Other David's Workshops Projects

One Project That Didn’t Go Off the Rail(ing)s

Posted on by David

I had a project request from some very special clients. They needed hand rails for a 3-step drop into their family room.

I’ve built and installed hand rails before; both new or replacements. This project, however, had some very important details. There were going to be two handrails, one on either side. This meant that not only did they have to be built identical, but had to be mounted evenly. A mirror image if you will.

There are a number of other railings in the house so the new railings needed to match the existing rails in appearance. The hand rails were rounded at each end. And the mounting board was cut with specific angles and bevels.

I started by measuring an existing railing.

—Here you can see the rounded ends of the railing—
—This shows the mounting board detail—

Not all railings need or have mounting boards. Many brackets just screw into the wall. But finding the stud and getting the screws aligned properly can be tricky in older construction. Plus drilling and anchoring into plaster may not get you that solid and stable connection. Above all of that, I think they look fancier. And we wanted to maintain that style. All of the rails in the house have mounting boards

—My notes—

The backing board measured 4 1/2″ so I would need to rip a 1×6. After doing some math around the 3/8″ and 3/4″ bevel I somehow came up with a 30 degree angle. I’m not sure how I did it but it turned out correct.

I then measured where the railings would go. The steps measured 36″ top to bottom and using my trusty digital angle gauge, I came up with a little over 33 degree angle. I also used the standard constant of 32-38″ rail height and after some application of masking tape, I established the location of the rails and boards.

—Best $19.97 I’ve spent at Harbor Freight—
—Using the tape helped avoid pencil marks on the wall plus it gave a very good visual reference. So good in fact that in only a few minutes I found myself reaching for the non-existent railing while going up the steps—

A trip to Menards and I choose the lumber and the railing. Oak, surprisingly, was almost the same price as pine and poplar so it made sense to use the best. Oak is more stable and looks especially nice when stained.

—1×6 oak ripped to 4 1/2″—

Next I measured the ripped boards and cut the ends to match that magical 33 1/2 degree angle.

—Perfect—
—This was my practice piece from the scrap pile. Once again, my hoarding paid off. The throw-away piece allowed me to dial-in the correct bevel angle before cutting the expensive stuff. It also demonstrated to me that just running the board through the saw would not provide enough stability and could produce an uneven cut like the picture shows. I would need to figure out a way to support the board through the saw smoothly while avoiding the lose of any fingers—
— This was my solution. Using a larger piece of plywood, I clamped the mounting board to the plywood allowing the board to slide smoothly through the blade and enabling me to keep all my fingers—
—Beveling the ends—
—Beveling the boards down the length—
—Nice clean cuts. The blue paint is from the saw blade. It sanded right off—
—A matching set. Yes, there is a left and right. In this case a north and south side of the stairs. No use in building one upside down or backwards—

Next was rounding the ends of the railing. Once again, I had some scrap railing left over an was able to practice getting the proper angle and curve.

— I used by bench grinder and kept rotating the wood until I get close to the shape I wanted. It felt like I was sharpening a huge pencil—
—I used my sander until I got the shape just right. I started with 40 grit then moved from 80 though 120 and ended up at 220 grit—
—Using tape to protect the wood, I marked out where the brackets would go. 8″ from either end seemed right—

I drilled the mounting holes, set the brackets then screwed the brackets to the underside of the handrail. They were now ready to be installed.

—I used quite a bit of tape but it saved having to paint over pencil marks—
—Marking the stud location—
—I used the cut-off scrap that was the correct 33 degree angle. That gave me of a vertical line to drill the mounting holes—

Using a stud finder, I located the studs inside the wall, drilled the holes with a countersink bit and tightened them to the wall.

I used button plugs to cover the screw holes and the project was almost done.

—The railing yet-to-be finished with paint and stain. If you squint, you can see the button plugs hiding the screws—
—Of course, I had installation supervision from my apprentice. Here he’s checking out the stud finder—
—Here he’s using it to call his friends to let them know he’s completed the project—
—Painted, stained and mounted back on the wall—

They look like they’ve always been there. And that’s one sign of a successful project!

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