MikeG.
Established Member
My first job on resumption was to cut up an old saw plate and make a mini scraper to clean up the burnt bits in the end of the cove cuts:
Contrast that with how it was previously:
Next, I took everything apart and did a final sand and clean up:
I put a bead on the under edge of the cut string:
and made a rough template of the area on the string that is going to be covered by brackets and the step end piece:
That's the area where I won't be putting a coat of finish. I'll be doing a coat prior to reassembling.
Here I am transferring the balluster locations to the handrail. I actually only did this for 3 ballusters, and calculated the spacing for the rest:
I messed about with the handrail joints for ages. Probably hours. I seldom get aggravated with woodwork, but this just didn't seem to cooperate at all, and the rail went in and out of place 5 or 6 times, which isn't an easy process in itself:
Having finally sorted the joints out, I could get on and chop out the mortises for the ballusters. I had decided to do it this way when I looked at a friend's staircase last week, and thought a wonderful stair had been spoiled by shoddy infill work between the ballusters under the handrail. I couldn't think of a good way of getting that detail absolutely spot on, so decided to do individual mortises instead. The implications of that decision took a while to sink in........
Obviously, the mortise is at an angle. Here is my little checking jig:
I made a setting out jig, a chiseling jig, and a checking jig. The first mortise took me an hour. There were 19 altogether:
All told, I was chiseling for nearly 5 hours. Five bloody hours!!
It was such a relief to finally finish and to be able to start planing a shape into the handrail:
As it happens, I finished that and brought it in to the house for my wife to try out. She's happy.
![UFy8NY4.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/97b/97b0594529929095dbc4b661ff16eda2.jpg)
![gGY4DRF.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/6e8/6e84b94c08e119a9d3c80523c1d918f8.jpg)
![DCRyVgg.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/3ac/3ac4c3e7b163887f93a6cc9a52d925cd.jpg)
Contrast that with how it was previously:
![WGMrEdn.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/f8c/f8c267c10cb7d45cbe38232b72566b88.jpg)
Next, I took everything apart and did a final sand and clean up:
![bhrWInr.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/1c8/1c86c13826488ef7fcf21d0c3f94d6d4.jpg)
I put a bead on the under edge of the cut string:
![ZNvE4vN.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/8a5/8a516e9e7888220e1a2b2a2f09fef1e1.jpg)
and made a rough template of the area on the string that is going to be covered by brackets and the step end piece:
![a0JbQIG.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/0a3/0a3c45610ce712ea5c1ce42e8b9a02c4.jpg)
![84xIonz.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/7a0/7a036f206367ab782e7553c3ac5e0a4b.jpg)
That's the area where I won't be putting a coat of finish. I'll be doing a coat prior to reassembling.
Here I am transferring the balluster locations to the handrail. I actually only did this for 3 ballusters, and calculated the spacing for the rest:
![WMzIpS0.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/464/4647ea2d5eca7047ae186b9d166011cf.jpg)
I messed about with the handrail joints for ages. Probably hours. I seldom get aggravated with woodwork, but this just didn't seem to cooperate at all, and the rail went in and out of place 5 or 6 times, which isn't an easy process in itself:
![p4EcqI3.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/119/119bf9526b7046bf4196495369c39489.jpg)
![VJ140lU.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/997/9973481abc34cfe4329f0e028ea45435.jpg)
Having finally sorted the joints out, I could get on and chop out the mortises for the ballusters. I had decided to do it this way when I looked at a friend's staircase last week, and thought a wonderful stair had been spoiled by shoddy infill work between the ballusters under the handrail. I couldn't think of a good way of getting that detail absolutely spot on, so decided to do individual mortises instead. The implications of that decision took a while to sink in........
![r4LF2t4.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/ee6/ee6cb4de6e8be978edb9d1b206b2e34e.jpg)
Obviously, the mortise is at an angle. Here is my little checking jig:
![MfVkYHg.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/d2c/d2c400ca30eedf02d42b01c669e14917.jpg)
![FgCwOaa.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/5d4/5d41d2022c50dc38ba0f4cef705ab67f.jpg)
I made a setting out jig, a chiseling jig, and a checking jig. The first mortise took me an hour. There were 19 altogether:
![IVsMi9H.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/3de/3defe94982d3a4781868217dbd1c7ca5.jpg)
![wWil6wJ.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/aef/aefaac8d95d630f381bd0d61bb356f64.jpg)
All told, I was chiseling for nearly 5 hours. Five bloody hours!!
It was such a relief to finally finish and to be able to start planing a shape into the handrail:
![ZrxFOsn.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/8c0/8c082419e9783df65cc311980cd5d725.jpg)
![4iglrmG.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/164/164dfafc9fb85a6ad6260349e5c9ec30.jpg)
![6DWcjY4.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/bb6/bb6038dda2e89f0e19c3e7ade59e8fa6.jpg)
As it happens, I finished that and brought it in to the house for my wife to try out. She's happy.