Replies

1. 
   arcticcat | Feb 11, 2007 06:25am | #1

   I made one for my BIL a couple years ago. . . . I'll look for a pic.

    

   Mike

1. 
   chuma | Feb 11, 2007 06:33am | #2

    

    

   Mike

   hope to see it

   Chuma

1. 
   arcticcat | Feb 11, 2007 10:31am | #4

   This is a scanned picture, so I apoligize for the quality. 

   This is the stairs, leaning up against my shop before I delivered it.  It actually turned out pretty good once it was all finished.  I used 5/4 red oak for the treads and the stringers.  I thickness planed the tread stock so it was uniform thickness and used a three-bead beading bit to give the treads a bit of traction, kinda like a wooden stepladder.  I used a homemade jig for my router to cut angled dados in the stringers.  The treads are also screwed & plugged thru the stringers.  I also attached a little handrail to the side.  I can't remember any of the dimensions of the stairs, but I think I did use the article the other poster mentioned to get some ideas on rise/run layout.

    

   Mike

    

2. 
   Ragnar17 | Feb 11, 2007 08:47am | #3

   Chuma,

   What type of design info are you looking for? 

   I have a copy of FH's "Floors, Walls and Stairs" from 1990.  There's a sidebar about ship stairways.   It says the ascent angle typically varies from 50 to 75 degrees, and the unit rise varies from 9 to 12 inches.   The relationship between rise and run is described as: tread depth = 20 - 4/3 rise. 

   I made a "Jeffersonian staircase" a number of years ago.  It's like a ladder with three rungs; the treads sort of alternate (for example, the first tread runs from the left rail to the center, the second tread runs from center to right, the third tread runs from left to center, etc.).  It works well since the user doesn't catch his toe on the tread that he would be forced to step over on a regular ladder stair.  Anyway, I just mocked one up using framing lumber until the ascent angle, tread depth, and unit rise was comfortable.  I'd imagine that the same iterative process would work well in designing any sort of ladder.

   When it came time to make the real one, I used clear 2x stock for the rails and 5/4 stock for the treads; the treads were simply dadoed into the rails.

    

3. 
   ronbudgell | Feb 11, 2007 05:07pm | #5

   Chuma,

   I built one recently with 2" birch.

   I didn't bother to take any pictures but it had two features that I liked.

   First, it was held together with three 1'4" threaded rods running from side to side. The rods were buried in dadoes underneath the first, middle and last treads and were capped with acorn nuts. Looked pretty good and it was appropriate to use visible hardware fastening on this job.

   The second thing was a stainless rail on each side. I drilled holes square into the rails, pushed in stainless tubes and held them in place with stainless wood screws in holes drilled through the sides into the stainless. Marine stainless elbows are installed with set screws, so it was easy to put them on.

   Looked good. Weighed a ton.

   Ron

1. 
   chuma | Feb 12, 2007 08:38am | #8

   Do you remember the width, depth of treads, and step height

    

   Chuma

1. 
   shelternerd | Feb 12, 2007 08:43am | #9

   it used two stringers with the hand rails routed out of them made from 5/4 x 12 yellow pine stair tread material, no offset steps, we matched the tread configuration from a construction ladder, treads were about 4' to 5" deep from yellow pine stair tread material. The photo in the susanka book pretty well lays it out. I'm not really all that into the offset tread design. Seems like a liability.

4. 
   shelternerd | Feb 11, 2007 07:25pm | #6

   We have used the one from Sarah Susanka's Not-So-Big House (the first in the series) page 20 a couple of times with great results. It uses pine step treads for the sides cut and routed at the top edge to make a nice hand rail. Since the railing takes up about 4" of the stock the stringers end up being 5.25" deep and 5/4 x 4 treads work out pretty well. I like a narrow width to enhance the ladder feel, about 14" is good. and provide a hook at the top where it hits the loft if you want it to be removable. (ie. not a cleat on the floor)

1. 
   chuma | Feb 12, 2007 08:34am | #7

   Shelternerd,

    

   Does this model use two stringers or three?  I remember seeing a three stinger one where the left and right footed steps are offset.  What did you use for stringers?

   Chuma

5. 
   woodguy99 | Feb 12, 2007 02:38pm | #10

   I've built several, but only have pictures of one that has storage in the risers.  I use rise/run similar to a stepladder, width 14" to 18".

   
   

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   Edited 2/12/2007 6:42 am ET by woodguy99

1. 
   stevent1 | Feb 12, 2007 03:48pm | #11

   Excellent work.
   What type of slides did you use?Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood

1. 
   woodguy99 | Feb 12, 2007 03:51pm | #12

   Thanks.  The bottom five or six risers are drawers of varying depths with Blum Tandem slides.  The next few risers aren't deep enough for drawers, so those have fold-down fronts.  The top couple of risers are dummies.

2. 
   bobo66 | Feb 12, 2007 07:17pm | #13

   Beautiful work.

3. 
   chuma | Feb 12, 2007 10:34pm | #14

   this is definitely cool

    

   THANX

    

   Chuma

4. 
   ronbudgell | Feb 13, 2007 12:05am | #15

   very nice looking piece of work

   Ron

    

1. 
   woodguy99 | Feb 13, 2007 05:52am | #16

   Thanks guys.  I wouldn't recommend stairs like that for daily use--you really miss the extra space for your toes you get on a regular ships ladder.  It was fun to make though.