Set of circular segmented steps - FINISHED!

[toolsntat]

Can you not lift it out and bandsaw off the riser, reshape the step to suit then reapply the riser?

 

[RogerS]

Can you not lift it out and bandsaw off the riser, reshape the step to suit then reapply the riser?

LOL ! No, when I make steps they are built to stay. The bottom panel is screwed into the floor !

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I've been keeping very quiet, for obvious reasons, but every time I see this step I think of it creaking. It just doesn't look very solid, and all those joints moving about to make a musical step. You can tell I grew up in an old, old house. In Japan they would do this on purpose to alert the household to an infiltration of ninjas, but I assume that isn't a problem in your case. Or is it?

Right from the beginning, I have wondered if wood was the right material for this step. I may get shot for that, but a nice lump of local stone could work, perhaps? We even know a man who could carve a rabbit into it for you. Well, I say rabbit...

(If this step is on the third floor, leading to the east tower, then I may be speaking out of turn, and wood will be the way to go, obviously).

 

[ColeyS1]

I've been keeping very quiet

Me to. If I were to have commented it would have been to agree with some of Jacob's thoughts. For it to stand half a chance the glue bond would have had to be very good. That would have meant nice tight joints but you're still left with short grain on the sides. I feel bad for Roger because alot of work has gone into it. It's the mk1 version though and the mk2 will be bang on fantastic !
Out of curiosity is the riser an absolute true radius? If so do you know what the radius is to the front edge ?


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[RogerS]

Trust me, TN...no movement whatsoever. I don't mind a nightingale floor. It's an old house, the old floors creak but my stuff doesn't. It's glued and screwed down too much. In any event, a creak on the floor late at night gives me chance to get the shotgun. :twisted:

Coley...I understand your concern but not valid in this case. The nosing overhangs the rise by only a few mm or so and there are many, many more mm sitting snugly on the top panel of the subframe. The nosing is glued to the ply of the transition strip with lots and lots of dominos. That whole sub-assembly will be screwed and glued down onto the top panel. It will be solid as a rock. Just the wrong shape But I have a plan.

Design is all. Not Jacob's clunky old-fashioned rustic style.

 

[ColeyS1]

I'd be tempted to do something like this on the mk2 version.

Allow your nosing oversized and route a groove into the top then glue your contrasting strip in. Buy adding the piece to the groove, providing the strip is snug ,(even if it's not you could make that over sized aswell) should ensure a good bond. You could wedge the strip forward if needed. The only thing I would do before is route/round the finished front edge before doing anything else.

Edit- what I meant when the strip could be oversized

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[Jacob]

.......

Design is all.

But not if the structure won't support it

Not Jacob's clunky old-fashioned rustic style.

Nothing rustic about trad staircases, least of all Georgian. Here's one, albeit newly made. https://www.homify.co.uk/projects/45876 ... ase-surrey
The 2nd step is very much what I did in my example above, the first step will be exactly the same design in principle. Note the thick treads - probably about 32mm.
Best of luck!

 

[RogerS]

There won't be a Mk II ! That's for sure.

 

[ColeyS1]

Would a groove not make your life alot easier in terms of gluing up and getting a nice tight joint? The nosing would be wider aswell.

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[RogerS]

Would a groove not make your life alot easier in terms of gluing up and getting a nice tight joint? The nosing would be wider aswell.

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It might, Coley but I think a wide nosing would look ugly. But as I mentioned, I ain't got any more oak. And I ain't got any more veneer. So it is what it is.

 

[ColeyS1]

The nosing would be the exact same size to look at,just have more support underneath. It' have no straight through joint like you've got at the moment so wouldn't be relying on sticking end grain to end grain . The dotted line is where it would be cut back.

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[RogerS]

The nosing would be the exact same size to look at,just have more support underneath. .....
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Your nosing extends about 10x what mine does ! I have all the support I need. Just the wrong shape

 

[ColeyS1]

Something like this Roger

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[RogerS]

I appreciate your help and suggestions, Coley. But there won't be a MkII for lots of reasons.

 

[Trevanion]

Design is all. Not Jacob's clunky old-fashioned rustic style.

To be fair, Jacob's "clunky old-fashioned rustic style" has been how I've been doing bullnose/d-end risers for years. Before that, it was removing all the material instead of kerfs, cut a dovetail on each shoulder so it acted like a sliding dovetail, make a softwood block that had the correct radius and the dovetails at the ends of the radius so that they locked together, it's very sturdy but very time-consuming. The kerfing comparatively is lightning fast and very simple to do and grants excellent results every time. I did a full d-end staircase the other day which requires a little more working out than a straightforward bullnose (with one of those you just allow plenty in the lengths each side of the 90-degree bend and cut to fit.), I spent perhaps an hour drawing it and the front end of the stairs with the newels up in full size on a sheet of plywood, a couple of hours making up the softwood blocks and machining the oak to size, half an hour cutting the kerfs and then another half an hour gluing it up.

As I said in your original design thread, I would’ve personally made the front up from segmented blocks but I understand that’s not the look you were going for. But that amount of short grain is a recipe for splitting in the heat no matter how much glue you use unfortunately. There’s some really nice chair “designs” that look lovely but structurally they’re terrible with way too much short grain everywhere.

 

[Jacob]

Design is all. Not Jacob's clunky old-fashioned rustic style.

To be fair, Jacob's "clunky old-fashioned rustic style" has been how I've been doing bullnose/d-end risers for years. Before that, it was removing all the material instead of kerfs, cut a dovetail on each shoulder so it acted like a sliding dovetail, make a softwood block that had the correct radius and the dovetails at the ends of the radius so that they locked together,.....

Not to mention the folding wedges to to pull it all tight!
The reason why 'traditional' is worth looking at is that it is the distilled and combined wisdom of how to do difficult things, from generations of people struggling and succeeding in doing the stuff.
The word has at least two barely related meanings and can be nothing at all to do with Morris dancing, seasonal celebrations, folk singing with one finger in your ear, or "clunky old-fashioned rustic style".

 

[RogerS]

.....
The reason why 'traditional' is worth looking at is that it is the distilled and combined wisdom of how to do difficult things, from generations of people struggling and succeeding in doing the stuff.
...

Yeah...right. Like people saying "Use Danish oil"

If you had your way, Jacob...we'd still be using logs to move stuff about and the wheel would never have been invented.

 

[Jacob]

.....
The reason why 'traditional' is worth looking at is that it is the distilled and combined wisdom of how to do difficult things, from generations of people struggling and succeeding in doing the stuff.
...

Yeah...right. Like people saying "Use Danish oil"

If you had your way, Jacob...we'd still be using logs to move stuff about and the wheel would never have been invented.

"Reinventing the wheel" in the case of your progressive futuristic stair case. Good job it wasn't a whole flight!

 

[RogerS]

.....
The reason why 'traditional' is worth looking at is that it is the distilled and combined wisdom of how to do difficult things, from generations of people struggling and succeeding in doing the stuff.
...

Yeah...right. Like people saying "Use Danish oil"

If you had your way, Jacob...we'd still be using logs to move stuff about and the wheel would never have been invented.

Or reinvented in the case of your progressive futuristic stair case. Good job it wasn't a whole flight!

You've got the right word...progress !!

 

[Jacob]

.....

Yeah...right. Like people saying "Use Danish oil"

If you had your way, Jacob...we'd still be using logs to move stuff about and the wheel would never have been invented.

Reinvented the wheel "in the case of your progressive futuristic stair case. Good job it wasn't a whole flight!

You've got the right word...progress !!

Oh is it finished? Well done.