The Windows

Before I cut my wood, I had to make the windows.  It’s critical that the holes be cut big enough to accommodate the finished windows.  As I’ve learned from previous builds, trying to fit them after the room is assembled would be too difficult.  I used 1/4” x 1/16” basswood strips and .0416 x .0833 model railroad lumber from Midwest Products for the windows themselves. I used the basswood for the bottom and sides, but because I had to keep the top open for inserting the “glass,” I used just a strip of the railroad lumber laid flat, rather than on edge, for the top.  Here you can see me gluing it in my little gluing jig.

then glued the railroad lumber inside both sides and the bottom—one strip flush with the back, one strip offset just slightly (probably 1/32”) from the front.  This left a gap in the middle to form the channel for the “glass.”

At the top, I put a second strip of HO lumber behind the first strip, for further stability, then added a strip to the back.

Here you can see the “glass” (2 mm thick clear styrene left over from another project) in place.

The molding I was originally going to use was 1/4” wide.  It seemed a little large for such narrow windows, which are less than 1 inch wide themselves.  I had ordered some molding from Earth and Tree that was 7/16” wide.  It’s a little hard to tell from the drawing, but the molding is symmetrical.  I was able to split it down the middle to get two strips of molding that were less than 1/4” wide.  I thought this worked better with the size of my windows.  I used one more strip of HO lumber across the middle, to make it look like a double-hung window.  Et voila!  Windows done.