plate or Electro-Brass finish, but ideally I'd like stainless so I know they won't rust - or at least Galvanised mild steel, rather than just BZP.

I thought yacht chandlers might do them, but no luck so far.

Needed for re-attaching/ re-inforcing the joints of bottom rails to side rails of some sashes that have seen better days.

 

[BMcD]

Is this the sort of thing?
http://www.gibsonstainless.com/stainless_struts.htm

 

[chuckey]

If the sashes are out, how about putting in a couple of 10mm oak dowells from the edge with some decent weatherproof glue. Its nice and neat (surface is flush). The only problem is sourcing suitable dowelling, I could not find any mail order, but found a source quite close by (Twyford, Hants) under wood turning. I think Gibsons bits are too big for domestic use.
Frank

 

[gsport george]

Do you want the sort that are flat plates to fit to the face, or the sort that are bent to fit on the outside of the corner? How many do you need? If you want a fair few, then it might be economical (certainly cheaper than anything you will find in most chandlers) to get them laser cut and you can then design them to be a really good fit. Or you could just get the self colour ones galvanised...

We have several mild steel (planar) ones on sashes here and they havent done a lot of good to be honest, however I have no idea how long they have been on there so they may be OK for extending the life for a few years until you fix things "properly"...

 

[Geoff Flegg]

Thanks for the replies. I don't need many - currently just enough for 1 window, although that will go up as I tackle other windows and get them freed I expect. (Majority are painted shut....)

I went to to B&Q this lunchtime, and by chance spotted some quite hefty (around 3 to 4mm thick) mild steel brackets that were epoxy powder coated, quite thickly - I'll give those a go. Ultimately I think a new sash will be needed, but if I can put that off a bit longer then so much the better.

I'd thought of the dowel idea - in fact I'll be using it to repair some broken joints on some doors - but I'm not convinced with the sash that the timber in the area concerned is good enough for this to work very well. I'll check it again once the sash is out, I may do that as well as the brackets.

Geoff

 

[Penners]

The only problem is sourcing suitable dowelling

Frank - next time you're looking for dowelling, have a poke about in your nearest DIY shed. They all have the familiar racks of timber mouldings (hockey stick, glass bead, ogee, etc. etc.), and you can invariably find 2.4m lengths of dowelling in a variety of diameters.

 

[Moo]

I've not seen any that claim to be oak, though.
"Hardwood", certainly; would that do the job ok?

 

[gsport george]

For a small amount like this it wouldnt be too bad to make your own short dowels by sharpening up an off-cut of oak and hammering it through a hole in some steel... assuming you have some suitable bits of oak knocking about...

George

 

[chuckey]

The stuff that the local big sheds sell is ramin, OK for interior use, nor known for its longevity when wet. The trouble with making your own dowels is that for a job such as this, they need to be at least 3 1/2" if not 5" long. what a PITA to make. I must confess I have made a striater (?) - thing for putting a groove or two down the length of a long dowel, to let the glue and air out.
Frank

 

[Penners]

The stuff that the local big sheds sell is ramin

Some of it, yes, but some of the larger diameters are also softwood. Perfectly good for dowelling a softwood window.

Fluting your dowels is good practice (if time consuming!). As Frank says, it ensure more certain penetration of the dowel (ie, not air pockets) and allows surplus glue to flow out. It also increases the surface area of dowel exposed to the glue, so giving a stronger hold.

Commercially produced beech dowels are widely available pre-fluted.

 

[Moo]

Thanks for that nugget, Penners. I'd wondered why some dowels have grooves and was dimly aware that, given their function, it was unlikely to be for purely aesthetic reasons.
One needs o know such things.

 

[Penners]

Having re-read my last post, I'm amazed that you actually understood it - it's full of typos!

Anyway, you're right, Moo. There are probably people in this world who have no idea how much they don't know about dowels. :|