I have used 3/4" riser stock by cutting the backside of the material with
the table saw. Many relief cuts, about 1/8" apart leaving about 1/8" on the
surface. It works ok, but the radius is not perfect (you have to feel the
wood to know it though.) and you have to be very careful handling it or it
will break. Look for straight grained material. Oak plywood is easier using
the same technique. Either way you need relief cuts. I think the veneer
would be the cleanest cover. Less worries about cutting the riser too short
too(grumble, grumble)
M Hamlin
"Neil Woods" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am trying to built a starting step for a stairway. I need to bend oak,
or
> a suitable substrate to a 16" radius for the riser section. If something
> other than oak would handle that bend, then an oak veneer would be
applied.
Gives easier access from the side.
M Hamlin
"Neil Woods" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >
> > I'm confused by this whole thread... Staircases have some tricky
radiused
> > curvy bent thing at the bottom? Why?
> >
> Square corners, sharp edges, perfectly straight lines? How boring!
>
> BTW, the curvy thing at the bottom of a stairway is either a turnout or a
> volute. This is usually attached to the end of the stair rail and above
the
> rounded starter step.
"Neil Woods" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> I am trying to built a starting step for a stairway. I need to bend
> oak, or a suitable substrate to a 16" radius for the riser section.
> If something other than oak would handle that bend, then an oak veneer
> would be applied.
>
> Thanks for any help you may offer!
>
> Neil
>
>
>
>
I did this for the bottom step of my stairs. I kerf cut 1/4" plywood to
the radius and used contact cement to glue on a veneer of my wood
(Brazilian cherry). It looks great. Just make sure that the veneer is
thick enough to take a vacuum cleaner and thin enough to bend around the
radius and get held in place with the contact cement/glue/epoxy/whatever.
I ended up with a thicker veneer and had to add a trim piece that holds one
end in place becuase the cement wasn't strong enough.
Alternatively you can laminate on thinner sheets of wood an put the veneer
over that (to avoid the kerf cut), though it isn't clear that method would
take less time or yield a better result.
-Matt
I have kerfed the back of maple for a similar application and had good
results. The problem with oak is that it tends to kink where the board may
have a cup. . This will happen when one of the kerf cuts is deeper or
shallower because of the cup. It, the oak, is also more brittle and seems
to crack more easily than the maple
We have considered using plywood (3/4" oak), but the total length of the
riser is longer than 8'. We can get oak veneer 10' long to apply to a pine
board. The problem we fear is that the pine may "move" too much and the
veneer will work loose or buckle in some fashion.
I may be all wet about the movement of the softwood substrate though....
Oak plywood would actually work great, but again, there are no 10' sheets
available in our area.
OH well, if this were an easy problem, I wouldn't have to ask the experts in
this newsgroup.
Neil
--
"MSH" <mnd@jaacom> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have used 3/4" riser stock by cutting the backside of the material with
> the table saw. Many relief cuts, about 1/8" apart leaving about 1/8" on
the
> surface. It works ok, but the radius is not perfect (you have to feel the
> wood to know it though.) and you have to be very careful handling it or it
> will break. Look for straight grained material. Oak plywood is easier
using
> the same technique. Either way you need relief cuts. I think the veneer
> would be the cleanest cover. Less worries about cutting the riser too
short
> too(grumble, grumble)
>
> M Hamlin
>
> "Neil Woods" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I am trying to built a starting step for a stairway. I need to bend
oak,
> or
> > a suitable substrate to a 16" radius for the riser section. If
something
> > other than oak would handle that bend, then an oak veneer would be
> applied.
>
>
If you build a backing frame you can face it with wiggle wood. It is
1/8" or 1/4" ply that is laminated with all the grain running in the
same direction. Rather than being stiff by opposing grain directions
the stuff is like a wet noodle. Then you can face it with a veneer. It
comes with the loose direction in the 4ft or 8ft direction.
Lets say you are building a 6" riser. I would bandsaw three pieces of
your favorite 3/4 ply at a 15 1'4" radius (I would use baltic birch
but MDF will work also and is much easier to sand out). Then put some
1 7/8" tall ribs between the pieces to make a 6" tall sandwich. Then
wrap the front with6 layers or 1/8" wiggle wood. You could probably
tack the wiggle wood to the radiused pieces but be sure to fill and
sand any indentations. The proper method would be to build a negeative
radiused piece to match the outside diameter so you could clamp and
glue it. Then veneer it. You should also clamp and glue the veneer
veneer but if you use contact cement and a good roller, you should be
fine.
BW
"Neil Woods" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I am trying to built a starting step for a stairway. I need to bend oak, or
> a suitable substrate to a 16" radius for the riser section. If something
> other than oak would handle that bend, then an oak veneer would be applied.
>
> Thanks for any help you may offer!
>
> Neil
On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 13:26:23 GMT, "Neil Woods" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I am trying to built a starting step for a stairway. I need to bend oak, or
>a suitable substrate to a 16" radius for the riser section.
Try using a "knee", a piece of oak that grew that shape. Some sawyers
keep them around, as do some boatbuilders.
16" radius is a tight bend. If you're making anything thicker than a
rowboat, you'll be wanting to laminate that, not bend it in one piece.
Neil Woods wrote:
> I am trying to built a starting step for a stairway. I need to bend oak,
I'm confused by this whole thread... Staircases have some tricky radiused
curvy bent thing at the bottom? Why?
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 17272 Approximate word count: 518160
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/