I was making some custom handrail parts the other day and used a term which the installer was unfamiliar with. ("swan neck"). "Goose neck I know" he replied "but what exactly is a swan neck?"
After explaining that a swan neck has an over easing at the top where it connects with the level rail (as apposed to the mitered joint of a goose neck) it occurred to me that as far as stairs are concerned, we do have a bit of a menagerie…
Here are a few common and obsolete terms and tools used in connection with stairs.(in no particular order):
Goose Neck
Swan Neck
Bull Nose
Nosing
Bench Dog
Dog's Leg
Lamb's Tongue
Toad's Back
Knee
Pig Tail
Swallows Tail
Dove Tail
Squirrel Tail
Monkey Tail
Rat Tail
Ram’s Horn
Nautilus
Snail
Thumb Nail
Bull’s Eye Level
Fish Tail Gouge
Serpentine
Bird’s Mouth
Herring-Bone Bracing
Spider-web framing
Elephant Molder
Grasshopper Gauge
Cockle Stairs
Have I forgotten any? I was going to add “rabbit plane†but I think it’s “Rabbet?â€
After explaining that a swan neck has an over easing at the top where it connects with the level rail (as apposed to the mitered joint of a goose neck) it occurred to me that as far as stairs are concerned, we do have a bit of a menagerie…
Here are a few common and obsolete terms and tools used in connection with stairs.(in no particular order):
Goose Neck
Swan Neck
Bull Nose
Nosing
Bench Dog
Dog's Leg
Lamb's Tongue
Toad's Back
Knee
Pig Tail
Swallows Tail
Dove Tail
Squirrel Tail
Monkey Tail
Rat Tail
Ram’s Horn
Nautilus
Snail
Thumb Nail
Bull’s Eye Level
Fish Tail Gouge
Serpentine
Bird’s Mouth
Herring-Bone Bracing
Spider-web framing
Elephant Molder
Grasshopper Gauge
Cockle Stairs
Have I forgotten any? I was going to add “rabbit plane†but I think it’s “Rabbet?â€
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