Summer is here and it is always nice to prop open your old fashioned guillotine windows (a window devoid of weights and pulleys) and take advantage of cool evening breezes. The problem with this is what to use other than a book (see Image 1).

During our visit to the east coast a couple of summers ago, I had noted a clever little device that I found all over the Maritimes (see Image 2). This little window prop had several saw-tooth steps in it and allowed several heights to prop the lower sash. A hole is drilled through the top to pass a hemp rope through in order to hang the window prop up on a small hook beside the window architraves and behind the curtains. I measured it up and thought to pass it along to our readers (see Image 3 below), a piece of clear pine or poplar can be used if painted and a piece of oak to be stained.