i’ve been given the task of rebuilding the railing on the front steps of a huge, old victorian. the railing goes between two columns on the front porch and two large box newels at the bottom of about 6 stairs. At the very end of the railing, it takes a modest curve (don’t know the radius) but not more than 4 or 5 inches off the original line.
The railing is composed of several pieces. There is the main piece which has a half-round detail on both sides, and this is the piece that all the other components are fastened to. My main question is this…
ON top of that main piece, there is a cap which leaves a reveal of about 1/8 before the half round begins. This cap bevels to a point in the center. THe profile looks something like ^ (obv. not that dramatic but you get the point). Now if this were just a straight run, i would make two passes on the table saw and be done with it. but since this piece will curve ( i intend to get 1×12 and cut the curve out of that), how can i accomplish this detail along the curve????? all suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Replies
Spokeshave.
J.P.
If the radius is that great you might try a power planer or a hand plane.
I didn't give this a lot of thought so there is probably a better way, its just not that obvious to me right now.
Doug
Depends on how fussy you want to get. I usually band saw to the line then finish with a sanding disk on an angle grinder and add the final profile with router bits and maybe somemore angle grinder work with a custom cutter I had made. If the project warrents it or if there is more than one section I'll make a full sized template from 1/2 in. plywood then use a router to duplicate the rough blank. I'm not to sure about the 2x12 since most lumberyard material is prone to cupping and checking after all the work is done. You might want to look into some clear pine, redwood, fir or something with a straight grain. Whenever possible I pretty much lamanate everything, avoiding the pitfalls of solid lumber.
interesting food for thought. thank you.