I think that these idiots are just plain not capable of fixing anything to your satisfation. Though they should fix it, and they should be responsible for it, I have my doubts. No matter how much you squeeze, you can't get blood from a stone, and you can't get good work out of people who don't know how to do it. You might be able to get money out of them, and if so, the easiest way to fix it is to have a good lumberyard or finish carpentry contractor/shop rout you new molding to perfectly match the profile of the old. The wood would be new (unless you had old wood to give them, or they could locate some, which is possible), but you could experiment (on scraps of the same wood) with stains and finishes to get it to look close to the original. If you're fixing it yourself, then you should look carefully to see if you can find pieces in lumberyards to put together to match your old woodwork. I've lived in places from the late 19'th C. to the mid-20th C., and in each place, the moldings were either built from pieces that are still around, or simpler 1-piece moldings are literally still for sale in the more upscale local lumberyards. A good lumberyard should be able to get you the pieces in pine, maple, red oak, or occasionally cherry. This is something that most homeowners don't know about, but can save you tons of money when restoring your old woodwork. To fix your old wood without replacing it, you can fill the problem areas with putty and dab stain & finish (probably shellac?) on top with a paint brush and sand it flush with very fine-grained (220 or higher number) sandpaper (draw in the grain lines with a pencil). I've also seen colored hard wax burn-in sticks that you melt with a soldering iron, mix to the right shade, then fill holes and dents with. I think you can buy it from Van Dykes Restorer's catalog. I saw a guy do it once and I couldn't see the repairs, honest. Or you could cut some patches out of wood (especially if you have some old wood around that might match well), cut out really bad sections of your damaged molding, and glue the new wood in place. The patch would show, but you can sand it down flush with the old molding, and it could look OK anyway. Good luck!

Hey--not insulting to say I am not very mechnically inclined-- I am retired English teacher -- words are my strong suit-- Some things I can do ok and understand the mechnical process from either first hand experience or reading something like Fine Homebuilding articles... But not knowing WHAT the problem with this window is--that is most of my problem... It could be something at simple as just not being seated in the track correctly...or could be ballister (?) the spring that runs along the window side... I don't know windows so need professional advice... And I called about 4 window companies and their deal was just to replace the window--cause they don't do repair work... Finally Googled up the name of aluminum fabricating/window company in my area that has been in business since 77 and they were very helpful. Woman I spoke with said that they had actually built that style of window back in the day and had similar windows in their office looking into the shop area...and yes...opening them could be frustrating... Called me back this AM just now cause they think they can send some guys out this afternoon to look at it after they finish job in town just north of me when John called today he was very reassuring-- He said there is likely no problem they can't fix--just might have to order part or something if they don't have it on the truck today...which is why he wanted info about size of window-- so I sent him photo of the window to get estimate of size since I am not at the house right now... Nice to find a family company that has been in business for so long...

"but is there no way to clad a window properly? " None besides paint that requires periodic renewal as it weathers and develops breaks in the film. There is no way to make a seal that will exclude water indefinitely (or in many cases even for a reasonable time). "I have see clad windows that are 20+ years old that are fine." Have you taken them out and apart to determine if they really are in good shape? I would bet money that there is rot under the cladding. The cladding may still look good, and the wood surface on the interior may still look good, but there is no way to tell without tearing them apart if rot has started. Solid wood windows can almost always be repaired (unless they have really been allowed to decay extensively). Every piece of the window frame and sash can be replaced. I have worked on wooden double hung windows that are original from the late 1700s (old town Alexandria, VA). No one wants to perform maintenance, and the continued search for 'maintenance free' has led to all sorts of solutions that are never going to last as long as a plain old wooden window. Windows being made now are generally estimated to have a life of only 30-40 years.

Hooray - we found a product that works, we can now fix our 1950s windows with and I hope it might help someone else on the forum... Cheers https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YD4L8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1