A couple more stairs

[Rob-GB]

Two oak stairs for a farmhouse circa 1400 A.D. The floor is still just earth at the moment and the handrails and balustrades will be fitted when upper floors are laid.

Ground to first floor, old floor boards have been removed since.

First to second floor pre-assembled in workshop, a quirky little one due to restricted head room.

Hope to get more pics when I make the third stair for the house or fit the handrails.

Thanks for looking in. [smile]

Rob.

 

[Alan m]

great job. a bit strainge seeing the stairs up off the ground like that

 

[Rob-GB]

great job. a bit strainge seeing the stairs up off the ground like that

Thanks Alan, better that than sitting among the nettles that were growing there last summer!!! ;D Will be okay once the drains and flooring system is installed(something to do with clay marbles and stone slabs).
Rob.

 

[woodguy7]

Quality Rob.  What's the story with the brick wall ?  I notice the stringer is hard against it.  No framing or plaster ?
That looks a good big workshop, any more pics of it & the machines ?

Had to leave the oak cut string half done & do a rush job to make a mahogany front door.  Hopefully get some pics to share shortly.

Woodguy.

 

[Kev]

Cue Led Zep ...

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold ...

I alway get a giggle out of seeing stair go nowhere  [smile]

 

[Rob-GB]

Quality Rob.  What's the story with the brick wall ?  I notice the stringer is hard against it.  No framing or plaster ?
That looks a good big workshop, any more pics of it & the machines ?

Had to leave the oak cut string half done & do a rush job to make a mahogany front door.  Hopefully get some pics to share shortly.

Woodguy.

Wall will be plastered later probably lime and horsehair, back of stringer is coated in a few coats of Osmo Oil, as is rest of stair now.
Nothing of big interest in the workshop, just the usual toys for big boys ;D other than Daz pays me to play with lumps of wood and his toys ;D ;D
He does get the benefit of me using my Festools for his projects though. [thumbs up]

In case you are wondering how come I am at home today....

needs a handrail made for it, so am on Cad duty [big grin] (coffee break right now)

Rob.

 

[woodguy7]

Ooo, head scratcher.  Keep us updated  [thumbs up]

 

[Kristian]

Nice work, Rob! Having never built a staircase before one question springs to mind:

When you build it in your shop and not on site how do you assemble it? Do you divide it up in sections - some dry fitted some glued so you can take it apart and get it to the site? Or is this decided on a case by case basis depending on size of access ways on site and so on?

- Kristian

 

[Rob-GB]

Nice work, Rob! Having never built a staircase before one question springs to mind:

When you build it in your shop and not on site how do you assemble it? Do you divide it up in sections - some dry fitted some glued so you can take it apart and get it to the site? Or is this decided on a case by case basis depending on size of access ways on site and so on?

- Kristian

Good question Kristian. Each one is made with just the points you mention, size, access and weight etcetera. I prefer to pre-assemble them in the workshop, dry fitted (no glue) and walk up them, I can claim to be the first person to ascend any stair I have made  ;D
When it is possible I will send the stair out complete with just newel posts and handrails to be installed on site, they would have been pre-fitted in the shop. Most go out flat pack, Ikea style, [wink] and are assembled on site, especially if I am doing the fitting on my own.
Hope you get to make one yourself sometime, it is quite satisfying to make something that will be used regularly for generations to come.

Rob.

 

[Kristian]

Thanks for clarifying, Rob. Much appreciated. I must admit I find stairs fascinating from a wood working point of view. The original tools and techniques still used in the process and the different formulas used to make it as comfortable to walk on as possible. Until I get a chance to make one in real life SketchUp has been a great way to try out different styles and techniques.

Do you use SketchUp or any other CAD program in the design phase?

Oh, and I do hope you remember to include that little IKEA-like hex key with every staircase you pack and deliver...?!?  [wink]

- Kristian

 

[joiner1970]

Rob
I built one just like that second staircase , back in 2010 we had metal work similar to yours made by an award winning blacksmith. Looked stunning when it was finished.

