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Zander
climber
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Dec 19, 2016 - 02:16pm PT
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We used MDF for the laminations. For a 1 3/4" handrail we used a 5 x 5 grid of 25 pieces with the corner ones chamfered. For paint grade the MDF works great because the pieces bend without any fancy steaming and such. I tried 4x4 but they were too stiff. We routed the round on the handrail with a big 1/4 round bit. Z
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F
climber
away from the ground
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Dec 19, 2016 - 02:22pm PT
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Copy. Maybe it's iron stains on the MDF that look like knots? I couldn't figure out why you wouldn't use MDF...
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Dec 19, 2016 - 02:30pm PT
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I'm not construction guy but that looks beautiful- I would not have imagined wood for something like that. I bet you have a happy customer. My cousin specializes in doing rails like that with iron and has a pretty good business for himself.
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Edge
Trad climber
Betwixt and Between Nederland & Boulder, CO
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Dec 19, 2016 - 04:54pm PT
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That is one sexy handrail!
If I slid my hand all the way down I'd need a smoke at the bottom.
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Edge
Trad climber
Betwixt and Between Nederland & Boulder, CO
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Dec 19, 2016 - 06:03pm PT
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I've only made one curved stairway from scratch, back around 1989 or so. I had no idea what I was doing, but faked it well enough for all concerned, a completely improvised hack job.
I built up a 1" thick stringer against the wall by gluing together 1/4" x 12" red oak, hand nailed in place through each layer being careful to avoid spaces where the treads would hit. After laying out the stairs I made a jig for the router that would receive the wide part of the tread and the risers with a wedged dovetail glued and driven in from below.
I duplicated the process on the inside wall of the curve, building up that stringer, then laid out the stairs and cut the horizontal flats for the treads and the mitered verticals to return the risers. With the treads on, I drilled out the spindle holes, then made jigs to fit in each, then build up a 2 1/4" wide rail from 3/8" red oak strips. As I recall, I didn't have nearly enough clamps, so all but the outside two layers were predrilled and screwed together with copious amounts of glue.
As far as I know, it's still standing.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Dec 19, 2016 - 07:33pm PT
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HaHaHa! Love the pipe clamps! :-)
That's called, 'Gitten 'er done.'
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losbill2
climber
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Dec 19, 2016 - 07:49pm PT
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I hesitate to post on this thread since I certainly do not come anywhere near qualifying as a craftsman. However I do have a sense of fine art and Steve that plane is really a beautiful piece! And I am very sure the kids will treasure it as well as all the other items you have crafted. Destined to become family heirlooms or for sale to pay for at the very least part of a grandchild's college tuition.
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john hansen
climber
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Dec 19, 2016 - 08:15pm PT
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In the pipe clamps photo , I notice the bottom clamp is one of those double screw, wood clamps. I always thought those were cool.
Very nice stuff, from both of you. Stairs and rails were always my favorite. Never did get to do a curved one though.
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bajaandy
climber
Escondido, CA
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Dec 19, 2016 - 08:18pm PT
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Buckets of clamps. The one good thing about doing high end tracts (is that an oxymoron?) was getting good at being fast and precise. I had bent rails down. The tricky part was that a curved rail not only bends, but twists in a spiral as it bends. This was made somewhat easier to manage by employing a clamping caul of the negative shape of the outermost lamination of the rail. This could be kerf cut to make it more flexible to follow the pitch and curve more easily. Individual clamp cauls were made for the jaw of each clamp. A typical rail would usually require 40 or more clamps. Glue type and wood specie had to be taken into consideration: Aliphatic Resin glue is usually too soft for all but the gentlest of curves. Powered urea formaldehyde results in a much stiffer glue up, resulting in less "spring back", meaning less over-bend was necessary. Ah, the good old days... racing up and down the stair attaching more and more clamps as the glue began to set up, and then stick to my hands as I twisted the clamp handles, resulting in blisters as the outer layers of skin stuck to the clamp as it slipped past the lower layers. Good stuff. Is it any wonder I built a single story ranch style?
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Zander
climber
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Dec 20, 2016 - 11:29am PT
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Very clean stair Edge!
I believe in the inevitability of death, taxes and one camp short of what is wanted.
I don't really work anymore. I just drive around and talk to people or push spreadsheets around, which is why the stair above fits on the thread because I actually did help build it. It has been a busy year so the old man had to put his tool bags back on if only for a few days. However since Edge started up the way back machine....below are a couple of stairs I worked on with a good carpenter buddy more than twenty years ago. I'm not really a true stair guy but it seems we always had to fit stairs into spaces that were too tight.
another one
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Dec 20, 2016 - 12:23pm PT
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Losbill2,
Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad that I've got a few hobbies to fall back on, as my climbing skills seem to be failing rapidly. Happy Holidays!
Edge: It seems that everything you create is of fine quality; including that stairway.
Of all the things I've attempted, I think the stairway I made, for my house, was the most time consuming job, on the project. All the Oak, came off my land, and it was satisfying turning all the larger post, which the railings joined. I like wood turning, so that part was fun.
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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Dec 20, 2016 - 06:40pm PT
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All those stairs look way too civilized, safe and warm. I apparently prefer cleaning up other people's messes in the high and frozen. Shoot me now
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 20, 2016 - 11:08pm PT
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SteveA - you need to get busy posting up more past projects...
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Dec 20, 2016 - 11:29pm PT
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Zander, if I may be so bold as to ask why there are two handrails on that one staircase?
Did an inspector nix the balustrade? BTW, I would have to take my shoes off
to count the staircases I've built, mainly for architects, that I've put a
temporary legal butt ugly balustrade on (sometimes 2x4s!) to get a final
only to come back and do the illegal finished one.
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Dec 21, 2016 - 06:15pm PT
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I love the small do it yourselfer posts- lot's of pride! Keep em coming.
Recently completed "strip to the studs" remodel with pool, etc.
Based on what my clients want: Clean and simple is in, the desire to make things "Pop" is out.
We've been making a living on things that were "Popped" to death last decade.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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Dec 21, 2016 - 06:47pm PT
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Nice looking work....Humans have strange nesting habits....
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Dec 21, 2016 - 06:51pm PT
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Thanks! They do indeed...
Oh, and we had to replace the Italian Cyprus trees. People, stop planting sh#t so close to the house!
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bajaandy
climber
Escondido, CA
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Dec 21, 2016 - 07:16pm PT
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Vise completed and tested. Wrapped and ready to gift to a friend.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 22, 2016 - 06:59am PT
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Shop update: Got a vise installed and finally stopped messing with the sandpaper sharpening and got a diamond lapping plate and a Norton 1000/8000 waterstone. I reckon I'm now only months away from actually building something.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 22, 2016 - 07:52am PT
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Yes, WTF indeed...
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