I recently installed a curved stairway that was ordered without a handrail. My client was going to have a custom iron railing made. Evidently it was too costly…now they need me to make a curved handrail for the stairway..and two other curved ones for the loft.
I told them it would be more expensive now as I have to fabricate a drum…and its much harder doing the fittings etc.
Here are some pics of the glueup.
Stan
Replies
is that a prefab bendable rail... don't know the term for it but the handrail that comes in plys and you form and glue it? (bending rail?)
I know my skill set... i could steel/ wrought iron faster and cheaper than wood... but i have thought about use'n the wood stuff you glue & form... but i was think'n fab'n the steel balasters/scroll work in place with a 1 1/4" flat steel stock top and use'n it to form/clamp and attach the wood handrail to...
as always... nice work
p
P
Don't do the steal first!
Do your handrail first and then make your steal to fit.
We did a curved stair once and the iron worker wanted us to make our wood handrail to match his steal work! NO go on that, I told him that wasn't going to happen, he needed to fabricate his steal to my handrail, pretty hard to do it the other way around.
Doug
Recently I had to do just what you described and it was a BIG pita. Would not do it again, had to use rachet straps on everyother tread just to try and get the rail twist right. And then a lot of hand planing before starting the profile.
what about the handrail that comes in plys already formed (profiled) ? never used it or seen it except in books... so i was just think'n outloud... why i like steel.... cut it short... you can weld it back and cut it again...
p
As you said steel can be cut & re-welded to fit, a wood rail cannot. It is much easier to fit the steel to the wood rail.
Stan, are you profiled cauls made in the shop?
I've made a few mirror image cauls fo counter top edge glue ups and the sometime take as much time to fabricate as the edge I'm applying, particularly on radius corner tops.