A Festool perspective on Plantation Shutters or "(adjustable) Louvered shutters"

[Ocram]

Over here there are 18 Shutter Kits Video Tips.

Shutter video'shttp://www.paulowniaparadise.com.au/videoMenu.htm

And a few pics of suutters whit a hidden tilt rod

Who will post the first self made blind shutter pic

 

[woodguy7]

Festoller, originally i was going to use the wand on the front but never been totally keen on it.  I was going to put the wand over to the side approx 50mm from the end of the slats.  But i love the idea of the hidden bar & will do a dummy run to try it out.  I will do the dummy run from pine for cheapness but i have a stock of western red cedar which i may use if it works out.  I read that the cedar is good as it is light in weight & wont buckle with the direct sunlight.

I like the idea of the last picture Ocram posted.

Woodguy.

 

[CDM]

Given how far open the rabbeted version opens, I would guess that each louver pivots on a metal (probably) or wooden axle.  Inside the side frame structure, this would attach to a small gear wheel.  The teeth of the gear wheel would fit into matching teeth on a linear slide.  Push the slide up, and all the gears that rest on it turn - along with their attached louvers - one way, push the slide down, and the gears and louvers turn the other way.

That's how I would do it at EUR 525/square meter.

Okay, I just looked for parts, and this structure already has a name - "rack and pinion".  Each little gear is a "pinion" and the toothed slide is a "rack".

There are some examples at http://www.smallparts.com in the power transmission products section.

 

[wubears71]

Some thing i read a while ago about tensioning the slats.  Some company's replace one pin around the centre with a screw so that if the mechanism becomes too slack & the slats want to fall closed all the time, you just remove a plug & put a turn on the screw.  Because all the slats are linked they all stay open.

Woodguy.

I actually have the exact opposite issue with the Louvers.  Everything moved great before painting.  I primed/painted the interior parts of the frame before assembly to prevent over-spray when doing the final finish.  However, once I glued it all up and assembled it, the louver movement was extremely tight.  Basically, the little bit of paint/primer that got into the holes made the holes too tight.  After 2 years, they've loosened up, but still aren't as smooth as I would like them to be.

 

[woodguy7]

Tim, did you use wood or metal pins ?  I bought a big box of metal pins a while ago & i presume they would work better than wood.  I suppose it might be better to drill after painting then ?  Not to practical though.

The thing is though, if they slacken over time then you have no way of tightening them up ? 

Woodguy.

 

[wubears71]

Tim, did you use wood or metal pins ?  I bought a big box of metal pins a while ago & i presume they would work better than wood.  I suppose it might be better to drill after painting then ?  Not to practical though.

The thing is though, if they slacken over time then you have no way of tightening them up ? 

Woodguy.

I used Nylon shutter pins - http://www.profhdwr.com/34500.htm

 

[festoller]

Just checking back for new information.

I had a few other things to take care of, but since the sunny season is slowly starting here in Germany I'll probably start with the first shutter soon.

Anyone else already started with a new try based on the information we collected until now?

 

[woodguy7]

Festoller,

I thought i would have had one done by now but been busy.  I am going to try to get something done this weekend even if it is a scaled down dummy run.

There will be pictures as soon as i do.

Woodguy.

 

[zapdafish]

I looked into  gears and gear racks but they are so expensive.  Plastic ones are not too bad but they are plastic. I even checked out lego mindstorm and other robotic kits, hehe.

Next I discovered sprockets and links. I have been so busy at work I haven't been able to get over to the store to see if anything might work.

Hope someone gets a prototype soon, I really like the look of those louvers.

 

[festoller]

I had another idea about the gears and racks. These typical window shutters probably use the same mechanic than what we are looking for.

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Does anyone have information on the "mechanics"?

 

[daviszr1]

I made them using the New Yankee plans but utilized Festools where I could - i.e. Dominos instead of more traditional M&T joinery.  My intention was to do it for multiple windows, but after doing the 1st, I never bothered to do the others because the whole process was painstankely tedious and just the slightest mis-measurement threw the whole shutter off.

In regards to wood, I used basswood for all the louvers and Poplar for the frames.  I spray finished them with Target USL and 2 years later, they still look great.

Good luck in your qeust. 

100% agree.  I am (still!!) in the middle of my shutter project.  It has to be the biggest PITA I have ever attempted.  I understand completely why these things cost so much.  Tim is absolutely correct.  Your tolerances need to be in the +/- 1mm range for them to look correct.  I actually changed the NYW plans a little and production speed improved as well as quality.  I and post a sketchup drawing if anyone is interested.

It's about a 60% Festool job.  I use a planer, joiner, moulder, and drill press.  After that everything else is Festool.

Do not take this project on lightly.  It's a huge time suck.

 

[daviszr1]

Tim - when you say the louvers are elliptical, do you mean in profile they are elliptical through their entire depth ? Or do you mean that in profile, they are rectangular with rounded corners  ? Because to my recollection, none of the shutters I have ever seen have been elliptical in profile, but rather rectangular with rounded corners.

Just wondering - I have always wanted to build these.

The louver cross section is elliptical on the high-end shutters.  If you have a Home Depot or Lowe's just ask to look at their top-of-the-line offering.  It'll probably be the only one with an elliptical cross-section.  Less expensive shutters use an essentially retangular louver with rounded edges.

I made mine use a moulder rather than the router bit method.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Ben, I'd like to see your Sketchup drawing.

 

[festoller]

I found more photos of invisible bar shutters:

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They look great, but I can't figure out the form and mechanics

 

[woodguy7]

That looks sweet, nice find.

Funny that you should just post this, i was playing about with samples last night.  I will make a set for one of my workshop windows.  The first thing that has become most apparent is the accuracy of the pin holes.  Doing them free hand with a C12 is not going to cut it  [big grin].  I have all the parts for one "door" ? cut up & rebated.  This window will require 4 "doors" but i will complete one to see if it is going to work.  There is going to be a lot of hours in this first set but once all the bugs have been worked out & jigs made, the rest should be a breeze (famous last words eh)

I will take some pics & post later or should i start a new thread ?  I don't mind.

Woodguy.

 

[harry_]

Ben, I'd like to see your Sketchup drawing.

+1

 

[festoller]

I found another example of almost invisible mechanics, although these probably have aluminum frames. Still the design because of the thin frame and larger shutters looks very interesting.

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[tDot]

Personally I'd use the LR32 system to drill the holes for the shutter pins.  You'd be limited to either 32mm, but I'd consider increasing the hole spacing to 64mm (heck, even 48mm would be possible without alot of trouble)

 

[festoller]

In search for a solution to the mechanic problem (lever free adjustable panels) I found this one manufacturer (in Germany) who has this hardware:

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Available in aluminum and black.

It's not 100% invisible, but it would help with the drilling problem, since you attach one part to the panel and the other to the frame. At least that's what I think the hardware does. Unfortunately they don't show the parts on their US site.

I will inquire more information and a sample. It might be expensive.

 

[festoller]

Here's more information about the complete aluminum fitting for adjustable shutters. It's basically an aluminum version of the usual levers used on Plantation Shutters, but it takes away the pain of the drilling etc......! I am still waiting for a price, which might be a deal breaker.

Here are some sketches, in German, but you'll get the function:

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