Bigrhamr
Aluminum
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2004
- Location
- LaCenter, WA USA
I don't know if anybody here does this kind of work but with all the technical minds I thought I'd give it a try. Also posted on one of the blacksmithing boards.
I've got an idea brewing for a jig for curved staircase rails that I want to bounce off you guys. The idea is to be able to go out and measure, set up the jig and take it back to the shop where it would work as an actual model of the stairs. Hopefully avoiding multiple trips out to check fit parts and onsite bending and tweaking.
The idea goes something like this: On a stair tread lays a piece of square tube. In the end of the tube that goes out to the front edge of the tread goes a piece of square solid, it's a slip fit so it telescopes inside the tube and there's a set screw to clamp it in place. Out on the end of the square solid there's a round hole going though it vertically. On the other end of the tube that goes up against the next tread there's a piece of round solid welded to it and going straight up. The round solid is a slip fit for the size hole bored in the square solid on the other end which also has a set screw. Clear as mud so far? Build as many of these units as you have stair treads. Lay one on the bottom step, take the next one and slide it's round hole over the round bar on the bottom one, rotate it to match the curve and clamp the set screw down. That gives you the height of each tread and the curvature. Then you use the telescoping square part to set the width or length of each tread. Repeat until you hit the top. Now take the whole unit back to the shop and clamp it to some type of upright posts and you have a model of the staircase standing in your shop where you can fit a rail to it.
Any comments, sugestions or reasons why that would or wouldn't work? Anybody even know what I'm babbling about?
I've got an idea brewing for a jig for curved staircase rails that I want to bounce off you guys. The idea is to be able to go out and measure, set up the jig and take it back to the shop where it would work as an actual model of the stairs. Hopefully avoiding multiple trips out to check fit parts and onsite bending and tweaking.
The idea goes something like this: On a stair tread lays a piece of square tube. In the end of the tube that goes out to the front edge of the tread goes a piece of square solid, it's a slip fit so it telescopes inside the tube and there's a set screw to clamp it in place. Out on the end of the square solid there's a round hole going though it vertically. On the other end of the tube that goes up against the next tread there's a piece of round solid welded to it and going straight up. The round solid is a slip fit for the size hole bored in the square solid on the other end which also has a set screw. Clear as mud so far? Build as many of these units as you have stair treads. Lay one on the bottom step, take the next one and slide it's round hole over the round bar on the bottom one, rotate it to match the curve and clamp the set screw down. That gives you the height of each tread and the curvature. Then you use the telescoping square part to set the width or length of each tread. Repeat until you hit the top. Now take the whole unit back to the shop and clamp it to some type of upright posts and you have a model of the staircase standing in your shop where you can fit a rail to it.
Any comments, sugestions or reasons why that would or wouldn't work? Anybody even know what I'm babbling about?