 

[Rob-GB]

Kristian,
I use Autocad as I have been using it for the last ten or so years, never really had time to get to grips with Sketchup.
For stair designing and building information I have found several books written by people who worked on them in the late 1800's and early 1900's to be invaluable.
I just alter some techniques to suit todays tooling and fixings advances.
For those interested they are:

Modern Practical Stairbuilding & Handrailing  by  George Ellis ISBN 0-85442-046-0
Modern Practical Joinery by  George Ellis ISBN 0-85442-039-8
A Treatise on Stairbuilding & Handrailing  by W & A Mowat ISBN 0-85442-045-2
Stair Builders Guide by Morris Williams ISBN 1-897030-47-9

The Morris Williams one is of particular use for setting out geometry for handrailing.

Hex-Key!  [eek] I'm holding out for richer clients so I can send out a CXS  ;D ;D

Rob

 

[woodguy7]

Rob,

Do you actually use Auto Cad to work out all the winders ect ?  I just draw the winder section full scale plan view on a sheet of hardboard that I paint white.  I can then use it as a type of rod & mark all my winder treads from that + all newel post details.  Where does Auto Cadhelp you with this ?  Or am I just being old fashioned ?  This method has never failed me though.

Cheers.

 

[Rob-GB]

Rob,

Do you actually use Auto Cad to work out all the winders ect ?  I just draw the winder section full scale plan view on a sheet of hardboard that I paint white.  I can then use it as a type of rod & mark all my winder treads from that + all newel post details.  Where does Auto Cadhelp you with this ?  Or am I just being old fashioned ?  This method has never failed me though.

Cheers.

Yep I take all dimensions from the cad drawing on my laptop to set out winders etc.
What you need to keep in mind is that (and it is a bit of a mind blower) all the drawing done in cad is full size and the drawings are printed from that at a scale that suits the paper size, which can be 1:1 (full size) or 1:10 or 1:200 . I can get any dimension or angle in a couple of mouse clicks and can print off things like bracket templates full size to be glued with pva (sparingly to avoid the paper stretching).
Saves on the labour and material costs of full size rods, plus you are working to just one pencil line.....the one marking the workpiece. ;D
I have seen people spend a whole day setting out rods of stairs on several sheets of mdf from a cad produced scale drawing on paper, there is no profit in that !

Rob
Rob

 

[Kristian]

Thanks for the book recommendations, Rob. I'll definitely pick one or two of those up. I see they're available on amazon.

If either of you have pictures of the layout process whether it's using full scale cad print outs or sheets and rods I'd be very interested in seeing those. I'm sure others would too.

Thanks again.

 

[spikfot]

Rob,

Do you actually use Auto Cad to work out all the winders ect ?  I just draw the winder section full scale plan view on a sheet of hardboard that I paint white.  I can then use it as a type of rod & mark all my winder treads from that + all newel post details.  Where does Auto Cadhelp you with this ?  Or am I just being old fashioned ?  This method has never failed me though.

Cheers.

Hilarious-  I use the hardboard solution for drawing winders also....They also look nice up on the wall when finished.
At one time I had a nightmare of a problem with plans I'd scanned on a copy machine...NEVER believe that copies are 100% accurate in scale reproduction, Always check the scale!

Nice work Rob!

 

[Rob-GB]

Hilarious-  I use the hardboard solution for drawing winders also....They also look nice up on the wall when finished.
At one time I had a nightmare of a problem with plans I'd scanned on a copy machine...NEVER believe that copies are 100% accurate in scale reproduction, Always check the scale!

Nice work Rob!

Thanks William. Part of my reason for taking all dimensions (dims) directly from cad is that printed drawings can not always be relied upon unless fully annotated with dims but that can get messy and confused on small scaled drawings. Paper can stretch or shrink due to humidity, hence my mention of glueing templates with pva used sparingly. [wink]

 

[Rob-GB]

Thanks for the book recommendations, Rob. I'll definitely pick one or two of those up. I see they're available on amazon.

If either of you have pictures of the layout process whether it's using full scale cad print outs or sheets and rods I'd be very interested in seeing those. I'm sure others would too.

Thanks again.

If it is just stairs you want then the first one on the list is my "go to" book for most questions I have, but I am continually learning from them all.

Rob.

 

[Kristian]

Cheers! "Modern Practical Stairbuilding & Handrailing" is on it's way!  [big grin]

 

[Rob-GB]

Cheers! "Modern Practical Stairbuilding & Handrailing" is on it's way!  [big grin]

Good choice, it is every bit as practical as it was modern when printed, though sadly Ellis never got to see it in print, he still remains one my dinner party list of "People living or dead" to attend one of mine. [big grin] Hope it serves you well.

Rob