Bending Rails

[Richard Wolf]

This is another house we started today with cruved balconies and curved stair(built by others).
This is the common way to make curved handrails. Stair parts manufactures sell what is called bending rail, which consists of laminations with a profile on the outside. The white piece in the first photo is called bending molding which is a reverse of the rail to hold it flat against the forms.
Glue (unibond 800) is applied to all surfaces. It's all placed in a vacuum bag, clamped to forms screwed to the floor and left to cure.
I slight bend like this is easy. I could have just glues flat strips together and used my handrail router to profile it, but when I ordered the material, I didn't know when the router was coming.



Richard

[Russ Massery]

Thanks Richard for sharing, I find your work facinating. If you had the router would you just glued the strips then routed in afterwords? I bet the thin hand rail stock doesn't come cheap.

[Richard Wolf]

Thanks Richard for sharing, I find your work facinating. If you had the router would you just glued the strips then routed in afterwords? I bet the thin hand rail stock doesn't come cheap.

Probabily not, the bending rail cost me about $10.00 a foot, by the time I resaw and drum sand strips I don't think I would save much. The handrail router is really designed for very tight radii, which can't be bent from bending rail.

Richard

[Dan Oliphant]

Richard,
Two things, one question, one comment. First in the third picture, the lamination is near the curve in the floor, are the two curves the same? in other words is that the location for that lamination?
Comment: me thinks your beard could stand to be a tad longer:p

[Richard Wolf]

Richard,
Two things, one question, one comment. First in the third picture, the lamination is near the curve in the floor, are the two curves the same? in other words is that the location for that lamination?
Comment: me thinks your beard could stand to be a tad longer:p

Yes, I always bend it over the spot it is going, makes for less thinking.
My beard is now on the long side for me, just to lazy to trim it. You are sporting a healthy looking one yourself.

Richard

[Vaughn McMillan]

Thanks for the pics Richard. No wonder there aren't a lot of stair rail builders coming out of the woodwork (pun intended). In the first picture, it looks like rounded "keyways" and dowels keep the bending rail aligned. Is it actually a dowel, or just a half-round in the profile?

- Vaughn

P.S. I'm LOL at Dan's beard comment. Looks to me like you and Dan are about equal on the hair thing...his is just a little more bottom heavy than yours. ;)

[Richard Wolf]

In the first picture, it looks like rounded "keyways" and dowels keep the bending rail aligned. Is it actually a dowel, or just a half-round in the profile?
- Vaughn
;)

You are right, all of the pieces have a half round in the profile, but when you get to the end there are two grooves, back to back, which is filled with a dowel. The end closest to the white molding contains the dowel.
Thanks,

Richard

[John Miliunas]

Richard, if you ever decide or can't physically do stairs anymore, you certainly have a career in teaching!!! Your tutorials and demo's are outstanding (not to mention the lessons I'm getting in private!!!).:) It's really kind of fun to watch a Master at work. My only problem with that is my self-esteem goes right down the chute! :rolleyes: Yeah...I know...You've been doing it for a long time but, it's still quite impressive having all those skills rolled into one bigger talent! Cool stuff.:) :cool:

[Richard Wolf]

Richard, if you ever decide or can't physically do stairs anymore, you certainly have a career in teaching!!!

Well John, that would be full circle, I started out as a shop teacher in 1970, taught for ten years and realized I hated kids.:D:D

Thanks for the comments.

Richard

[Corey Hallagan]

Hey... I didn't know that Santa Clause moonlighed doing stair work and really lived on Long Island. :)

Richard thanks for the pics and the info. You do great work. I would probably topple right off that balcony head first!

Corey

[Steve Clardy]

I can testify to the price on bending rails. They are high.
My last one, cherry, 2 -12', 1 -8' rails, were a dollar or two short of $1600.00

Oak is much cheaper.

[Karl Laustrup]

I started out as a shop teacher in 1970, taught for ten years and realized I hated kids.:D:D


Richard

ROFLMAO! What took you so long?

Even though I have no inclination of ever building my own stairs, I find your tutorials and finished work EXCELLENT!

Karl