Hi all:
I’m faced with an estimate for a deck that has two curved staircases descending down the sides of a circular deck area. After reviewing Mike Guertin’s approach detailed in #162, I’m comfortable with the idea of building laminated stringers.
My problem is the railing. It doesn’t make sense to me how he traced solid stock against the stringer skirtboard and profiled railings from that template with a router. How does that give him the twist as well as the curve?
Bending rail is not for exterior use. Supposedly Timbertech will make up a curved stair rail, but there are specific restrictions and no one knows how to buy it anyway. A metal fabricator I spoke with told me $8k to $12k to make up a metal railing system–times two for two railings!
Anyone have any bright ideas or advice on fabricating out of solid cedar stock with common shop tools?
John Painter
Enduring Charm LLC
http://enduringcharm.com
Replies
I have laminated curves using thin laminations of cedar, ipe, cypress and doug fir.
Step one. Buy stock that is clear and longer than your railing needs to be. Having splices is not ideal
Step two: Rip stock into strips thin enough to bend and twist to the desired stair configuration. Rip enough pieces to achieve desire width of rail. Rip a few extra in case one or two decide to break during clamping.
Step three. Set up jigs on the tread so you can clamp your glue up in the desired position.
Step two.five. Cover stairs and all areas with plastic so glue drippings do not mess up treads.
Step Four: step up glueing area that fully supports strips. You can use epoxy or gorilla glue. I have had good success with both. Depending on the size of the rail, two people minimum, four is ideal.
Step five: Spread glue on lamination faces
Step Six: place together
Step seven: Start clamping to jigs-Either top or bottom and work your way to the other end.
Step eight : Clamp the hell out of it
Step nine: wait 24 hours or whatever the setting time is=remove clamps and begin cleaning up the railing.
I will try to find a link to a blog a former client made of his railings.
Bruce
Bruce:Thanks--that's what bending rail is, except that the profile is cut for you and a negative of the profile is provided in order to allow for the clamping and bending. This deck would require something more than the simple laminations you describe, plus they wouldn't meet gripable handrail code in my neck of the woods anyway.Since I wrote the original forum post I did find on manufacturer that MIGHT agree to make me a cedar or redwood bending rail, but with no guarantees on performance outdoors.I've also got a lead on a Timbertech railing which can be curved and twisted by a third party authorized by Timbertech. No word on cost yet.All this just for a rough estimate! I'll post what I find out...J.
About 5 years ago I ripped clear cedar 2x4 in half (into 1x2), used my laminated stringers as a form and glued it back together using PL Premium. No problems yet.
A Photo of what I did
Edit: Photo way to big. Time to go back to work. I'll resize it later Sorry.
Edited 4/23/2009 3:00 pm ET by Landman
It wasn't that big, but I resized it anyway...
View Image~ Ted W ~
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