How to make stair parts? 1/4 turns
mathewson
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I’m doing a full custom post-to-post rail job and am looking for advice on a better way to make the level 1/4 turns. Making the rail & upeasing are straight forward, but the 1/4 turns have always been an issue.
All suggestions welcome. thanks
Replies
Try making a circle, profiling, then cutting into quarters...
Usually the 1/4 turn is mitred at the corner, which looks better than making it from one piece where the grain is at an angle to the two sides. Make a blank to the size you need for shaping the finished profile, mitre the two sides to make the 1/4 turn, dowel or biscuit the joint and epoxy together. Then you can router or shape your profile. This way the grain of each side will be in the same direction as your rail section. And will be stronger and less likely to split than making it from one piece.
bruce,
that's pretty much what I do. The outside corner I shape on the bandsaw with a circle jig. The inside corner is the problem. Glueing on a pre-radiused piece and then shaping works- somewhat. Looking for a good way to not have that 3rd piece.
I think Riverman did a thread on this or something similar. It was circular for what little help that might be. Woods favorite carpenter
Riverman,
Any suggestions?
http://forums.taunton.com/n/find/findRedir.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&mg=A732031B-01AF-45B6-A8D3-D47B61496686
Heres a thread I found, but it's about circular columns. Very cool anyway.
Go to the left bottom of the screen under all the threads and type in riverman in that search box.
Alot of his work will pop up.
Woods favorite carpenter
A lot depends on diameter and profile. Large radius blanks take two sections to make the 1/4 turn, this minimizes the amount of exposed end grain. Small turns are made with the grain on a 45 degree to the end joint, Bruce22 explained it well in post #3. In either case I lay out the blank so I have extra wood on each end. this allows me to screw the blank to a template then mill the profile on a table mounted router or better yet a shaper and a rub collar. Safety is a big concern here, provide handles to keep your finger out of the way and shield the cutter as much as possible. The end result depends on how much time you want to put into the glue blank. I try to hide the glue joints in the profile as much as possible. If its a flat turn I'll go so far as capping the top with wood from the same board as the straight rail leading into the turn. Personally I avoid epoxy as I find the glue joint is too thick and can become very noticeable after finishing. The above is a pretty short version, I'll be doing several 1/4 turns and an "S" turn later next month if you guys are interested I'll do a photo post of the process.
riverman,
thanks for the reply. I would be quite interested in the posts you describe. Reading the post shows how easily it is to fall into a mental rut. I've done template shaping in the past, but just never thought of it for stairparts.
Looked through some of your previous posts- very nice work.
How often do you use the tilting aspect on your shaper?
I have had this shaper for about 15 years and used the spindle tilt about a dozen times. It's one of those things that is not a must have but still comes in handy for some of the off the wall stuff I get into. At the time the cost difference was not that great. The sliding table, on the other hand, is a must have.
I have 2 shapers. One with a power feed and the other no-fence for rub collar work. I must be missing something- why the need for a sliding table?
Riverman,
how's the pics coming on the level quarter turns coming? Keith
We got pulled off the stairs to help out on another aspect of the job. Should be back on it in a week or so.
If you're trying to make the 1/4 turn piece, it's pretty easy on a lathe.
Stack and glue up enough pieces to make a wood donut that your 1/4 piece fits in.
Rough the outside on a bandsaw. Mount the block on a faceplate.
Turn the profile on the lathe.
Cut the piece you need out of the finish turned donut.