Dual 216 degree stairways

[StanFoster]

I am about to receive a big shipment of mahogany...to build these two curved stairways with. These stairs stack on top of each other and will rise 24 feet through a turret going up to two floors. It will be a logistical challenge...but this is what I thrive on. I will not die of boredom.. My wife never can understand why I love doing these......sometimes I pinch myself and wonder how in the heck I ever got into this profession.

I am now in the process of gluing up the 3 inch thick curb stringers that will support these stairs. The stairs on the right is freestanding on the inside stringer...and I will have to laminate an internal beam to make it self supporting.

The last pictures are of the turret that I posted pictures of some time ago. It took the owners all this time to decide on the stair style and species. But once the wood arrives...I will be up to my elbows.

Stan

[StanFoster]

My mahogany trees finally grew large enough down in Honduras..and I had a truckload delivered yesterday.

I am now busy gluing up both outside stringers on these dual stairways. The stringers are 25 feet long..by 13 inches wide.

There are two shots of my expensive clamping cauls. You will notice I am not too particular in having them the same length....same species...or color. These clamping cauls have a lot of experience behind them...and I will use them probably on my last stairway. They have never failed me, and though I had a stairbuilder laugh at me one day , making fun of my low outlay in tools.....I feel sorry for him as he is now out of work.

My work in the stairshop is very laid back...kind of like at the pace of petting an ol tomcat.....EXCEPT during a glueup such as this....working alone....for 30 minutes I go at a pace like I am KILLING SNAKES.....then I go back to my tom cat petting mode, and even find time to go into the next room and do something to my Helicycle.

This stairway will be under the one to the right...and the pair of them will climb 24 feet up the turret on the home. They will be EXTREME PIGS to haul in there...but thats what makes it a challenge.

There is a LOT of laminating to do on the inside stringers....as they will be self supporting and 3 inches thick.

These laminates make the whole stairway appear to be out of solid mahogany, a very expensive wood.....but it would be a sin to laminate all that beautiful wood when all you see is one side of these stringers...and the tops of them.

You can make out the strips I glued on the top of these stringers that hide the inner plies of luan.....when its all done...it will look like one giant bent piece of mahogany.



Stan

[Vance]

I am proud to know you Stan.

I try to imagine having dual 216 degree stairways inside of my head and figuring out how to make it to where others can see it and touch it and I am unable.

You are an inspiration to us all.

Thank you, Vance

[StanFoster]

Thanks Vance- I worked on the chopper while the glue on the lower half was drying....then cut a mating scarf joint and joined the top laminate with the bottom one. I cant get 25 foot long laminates for some reason!

Now its just sitting there and drying.....and I am knocking off early to take my wife and daughter to a Christmas craft show....then out to a nice steakhouse.

Stan

[StanFoster]

Still laminating the inside stringers on these two stairways. I have 13 laminates on each stringer. I just really got started this week on laminating. I was waiting on some more mahogany.

In the morning I come out at 6 a.m....apply two laminates to each stairway and am finished around 9 a.m. That gives me the option of either watching the glue dry, clean my shop...or go work on the Helicycle for 3 hours.

Of course my choice is working on the Helicyle. Then after 3 hours on the choppper...I eat lunch, and at 1 p.m. I am back gluing and laminating on the stairways againe till about 4 p.m which is my quitting time. I may go work on the chopper another hour....then I am home. Keeps my income needs satisfied and my working on my helicopter fix satisfied.


I will soon have these stringers inner plies capped off with real mahogany...then their inside face laminates of 15 inch wide mahagony will be clamped on. These stringers will then be muscled over to my workbench where they will be hand and power planed.....routed and all the other stuff I have to do.

Later they will be placed back in the forms....layed out for the mortises that will hold the mahogany treads and risers.

If I reveal anymore....I will have to kindly ask all to turn in their notes ....as you now know too much and I will have to shoot you!

Just kidding....or am I?


Stan

[choppergabor]

Wow it's truly amazing how this comes together..... Stan you have a gift. Oh yeah and don't shoot me

[67november]

WOW great work Stan, puts my building of an 8X8 ice fishing house to shame, gotta love the smell of fresh cut lumber thou

[Dennis D]

Stan.
Something tells me you might be pretty good at ascending and descending turns in the helicopter.

[WHUBBS]

Stan, Don't tell me, that you could not build rotor's, for all of us, as it could not be as hard, as building these beautiful stairways, that you build for others.

you do some fine work, and i love to see them, especially when you get the crew to move them out of your shop. would love to see them on a trailer outside, ready for delivery.

Wayne Hubbs

[Doug S.]

I am just amazed how it goes together.
Keep posting pictures, I am hooked.
Doug S.

[StanFoster]

Doug and others- thanks for the comments. Doug, here are some more pictures you requested for your "fix".


This is the last laminate on this inside stringer....#13th laminate. It is 15 inches wide...by 18.5 feet long......1/4 inch thick.

You can see where I am doing a dress rehearsal before the glue is applied and the real show starts. I do these completely by myself....and little tricks like that vertical 2 x 4 are my little helpers. I used a then strip of wood and wrapped it around the stringer to mark the large laminate for length. After I was confident the length was right...I indexed it with pencil marks....these will tell me where to put the first clamping caul on. Once the glue is rolled on, its show time and in 45 minutes....I am done whether it came out nice or turned into a disaster. There are so many ways to put these laminates on wrong...on only one way to do it right. I occasionally have to fight it for 15 minutes....getting a bulge out ...or my laminate going out of parallel. This one gave me only minor fits...before it yielded to submission to all my clamps.

I have another stringer to do this to on wed. After a few days of drying...this 3 inch thick by 15 inch wide...by 18.5 foot stringer will be carried over to my workbench where I will plane down the mahogany strips, and then round them over. It will look like it was cut solid out of a mahogany tree....

Stan

[Minnesota_Mike]

GO...GO...you Stair building Maniac..!

[StanFoster]

I took all the clamps off this morning..and heres the pig of a stringer.

I have to apply some mahogany cap strips on the bottom edge...so one more gluing session. Thursday the pig comes over to my workbench to get all dolled up with chisels...routers...hand planers...power planers .and anything else that I have that is arm powered or plugs in.


Stan

[StanFoster]

I had the task today of getting that pig of a stringer out of the forms...lower it to the floor, and transporting it onto my workbench....by myself. I used a nylon strap and ran it over the form walls....tied it off ...and released the clamps. The stringer fell just about t 2 inches as the slack was taken up in my strap. It was a real easy lowering that a 6 year old could have handled.

I just put it on my wheeled carts....and rolled it to my workbench....then just the geometry of a spiral let me screw it on to the bench...no strain on my back. Putting it back will take four guys however. Then we are dealing with finished edges that cant be scruffed up.

Stan

[StanFoster]

Here it is on my operating table where I will spend a day hand planing.. routing...sanding...etc...making this look like it belongs in a mansion. It will be mortised to receive treads and risers.


Stan