My Railing Project

[Matt_in_Brooklyn]

Well, I finally got some traction on this project and hope to finish most of the installation by this weekend. Here is a link to some of my photos.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mattcass...eat=directlink

Note how small my "shop" is. It can be frustrating if you don't plan ahead.

A few observations and lessons learned:


Steel stays hot for a long time and it doesn't care if you forget not to touch it

This stuff gets heavy once you start welding it all together.

Unlike wood, if you screw up and cut something short, you can weld a piece on to make it longer.

Welding with .023 and gas is a lot different than using .030 flux-core.

Site building a piece and not covering it with plastic and not checking the forecast equals a lot of wire-wheel work.

For my purpose, a wood bench worked just fine.

I didn't have a single burn back and didn't flash myself once. I'm kind of proud of this fact since I actually had my hood up and my finger on the trigger TWICE and caught myself.


I found that my welding is like my golf game...It can be very frustrating but it's the few good shots that give you reassurance and keep you motivated. It's real easy to be a bad welder.

Matt.

[ricksidebottom]

Well I would say you are doing a fine job.

I did notice that you where setting your grinder wheel side down. I prefer wheel side up. That way if I hit the switch when grabbing it, it only eats air. Bad things can happen wheel side down.

[Vulcan Man]

Looks good. Your place or a customer? You look a lot like me under that hood, wife thought I had pics of me on the web.

[WyoRoy]

First, let me say that the following is in no way meant to denigrate your project. You've done a good bit of work that you and your family can be justifiably proud of for years to come.

Have you thought about adding a decorative cap rail to your stair railing? Something to ease the hand while it is running down the steps. I see you now have an inverted channel as your top rail. With such a beautifully ornate rail in the traditional style, I think a top rail of sheep's tongue molding would be the perfect addition. Below is one example of the sheep's tongue.

BTW, I might have the incorrect name for that piece. The sheep's tongue may actually be the double curved bend often found at the ends of these runs.

[Matt_in_Brooklyn]

Well I would say you are doing a fine job.

I did notice that you where setting your grinder wheel side down. I prefer wheel side up. That way if I hit the switch when grabbing it, it only eats air. Bad things can happen wheel side down.

Thanks. I actually kept the guard on so it rests on that. Wheel-up would definitely make sense otherwise.

Looks good. Your place or a customer? You look a lot like me under that hood, wife thought I had pics of me on the web.

Thanks. No, that's my tiny yard, just a hobby for me, no customers. Yeah, there's a lot of us bald guys with goatees around .

[strube1369]

Nice, Matt. Really nice!

[Matt_in_Brooklyn]

First, let me say that the following is in no way meant to denigrate your project. You've done a good bit of work that you and your family can be justifiably proud of for years to come.

Have you thought about adding a decorative cap rail to your stair railing? Something to ease the hand while it is running down the steps. I see you now have an inverted channel as your top rail. With such a beautifully ornate rail in the traditional style, I think a top rail of sheep's tongue molding would be the perfect addition. Below is one example of the sheep's tongue.

BTW, I might have the incorrect name for that piece. The sheep's tongue may actually be the double curved bend often found at the ends of these runs.

Good call. The cap rail is part of the plan, It's in the garage. I'll post more photos upon completion. I actually bought a volute for the end of the rail, not realizing that I won't need it since I will be dead-ending into the newel at the base of the stairs.

[WyoRoy]

Might be a good call, but improper terminology for sure. I had to Google Picture Search the volute...it's what I meant even if I didn't know what the heck I was talking about. Excellent job!

[smooth72]

looks great, king is a great company