Help with angles and cutting.

[Dick Mahany]

Probably not what you want to hear however your top rail is too short. It needs to extend beyond the upper post by enough to cut a matching angle on both rails. You could possibly move the rail out enough to cut the correct angle and dowel and glue a filler piece in where it meets the house that would be less noticeable.

[David Feldbaum]

Oh that photo was just taken to show how I would match it up. I have plenty of room to push the rail downwards to meet the stair railing. I made sure I had extra length so i could be cut. So the consensus sounds like both top and stair railing need to be cut at 31 degrees and then mate the two. What is the typical way most people do this type of application? I think if the top railing is past the post, it has less strength if the stair railing is just glued and screwed to one another. I was thinking of maybe making a block cut at the right angle and secure i just below the meeting point for the 2 rails. Boy am I a total wood novice, but i trying. Making tons of mistakesIMG_0906.jpg but learning a lot along the way.

[Walter Mooney]

Why not lay a scrap board on the deck, projecting out a couple inches past the top nose, and then lay another scrap on the stair, touching nose to nose to nose. Overlap them at the top, set your bevel gauge on either one, and 'connect' (align?) the gauge to a line that passes through the top of the two boards to the bottom of the two boards? That's your miter angle, whatever it is (the number doesn't much matter). Cut the two scraps on that angle, put them back in place (on the deck and on the noses) and confirm that your angle (your cut) is correct and your have the miter, the look, you're after. As mentioned by someone earlier, the handrail piece will be parallel to the noses of the stair, so the scrap piece laying on the noses will be at the correct angle, and having the two scraps touch each other side by side lets you easily use your bevel gauge to set the required miter angle.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Just my impression, but others here are more knowledgeable, so take it with a grain of salt. Also , i am not good with computer graphics, so i am limited to words.
If we paint the face of a clock over your diagram, the cuts you propose go from roughly 11 to 5. My thought would be that both cuts should go from about 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock. Thus the comment above about cutting a channel or angle into the leading edge of the post.

Maybe take 2 short scrap pieces, cut them each a t 15.5 (if 31 degrees is your number), glue or nail them together and then slide it along the side of your two rails and see what looks right and can be securely anchored.

Also, with your saw only cutting to 30 degrees - since a plumb cut is 90 degrees and if you cut 30 degrees, when you turn it over isn’t it now 60 degrees? In other words you might have to turn one board over to cut a particular angle. But maybe i missed something.

the idea was to have the top railing flow into the stair railing. I have seen other designs that you stop the top railing at the post, and then your stair railing cut on the angle attaches to the post. I have my angle of 31 degrees which I know is right. Johnny posted above that the top and stair rail need to both be angled. Are they the same then?Attachment 466633Attachment 466634

[David Feldbaum]

Thanks Lisa. Took me a while to fully understand but your response was the best and easiest . Now I have a pretty good match. I have to fill the seam a tad with some wood filler from the Ipe dust, but im pretty happy. Home stretch now. Just have to put the other balluster inserts tacked in and a nice finish sealer before its too cold and I have a nice deck built in 6 months.

IMG_0955.jpg

[David Feldbaum]

Finished. Fist deck I ever built and I had no clue what I was doing. Learned a ton. Made mistakes but only I know what they are, but I am still proud. Still need to seal it up so its shiny. IMG_0961.jpg