I can't cope

[R James S]

That is some of the finest craftmanship I have ever seen. I don't believe I could have done that over the course of 6 months and many pieces of expensive firewood.
BTW, howlong did it take you to do the whole stairway?

[markhoni]

Jim, I believe you showed us a picture of that stairway in another, earlier thread. I could tell it was going to be a real bugger to fit the ballusters going around the corners. You did what all great craftsmen did, and found a way to make it work, and make it look good.I'm glad it was you, and not me doing it.Kudos for surviving it. And not killing any critics that haven't got a clue how hard it is to do something like that.

[jimAKAblue]

Jim, thank you for posting this thread and the pics of your work. I'm in awe. I'm sure I'd have burned through a few trees trying to get that baluster to fit lol.

Ultimately, how long did it end up taking to get that one baluster fit that you posted in the original post?

As I looked at it, AFTER IT IS COMPLETED, I tried to figure out how I would approach a job like this. I almost passed out thinking about how to get started. After getting my senses back, I came up with this approach. Can you comment on whether I would be in the ballpark?

I'd find the center of the baluster and layout that mark on the top and bottom. That would be the easy part...I think. Arrgh...it's complicated even trying to come up with a plan.

Then, I'd stretch a taut string/wire from the rail to the marble transition.

From that string, I'd find my corners of the baluster and mark them on the transition.

I'd then connect the dots, which would give me the outline of the baluster on the transition.

I'd then create a pattern which would fit the curved profile on the edge of each side of the baluster.

I'd then apply the pattern to each side of the baluster, which in theory, would connect with each other perfectly when I marked all four sides.

From there, I'd start carving.

Please feel free to tell me that I should stick to rough framing LOL!

Again, I'm in awe. I hate round and curves, mainly because it's so challenging.

[Keith Mathewson]

Outstanding work Jim. I'd like to think I could do it but I have serious doubts. I can see why they were willing to fly you out there.

[Jim Baldwin]

jimAKAblue has the right idea. I actually installed a threaded rod (like a plumb bob) between the rail and stone. The rod was first passed through a pair of short blocks which were cut-offs from the balusters. These were secured on the rod with nuts and washers. Along the faces of these squares I was able to make accurate templates from poster board which were were then overlaid onto the balusters. (Voila!)

Actually it was still very hard even with the templates. The balusters were huge and the maple was hard. I had no bandsaw or proper way to cut through the solid posts. After struggling through a couple of these, I had another brainstorm. Actually I remembered a page out of an old book (A Treatise on Stairbuilding...Mowat 1900).

This book had a short chapter on stone stairs and an illustration depicting the squares of the balusters formed directly onto the curb and underside of the handrail. The turned sections were then set between them. (Ah ha!)

Sounds crazy but I proceeded to cut off all the squares of the balusters that would require complex copes. I ordered new squares from the shop made from soft poplar (and hollow!). I added short, square tenons to the cut-off ends of the balusters. These would fit into the hollow spaces of the poplar squares.

Now I was cooking with gas!.. I'm cutting and fitting hollow boxes to the curb instead of solid maple timbers (and cutting them with a jig saw!). They were also mounted over square tenon blocks which I've epoxied to the stone. The turned sections are mounted likewise onto the squares along with the attached upper square.

This may sound like a lot of unnecessary work but it was much easier than chiseling through solid maple like some sculptor with a mallet. Each baluster would have required at least two full days and there were more that a dozen requiring cope-cuts. As it is, my last stint on the job saw me at work 12 hours a day for 20 straight days (I had promised a Christmas completion). I also stayed in the house since the guest room was available.

In retrospect, I believe this was a "good and proper method" of installing these balusters (on this stair) and I made use of it as required. Unfortunately quite a bit of the previous work (by others) had to be removed and re-set so that every trick-in-the-book had to be employed. (I was pulling rabbits from hats and hoping not to run out of rabbits.)

Anyway, thanks to all for the complements... it means a lot coming from peers and guys who understand just how tough things can get.

[timraleigh]

Sounds crazy but I proceeded to cut off all the squares of the balusters that would require complex copes. I ordered new squares from the shop made from soft poplar (and hollow!). I added short, square tenons to the cut-off ends of the balusters. These would fit into the hollow spaces of the poplar squares.

Now I was cooking with gas!.. I'm cutting and fitting hollow boxes to the curb instead of solid maple timbers (and cutting them with a jig saw!). They were also mounted over square tenon blocks which I've epoxied to the stone. The turned sections are mounted likewise onto the squares along with the attached upper square.

Very cool.
When I looked closer at the photo that showed the staircase from above with all those floors, I realized how many you had to do!
Sheesh!
Tim