Spiral Staircase Rail
- Thread starter troy fab
- Start date
johnnyradiant
Well-known member
Annealed aluminum is what is used by some builders
Never thought of that, most of the ones around here are PVC. I'm ll get some pricing on that. Thx
I am going to get some steel rail pricing, I,ll check on the annealed aluminum too. Thx.
Marctrees
Well-known member
Try Google image search....... You'll get hundreds of ideas.
Marc
Marc
Marctrees
Well-known member
I don't think Annealed means what you guys think it means.
Try Anodized.
Marc
Try Anodized.
Marc
Thx Marc,
I already did that, they basically all look alike. Round tubing is round tubing. I was more concerned with how I would bend it and angle it up the stairs. Around hear most people use flexible plastic PVC , I was wondering if there were any other material options.
Also, annealing aluminum makes it soft for bending.
Marctrees
Well-known member
Sorry, my misunderstanding.
Marc
Marc
strutaeng
Well-known member
If you make it out of PVC, you can also use the handrail to supply shop air to the second level! LOL
Seriously, don't make it out of PVC. We have one here at out office and it is all metal, including the handrail.
Where are you located? If I recall, spiral staircases are even allowed anymore per the building code, unless you have an additional means of egress due to fire risk. Suppose you can build one in an unincorporated municipality.
For wood, steam bending would likely be the best bet. Steam bending wood is an art by itself.
Can you post a photo of your staircase?
Maybe you can go check out the Staircase of Loretto Chappel for ideas? I went there a few years ago, and was mind-bogged, and I have built some complicated wood furniture.
Seriously, don't make it out of PVC. We have one here at out office and it is all metal, including the handrail.
Where are you located? If I recall, spiral staircases are even allowed anymore per the building code, unless you have an additional means of egress due to fire risk. Suppose you can build one in an unincorporated municipality.
For wood, steam bending would likely be the best bet. Steam bending wood is an art by itself.
Can you post a photo of your staircase?
Maybe you can go check out the Staircase of Loretto Chappel for ideas? I went there a few years ago, and was mind-bogged, and I have built some complicated wood furniture.
ard
Well-known member
You could, but laminated wood Is much easier. Basically it is hand railing, but it is then slides into thin strips. You affix brackets to the strains (right-angle wood blocks) and clamp the railing to them. Glue, a hundred clamps, voila. Remove, add balusters, attach. The stairs themselves act as the for,.
Trying to heat, bend, form a piece of wood using steam would be quite a project. Doable, but definitely a departure from typical methods. Also, with the glue/clamp you get little spring-back. Quite a bit more with stream....
strutaeng
Well-known member
You could, but laminated wood Is much easier. Basically it is hand railing, but it is then slides into thin strips. You affix brackets to the strains (right-angle wood blocks) and clamp the railing to them. Glue, a hundred clamps, voila. Remove, add balusters, attach. The stairs themselves act as the for,.
Trying to heat, bend, form a piece of wood using steam would be quite a project. Doable, but definitely a departure from typical methods. Also, with the glue/clamp you get little spring-back. Quite a bit more with stream....
Ah, yes, was going to talk about bent lamination, but got sidetracked. I did a bent lamination once for a small curved piece and worked well. Had to buy a special glue with urea formaldehyde. The container arrived inside a plastic bag! LOL
https://www.dap.com/dap-products-ph/weldwood-plastic-resin-glue/
If you take into account the springback you are golden. Aside from making the form and having all of the clamps you own at your disposal, as mentioned.
readhead
Well-known member
Aluminum is what is included in most of the spiral kits. 1 1/4" od is the minimum code size. If you have someone roll a piece of aluminum make sure it is rolled to a larger diameter so that when you stretch it out it becomes the correct size.
ZRX61
Well-known member
I made one out of steel many years ago. It was about 2in wide & shaped like a very flat triangle in cross section with rounded edges (1/2in thick in the middle, 1/4in on the edge). Took a couple of us to twist it into shape to fit.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
One in the house I grew up in was steel square tubing but had wood laminate over it in a box shape. Not fancy by any means, but it was nice enough and gave a more finished look to the stairs so they weren't bare steel.
shedfullatools
Well-known member
I've seen heavy wall polyethylene pipe used, easy enough to form into place but still very rigid and strong.
Wharton Esherick used a mastodon tusk. It may be hard to source today, but...
If you live anywhere near Philadelphia you should visit his studio. It will blow your mind.
https://whartonesherickmuseum.org
If you live anywhere near Philadelphia you should visit his studio. It will blow your mind.
https://whartonesherickmuseum.org
johnnyradiant
Well-known member
The Iron Shop sells kits or parts for making your own. That includes rolls of annealed aluminum and brackets and spindles. They also have/had how to videos on how to get their roll from shipped size to the size and pitch of your stairs.
red61cj5
Well-known member
If I recall correctly the Iron Shop standard railing is pvc, or something like it. The aluminum is an upgrade.
I have a curved staircase on my front entry. I used cedar siding. 1/2" thick to about 3/16". ripped it in half, flip it over so you have the thick side and narrow edge together and you can bend it into a pretty tight radius. Gang as many as you want together. I just used Elmer's waterproof glue on all the interior pieces and screwed them together. I just glued the outer pieces on. its been in place for 25+ years and still holding