Make Decorative Screens
Decorative screens bring a sense of dimension to a room. The screens are used to partition off a section or to fill in a wall space between two windows. Their portability comes in handy when the room is up for a remodeling. Just remove the screen and put it back when the rest is done. If you decide the screen no longer fits the room’s decor, just move it to another.
Instructions
1
Take two vertical and one horizontal beams. Place the horizontal beam between the two vertical beams so the tops of all three are even. Attach with 2-inch nails.
2
Put a mark every 17 1/4 inches down each of the vertical beams. Attach a vertical beam with 2-inch nails at each of the marks.
3
Use the router and rabbet a groove measuring 3/8 inch wide and 1/2 inch deep on the four sides of each section.
4
Take the belt sander and sand the tops of the 1/4 inch cross pieces until they are round and smooth. Put two of the cross pieces diagonally to form an X in one of the squares. Nail them to the frame with 1-inch brads. Repeat in the other sections.
5
Install the horizontal and vertical facing pieces on each section so they hide the grooves and the ends of the cross pieces.
6
Repeat for the other three panels.
7
Paint and decorate each section before attaching them together with the non-mortise hinges. Attach the hinges at the three middle horizontal beams.
8
Make the screen smaller by making just 2 or 3 sections if that would be a more perfect fit. The screen is heavy, so making it larger would not be appropriate. It would be better to make a separate two- or three-panel screen to supplement the larger one for a larger space.
