I’m building some open riser stairs and I’m having a hard time finding a source for thick treads. Since there is no riser board for support I think the treads should be and 1 1/2″ or maybe an 1 3/4″, they will be 3 feet long. Has anyone run across a supplier for these, the internet is proving more of a pain than a help so far. I’m afraid I may have to glue them up on my own.
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buy 8/4 slab and mill yur own...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I was wondering if a solid tread might shrink and or warp, but it might be the way to go
do you have the capibilities to do a glue up yurself???
buy the slabs as is already stabilzed or as glue ups..
a router will do just fine fer the bull nose and this a reason to get the thickness planer you always had to have...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Huh?
"stabilzed or as glue ups" ? There is no such thing.
But what do I know?
You must know something I don't.
dried / cured slabs...
or
use splines in the glue up if he wants to go that way...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
sounds like we've got agreement on 8/4 slabs and glue up, as was stated, at least I'll know what I've got and without the issues, it will add some time to the project but so would hunting for pre-made treads.
you'll have better control over the final product and more than likely less time invested...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Why are we butting heads here?
I'm right.
You can not do a set of red oak treads with slabs and not have a problem. I don't care where you get them.
Ok, there is a slight chance you could have the perfect slab for the perfect house. Uh huh. The odds for this size tread for any house is slim to none. Now do the whole stair.
It isn't going to happen, and that is why virtually every tread you see is glued up.
As I said, I use the stock 3/4 crap when it is supplied. It's not my house. Anything over I make my own. I glue up under 3" and glue and match with a bit of skill.
The reason I draw the line at 3/4 is for two reasons. #1 they mostly don't give a crap. #2 anything over is going to be custom because it is not in stock.
when the slabs crack split and check they lend so much character....
desired effect...
I like it..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
View Image"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." -Martain Luther King Jr.
Gunner has had way tooooooooooooo much influence on ya...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
That's kind of what I was thinking LOL.Who Dares Wins.
I have some oak beams in my house that split, no wonder.
They were handpicked and I knew the deal.
I still like the look...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
plan for it...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
matt... they stock 1 1/16 treads here.. both the real lumber yards and the big boxes
i'd have to hunt pretty hard to find 3/4"
hows tricks ?
my bosch radio / cd crapped out.. they sent me a new one.. and a pre-paid mailer to UPS the old one back... pretty painlessMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike-
What happened to the player?"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." -Martain Luther King Jr.
just stopped playing.. the radio power button would not turn the radio on... and the cd open/close would not function..
everything else worked great....
fuse was still good....????????
anyways .. one phone call... and two weeks later i've got a brandy new one and the olde one is on it's way to Arizona (??????).. no chargeMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I know Mike, and that was all I would install.
But around here they only stock everything in 3/4, so the dope install is 3/4 now.
Now if they want 5/4 I provide it. The last one I had to custom bullnose starter and tread the whole thing.
And stock treads sux. Even if you get them fresh half of them don't pass the stink test.
I'm glad you like the Bosch tools. They are the balls. Can you say that anymore? ;-)
How's tricks... I have a few new cat toys, if you are interested.I should send you a picture.
cat toys ? like Cubby or Tiger would play with ?
do tell ....Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Laser stuff.
I'm stinkin wit it now, and one on the things is a case you would die for.
>>> (wanna swap?)
saw a laser in HD tonite.. $29... laser level like the one in your pic.. plus.. universal base with 360 deg . scale... plus a NICE tripod...
tempting just for the tripod & base Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Kewl deal, I'd jump on it. ;-)
You wondered correctly.
After that you scared me.
I made some out of 8/4 slabs about 4 years ago for a staircase. Well a slab and a 2.5 inch front and side return mitered at the corner so as not to show the grain. Glued up with biscuts and there has been no cupping or cracking. I like the look of the return so it is a slab with a frame around the front and side. No problems but they took a long time to make as I had limted space for glue up and I had to make a lot of them. Cost me a fortune in oak but they look great.
Edit to add when I stated slabs I mean plain old 8/4 lumber finished two sides and cut to size.
Edited 1/19/2005 5:55 pm ET by rjgogo
I'm happy for you, but no stairbuilder would slab their treads.
Having said that, I did exactly what I just said I would never do.
I did it one time, in one house. Anyone care to venture a guess why, and what species of wood I used?
Here is a hint, it wasn't so much the species, but the way it was prepared and the house it went into.
You mean you put some stairs in your GCs house?
Sigh...
