Measure the stair case. Strike the rails out with chalk on a bench or the w/shop floor first . Then you can see what your about to fabricate. Tack up and build the opposite rail directly on top of your first rail. Both will be Identical
Definitely the quickest way to be sure they match! I build a lot of ornamental railings, and on stair rails I always draw them out on the floor and build over the drawings. Industrial railings, like in this video, are SO much easier to build with square tubing than pipe!
I've been fitting and welding structural steel for 20+ years. I'm here to tell you stairs and handrail ain't no joke. Remember it's exposed and cosmetic. Meaning you can spot a minute detail out of true quite easily. It's always good to take your time and check and recheck lay out and fit up. Adhere to +/- 0 tolerance. And my god invest in a wire feeder if you're going do more of these types of projects! Nice work man. Keep up on the vids.👍
We had 7 seven sets of stairs to build, 14 treads, 2 landings, handrail, after stick welding up the first one, (we are stick welders) we bought a wire feed, more than doubled our speed. maybe even tripled.
You never get a second chance on a first impression! When I received my package I was blown away! Wrapped in brown paper, Blue Book in its own little bag and soap stones in a tidy storage tube. Oh the bonus stickers were great too! Great job Kala!
All I ordered was some stickers and the packaging was incredible and I and I even got a hand written thank you card. There’s not many places that do that kind of stuff, keep it up Austin and Kayla!
I used to be a formwork carpenter, was on a job with hundreds of 3.6m x 500mm x 500mm Insitu concrete columns, I could square and plum them within 6mm over it's length. with my eye. I'd always check with a plum bob after the concrete was poured. But once your eye is dialed its pretty darn accurate. You need something in the area to gauge your eye off, but it doesn't need to be that close.
Hi there I believe your issue on the hand rails was because at the top upright for your railing you have it at the back of the tread and the lower upright is at the front of the tread and that would change your angle if both uprights were cut the same length. Hope this makes sense. Very nice work!
It’s crazy cause a few years ago I watched your channel thinking maybe one day I’d learn to weld and get on the pipeline, and a few years later I find your channel again and am actually welding at my high school and plan on doing welding as a side business
If you measure from top of step you have to measure from the same place on the step each time. I built some metal stairs that were almost identical to those except the bottom part was hinged so that it could be unpinned and rotate under the stairway.
I appreciate how good of a job you were able to do with how you had/chose to do it. A few suggestions: 1) all you need to know is your rise and run. Take that and lay it out on a large welding table (mine is 5’x12’) and once satisfied, weld angle clips to the table and there’s your fixture to build in. 2) stop screwing around trying to stick weld everything (friggin’ pipe weldors). Get a suitcase or an inverter multi-process MIG machine (I would suggest the Lincoln 210MP).
Next try a set of curved stairs. I built my own 35 years ago. Considered buying them, but cost would have been $25,000. I invested $500 and 16 hours, and they turned out great. Was really pleased that my plan for the layout was correct. Did a lot of head scratching figuring it out. On a Southwestern style house, white stucco.
Hey " A " man, just quick thought on the out measurements, check where you messure on the step. If you check it from the bull nose, will be longer, but at the back of the stair it will be shorter. I've run into it in the beginning. Hood down lights on.
I recommend you use a mig welder and save you a bunch of time and make you more money. I use a tight cone on my Miller welder and you can weld outside even with a go breeze with no problem 14 ga is strong enough for a railing like this. I use 14 ga all the time and never have any issues even on railings I’ve done over 10 yrs ago
I’m a carpenter and I used to have some trouble keeping railings parallel with the stringer but then I learned from someone to cut two equal spacer blocks perpendicular off the stringer and set your railing on top of them. It’s so hard to get your tape measure perfectly perpendicular off the stringer or perfectly plumb off a nosing, so it’s easy to be off.
the secret to stair construction balustrade (stairs in general) is to use a angle template or a protractor, geometry is the foundation. Physical measurements produce the issues encountered, transferring angles to each element reduces errors in your cuts.
Hello Austin. Thank you for all you do! I am a Pipefitter out of Local 469, Phx. I was a Carpenter years ago. The way I was taught to install handrails is. You take a framing square and lay the 16" leg on the front of the stairs treads, you would do this twice, on the top and bottom and get marks on the drywall but in your case you might need to put up temporary post. It will seem very low but if done properly it will work out great. I love watching your videos keep up the good work!!
