Patent ID: 7955458

Claim:
A method for use in assembling multiple window or door components to form a plurality of multi-sided window or door frames or sashes comprising: providing a plurality of support trees from which multiple pairs of base members and clamping fingers extend at spaced apart locations along a length of each support tree for supporting window or door components; attaching multiple support trees to a movable carriage and relatively positioning said support trees at junction locations to support adjacent window or door components of said frames or sashes in multiple offset planes that are separated by a spacing between the pairs of base members and clamping fingers; moving the carriage to a preparation station; with the clamping fingers in an open configuration, bringing sets of window or door components into alignment with each other in the multiple offset planes by bringing said window or door components into spanning contact with base members on two relatively positioned support trees; clamping the sets of window or door components in said multiple offset planes by moving the clamping fingers to a closed position to force the window or door components against the base members; and moving the multiple frames or sashes from the preparation station to an assembly station spaced from the preparation station as a group while maintaining the alignment of said window components for assembly at the assembly station by moving the carriage.