# Rebuilding Shutter Stile And Rail With Louvres Still Attached To Tilt Rod



## MatthewRBVA (Nov 12, 2014)

We are restoring the shutters on an old mansion here and we are working on the stiles and rails. The Louvres are still attached to the tilt rod, and with so many shutters (about 65) we don't want to have to detach and reattach every single louvre on every shutter. With that in mind, does anybody know of a good way, or have made some sort of jig to accomplish putting the functional louvres attached to the tilt rod back into the shutter frame?


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## pjones46 (Mar 1, 2011)

From what you describe it suggests the louvers pivot as they are attached to a tilt rod. If that is the case the ends of the louvers are mounted on pins into the Styles. I know of no retail jig made to hold them so they can be mounted onto the pins. Long story short, make one. Here is a supplier for this type of shutter parts also showing a picture on the page of this type.

If the ends of the Louvers fit into slots cut into the styles, more difficult, because there are a number of different angles used to create shutters and again I do not know of a premade jig to help position the louvers during assembly. In this case the tilt rod is for decoration and the louvers do not move. Here is a company who makes a jig to make the rails for shutters. You can also make a jig to do the same thing these jigs do which I think is shown in an LJ posting.

There is a third style which I have only seen once in England, which has what I call a toothed mechanism built into the styles which allows the tilt rod to move the shutters in turn moving the toothed guides that move in the rabbited styles. I have no idea how they work as it was in an estate and could not get close to them to see how they actually work.

If you make or find a Jig I would like to see it.

By the way Norm on This Old House had a show how to make shutters.

Good luck with the project.


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