This is for all you stair guys.
1. How do you cut your open side skirt boards on a curved stair?
2. What material do you use for treads?
Nate
This is for all you stair guys.
1. How do you cut your open side skirt boards on a curved stair?
2. What material do you use for treads?
Nate
There are a number of ways to achieve a level foundation and mudsill.
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Replies
I don't do too many curved stairs. Their are several others here who make a practice of it.
But I think I can handle easy questions like this.
The joint between the skirt and tyhe riser is almost always a right angle, so we cut it with a circular saw, just like a straight flight, finishing it with a handsaw. I'm sure there are other methods. It could be done on a radial arm saw I suppose.
Tread material is whatever wood the owner wants. But you don't just go out and buy it to fit. You make treads from raw material.
These are very generic questions. I'll wager if you can use up a few more electrons and letters to describe your situation and skill level, you can have far more specific answers and this could be a very nice eduational discussion. Th emore you put in, the more you are likely to get back
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I'm not truin to ruffle any feathers here, but both of your pictures show a kickboard, not a skirtboard. technique to cut the kick is way different than that for skirt. Jim
Right, but he asked questions about tread materials too
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I usually build them out of wood. Don't have a clue how many diff. kinds, lotta stairs. Far as oak treades,risers etc., all that is readly available 'round here. straight, curved, housed, it makes no difference. Buy them cheaper than I can make them(Less of course II just wanna spend my evenings out in the shop grinden wood up into small pieces,gluing it back together into big pieces, then grinding off that everything that doesn't look like a stair tread)
you saying you can buy pre-made for curved stairs - or that you buy oversized treads and cut to shape?
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I can but the things cut to within a 16th if I want to- just saves time to get them oversized. Understand, I don't actually get to build stairs( or anything else for that matter) ,But I trained most of the trim/stair subs that work for me so we all know just what to expect when they come to one of my jobs. Jim
Just to be clear - I'm not trying to argue, just clarifying what is possible in other places. For straight stairs certain stock sizes are available here at say 42" x 11-1/4" with left, right, or both returns, and at 48" wide also.But a curved staircase will always take a wider tread at one end, so we have them made or make theem ourselves. A lot depends on time available. I happen to enjoy that part of the job, because doing nice grain matching can make a big difference in how nice the overall job looks.
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Those are some really beautiful treads and risers. The treads are bent right?
Ripped, planned, and laminated back together. Kept track of order for grain match.orientation.Red Oak at c. 3/8"
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Your treads and risers but into the skirt. Correct?
Outstanding paint job, BTW.
Actuyally, on that one, I dadoed the riser and the tread into the skirt on both sides. It was a bit tricky, but tension will never be able to cause any creep
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I cut them in place. Assuming your'e going to lay up layers of 1/4 inch ply. I usually rip 16 pcs. of ply and fasten them up w/ a narrow crown stapler- watch the distance they hang below the inside corners- (tread to riser) cot a piece of 1/12 with a slot cut from the middle running about 16 inches up the middle of the board. lay it flat on a rough tread, mark the horizontal cut. Stand it up against the rough riser or stringer and mark the outside vertical cut. gently apply circ. saw/ with good(Iuse hollow ground planer) and cut the mitre. never could stand seeing butt joints on the bibbest piece of furniture in a house. If its nat. fin. wood skirt, apply that piece after inside layers are glued and fastened well. tack (or hold) it up snuggly, mark inside lines, and gently rub it w/ slide compoundd/handsaw till light golden brown. Serve at once, feeds people for years. Jim
Bend and tack the veneer skirt board stock to the side of your stairwell. Mark your verticle and horizontal cuts on the back side of said stock. Cut verticle riser cuts @ 45 deg. to accept the risers . Cut the the horiz. just below your mark. Install skirt. Install risers Now set your tread w/ nosing.
Before all that, you could use your rough framing as a template to bend any handrails that you might to use.
TRIGGER
18567.1
'Nemo me impune lacesset'
No one will provoke me with impunity
hey ,
Are you talking circular as in ; the stringer against the wall is closed (largest diameter) , inner stringer (small dia. ) , open ? Or straight stairs with radiused (bullnose ) treads ? Either way I guess , I like to cut the (vert.) miter with a jig saw and the (horz.) with a circ. saw (but to tell the truth I have used a jig on occassion) .
For the stringers I like to use selected poplar boards planed to a shy 1/4 in. . Five of them wet 'em down good , urea resin glue , lots and lots of clamps
Treads are tapered , lots of waste , cut on a band saw , don't forget to cut the returns with the proper diameter sweep on the treads . Practice first to get the feel of the saw !
GOOD LUCK !
DAVE
I guess I tried to keep my questions simple but maybe that was a mistake. I have done tons of stairs, but most of the straight. I have curved my own rail for balcony and some prebuilts from stair manufacturers, but this customer wants me to do the pre built for him. Pre built meaning the stairs come from a shop and are installed , the the framers build up tp them. You might have already known that but ?? I have the radius from the builder and I know how to lay it out, have a jig for the outside (enclosed, Long side) to router it to accept the riser and tread. I was looking to see how people cut their inside stringer. I was going to cut it in place on the wall (jig) I build in my shop, but if somebody had a different way of doing it I was all ears. As far as the treads I was going to join white oak (what they want) and then cut to fit and apply my mitered return.
Nate
I cut the inside saw tooth stringer with a Festool saw and guide rail. I used to cut them free hand but the Festool guide rail makes for a very clean and sharp cut. Of course the verticals are cut at a 45. I usually over cut the angle on the riser because it is often more than 90 degrees. I try and glue up my treads as two wide and then cut the two pie shaped treads from the one piece. It makes glue up easier.
You will have to finish the saw tooth cut outs with a hand saw.Bear
Nate: I place my inside face laminate into position in my curved forms. On the floor is a full scale two dimension plan of the stairway. I use a laser beam to project a vertical plane of light along the riser face line. I mark the inside and outside stringers using this method. You can also use a plumb bob....
Now that I have all the vertical riser face lines on the inside of the face laminate....I take a story pole to transfer the horizontal lines for each tread.
I next drill through these intersections so as to leave the layout points visible on the face side of the laminate.
The stringer is then laminated up to the desired thickness and popped out of the form after its dry.
I now take a square and connect all these little dots that now have little glue trails oozing out of them. I of course scrape them clean and then draw out the riser and tread cut lines.
I many times use a skill saw with a guide to make my cuts...or I lay it in my bench mounted DeWalt 708 saw.
Soon it is cut out and then I pocket screw along the bottom of the tread cut outs.
The stringer is next sanded...routed for edge detail...and place back in the forms. The form gurarantees a consistent reproducible curve and the stairs is slowly built one tread/riser at a time as the forms are being stripped away. When done...there sits a nice stairway hatched out with the forms gone. I have done hundreds of these and they always fit the existing curved wall I initially went on site to measure.
By the way....I glue up treads that are sometimes 28 inches wide....and then diagonally cut out two treads at once. It minimizes waste and time as well.
Stan
Here is a couple pictures of a curved stairway that I did and it has open ends.
We used a jig saw to cut the miters on the skirt board and cleaned them up with an hand plane. That is the miters where the riser meets the skirt board.
Doug