2x6x16’ oak handrail shaping questions

[gary wenzl]

Thanks for the explanations of the climb cut. Guess I have done it before and didn’t realize that it had a name.

I’ve been out of town but will be try to work on it more this week and get with the customer to show him these codes.

That handrail is very nice! I really like it

[gary wenzl]

A little update- Between a little discouragement, my arthritis and life just being busy, I wasnÂ’t able do anything with this handrail yet.

What I did find out was neither of the two finger groove router bits I purchased will go down far enough (from the top or as far as I would like it).

I like the table saw finger groove cut idea but because of the size of this handrail and my modest 22x24 shop IÂ’m looking at other methods or ideas?

Considering using my porter cable router edge guide to make the finger groove and then either a round over and/or 45° chamfer

Thought IÂ’d run it by you guys. I was going to glue up a (another) shorter board with same dementions to experiment with. Thinking It also double as a guide when I get ready to do the top round over.

I also have a butt joint gap IÂ’m trying to decide what IÂ’m going to do.

[John TenEyck]

Gary, I believe this is the bit I used to cut the finger relief on one set of handrails. http://www.grizzly.com/products/Hand...ce=grizzly.com

There are many ways to get there - as long as it meets code and looks attractive.

Also, I don't make butt joints when having to join pieces of wood to make the handrail longer. I use offset scarf joints. The only exception is internal pieces that won't show; then a butt joint is fine.

John

[gary wenzl]

That router bit is similar to one of the ones that I purchased

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Fing...-2-Shank/C1584

And the other is a Freud 99-444 (thought this one would work and I could maybe come in from the top).

Being just a want-to-be wood worker and no prior experience I didn’t even know what a offset scarf joint is. Good thing for google

The last handrail was oak and was getting painted so I butt jointed them together with good results. This time not so much, maybe it was the larger boards, larger glue up, working on the floor, impatient and lack of proper preparation.

[Peter Christensen]

Because you are only doing a one off you could cut the finger grooves on the table saw by feeding the wood over the blade at an angle. If the blade is tilted the groove will be asymmetrical more like the router bits you looked at. A little sanding once done will smooth them out and ease the edges if desired. If you haven't done it before search for coving on a table saw.

[gary wenzl]

That’s a good idea and I’ve seem videos but have never attempted it.

I was hoping to use the router only because the length of the handrail is withing a couple feet of my woodshop.

[rudy de haas]

Is it possible for you to find someone with the right gear and have them do it for you?

As people here point out you can do this job with a table saw (presumably with a roller table at each end) and a hand held router - but.. yikes! sometimes the right tool makes all the difference and this may be one of those times. Someone with a full size shaper and roller set up can do this in minutes and get it absolutely right the first time - and that may be worth a few bucks to you.