I installed the handrail on this white oak spiral today. I only installed the balusters that tie the treads together. Just adding these makes the whole structure very stout. There will be more balusters going between these already installed.
The rails are mortised into the newels. I have to plug all the lag bolts holding the treads tenoned into the column.
Excuse the poor quality as my flash is not working right.
Stan
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Replies
Wall color.... is that what the owners wanted? I'm not used to seeing that color with dark stain on the oak. Are they going to be putting lighting around your stairs as it would show it out better?
Those walls are exactly like the pictures. Its hideous. I think maybe some pink stripes with yellow polka dots maybe?
Stan
LOL!!!!
Nice looking stairs , If you get the flsh working maybe the walls won't look so purple.
Stan,
Nice stairs,
can you tell a little about the center column? is solid or hollow?
something you made or bought?
CAGIV:
The column is hollow. I get them out of Oregon. The staves are 1.5 inches thick and are really made nice.
I used to glue these up myself with rope clamps...and then hand plane them down to a cylinder just to have the experience of doing so. I can bid them more economically if I just buy the column already made.
Stan
"just to have the experience of doing so..." God bless you. That's some serious work just so you can have an "experience". I'd be cussin' in six languages and making up some new words.
Don
Very nice work! Can you tell me how you made up the handrail? I'm building my own steel circular stair for my shop (leading up to the office) and haven't yet got around to puzzling through the handrail exercise......
--Ken
Ken: I made a horizontal drum form on my bench and laminated 8 3/16 inch thick x 4 inch white oak laminates to make the handrail.
Stan
A "drum form" simply being a circular form the same diameter as the stairs (adjusted for where you want to rail to fall on the treads? Literally a "drum"?
That's a lot of laminations, and a lot of clamps! Did you use plastic resin glue?
Ken; Heres a picture of another rail being glued up on a drum form. It was similar.
I used just ol Titebond glue.
Stan
I get it now. Thanks. That will be a very helpful technique for me when I get to that point. I've got my post fabricated and ready to be tipped up this weekend. It is a 4 1/2 inch diameter shedule 40 steel pipe (supports a 52 foot gluelam ridge beam), and I'm going to weld the brackets in place for the treads, then use oak to make the treads.
Nice gyrocopter in the background, too.....
--Ken