Properly dried white pine , installed in a house with year round climate control.
I don't know if it if the depth of the tread, rebuilt an old staircase so it is steep and barely code compliant but I have a 5" give or take 8/4 oak board with a 2.5" nosing on the front glued with biscuits and a 2.5" return glued with biscuits on one side. Fifth winter and zero issues. this is not a store bought slab but quality 8/4 oak lumber cut to size and I am pretty picky. I gotta think that if something were to check, cup or split it would have happened by now. Very humid in the summer, and very dry in the winter and the bottom portion is over an unheated space. Maybe it is the short depth or the fact there is a glued nosing, or I used quality wood, or I am just lucky, don't really care because I doubt I will ever build an interior staircase from scratch again. took me two weeks almost full time, but there was a lot of other custom railings, posts skirts etc and it was my first time so I needed to learn the proper "steps". There are risers so maybe that makes a difference but the risers are just plywood that has been tiled. Fifth winter on the tile as well.
Edit to add one other comment on this comment "but no stairbuilder would slab their treads."
I have seen some of the crap in the tract mansions that are sprouting up and I can tell you that what I have built looks a heck of a lot better then what I see in most of the tract mansions built by so called "stairbuilders" Most don't even bother to return and cover exposed end grain and use 3/4 treads. I did all stained wood, no paint which means no caulk, which means things better be tight. Present company excluded of course. Given that statement, I am under no terms a Stairbuilder, just a guy who built a set of stairs, I have seen stuff by really good stairbuilders that blows me away. I guess it is different levels of attention to detail and obtained skills for the really clever stuff.
Edited 1/19/2005 8:42 pm ET by rjgogo
Yep, as was said, buy 8/4 and mill your own.
And as you said, glue up your own blanks.
Why are you afraid? I am only afraid to buy commercial, and am disappointed more often than not. In fact, I mill all my own treads that finish over 3/4".
There are a lot of reasons that would bore you, but the simple fact is I can mill up a tread faster than chasing one down, and then have to deal with issues.
I don't have time for issues.
I'd also like to think I have a clue how to glueup and match wood...
Shrug.
do a glue up using splines..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
A dozen treads, 4-5 pcs per tread?
I have enough milling to do.
I rip strips, reverse the cup for glueup and glue. I fiddle making the grain match, a lot. Then plane the blanks. If I told you how i joined the edges for gluing I might get kicked offa here, (I group bang plane them).
It sounds like a lot of work but it goes fast.
nothing wrong with that method...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I rip strips, reverse the cup for glueup and glue. I fiddle making the grain match, a lot. Then plane the blanks. If I told you how i joined the edges for gluing I might get kicked offa here, (I group bang plane them).
Q, I know you dont have time for issues, but could you explain this a bit.
Reverse cup- is this up and down, flip half of them?
group bang? cool, do you add a spring joint, or not necessary, or would work well? Other than my bar vocab, whats group banging?
For a tread sized piece, is 2-3 part enough or more like 6?
-zen
It is, reverse half of them. Look at the end grain cup. I am not peferct with this b/c I match the finish.
You start this whole mess by selecting the best rough wood. You know? So every step from there you take the best and use it the best way. For this project you have strips to glue up.
Most of the wood you buy today is tensioned, so why fight it? The wood you think is perfect will go nuts when you rip it, mill extra
You always mill extra, I don't care what you do.
Now you glue up one tread at a time. You reverse the cup and match the surface, (for this). You do the best you can do, no one is perfect. I have a rubber mallet to help me when I goof up too bad. I don't want to fight the glue up, if I did my job right up til now the mallet doesn't get much use.
Probably none at all, but there have been times.
I really shouldn't tell you about the group bang. I cheat. I think the joiner is tedious and I will group edge boards thru the planer. Stand a batch of tablesaw rips on edge and send then thru the planer. It is a cheap go fast trick.
Why the splines? How bout a biscuit here and there to aid in surface registration, after that the glue is all you need.
won't come apart...
easier more accrate lay up...
stronger than strong..
evem makes end grain look good..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
We manufacture a veneer tread, any size any species, 1/8 thick veneer on a baltic birch core, solid 2" bullnosed edge front and back. No warping no cupping, usually supplied as large pie shaped treads for circular stairs eliminating shrinkage problems.
Armin, Is the birch core a ply or solid stock?
-zen
Zen, either or, depends on the span and thickness of the tread. Large spans get a solid stave construction, usually the ply core is the method of choice since the seasonal shrinkage is zip.