This is a crack-up! I went through the very same problem myself! I'm like you, I never did figure it out,it dam near drove me crazy! Your right about eye balling it. I find it to be true in wood working as well. I think one of biggest problems is that we don't work with angle enough and by the time we figure it out, we're done with the job. We're human and we forget, from one time to the next. Have ever watched someone that knows about hanging crown molding? I can do it. But by the time it takes the average person to figure it out, there done. It's a lot like welding, the you practice, hopefully the better you become. Angle are just tricky period. I think with angle alot come into play. We think we have measured right,cut right and yet we are off! Oh I was suppose to tell myself to leave the line on, not cut it off! Oh well! Always enjoy learning something from you Ross ✨ God bless and keep up the great work!
I fit up and welded many hand rails ...we used round. Pipe and we layed them in cups on a welding table...we did the platforms too..I talked them together on the table using 60110 and 7018. 3/32 ..we used flapping welds to clean and sand the welds!...laying them out can be a problem!
Good video and good points about using your eye. A lot of people don't understand the trials and tribulations we have as welders/fabricators. I've built many stair cases and handrails. When we do handrail, we always bevel all joints and flap wheel all weld joints, so it looks seamless like one piece of material. A lot of times, we go with a 1x2 rectangular tubing for the top rail, as it looks better than just using 1 1/2" for everything. Good job and smart move to use a transit before hand.
Suitcase welder with flux core wire would be my choice to make this staircase. You did a great job on this project just like all the other stuff you fabricated. The only way to get better is repetition, but you build all sorts of different stuff. Be blessed and enjoy life.
I work in hydronics and bosses rush us to get pipe in air which leads to pointless number of field welds not in accessable spots. Usually mirrors evolved all to hurry up and get that show pipe up and not think ahead and cost more time redoing yet alone how much harder it is to get to with all other piping in the air in your way. Spend time think it thru, lay out and re think and go from there will be your best bet for having things right with out rework. Love what your doing and would love to do it my self some day.
WENT THROUGH MOST THE COMMENTS AND THEY WERE WRONG lol I've been a carpenter since i left school at the age of 16 here in Sydney, Australia. Im now 31 and opening up a structural steel fabrication shop supplying steel for other carpenters and builders. Love your videos!! This is where you went wrong. When you are measuring the height of those two posts, you need to measure the heights from one side of the post...either the left side of the post or the right(ill try my best to make sense of it) In this case, if we look at the top post...we can measure the height from the inside of the post(which is the right side) we can call that X-cm Now when you measure the lower post, you dont measure the height on the internal side of the post(left) The height of X-cm has to be measured on the outside of the post(right).. When we work spacings in carpentry we always measure "over to in", "but in to over", that's how you keep heights parallel when working with angles/slopes. I drew a little diagram but i don't know how to upload it on the comment section. Love your work tho
Mystery solved. You need a special tool you seem to be missing, namely a second set of eyes to compensate for "exact" measurements. Measure all you want, but if it doesn't "look" right, it's not. Know also, you're not alone. Heck, we're never really alone; Murphy is always lurking about somewhere!!
The handrail should be 34 to 38 in measured plumb from the front edge of the tread. In a commercial setting, there should be a guard rail that is 42 in high measured plumb from the front edge of the tread and you would also need the grippable handrail at 34 to 38 in measured plumb from the front edge of the tread. It matters if you're measuring from the front edge of the tread or the back edge of the tread. Could that be where your angle got screwed up?
Hey " A " man, One quick thought, checking the angle of the rail. Go to your framing square, hold a straight edge fom the rise to the run, then hold the beveling T square against the rise and the tongue on the angle, then tighten the wing nut, and their you are. Thats the quick and easy, let me know how it works for you. Hood down lights on.
I understand you want your rails to be parallel so the finished product looks right and symmetrical. But when you where measuring your heights parallel to the stringer. If you look at code you are suppose to measure from the the noise of the stair tread vertically. So by measuring the way you are, on an angle and thus throwing the measurement off. For simplicity try measuring your vertical rails and mark them. next run a piece of tube, wood anything thing straight and clamp it on you mark. Check it my eye and the mark where the straight hits you mark thus giving you your angle and proper height of where the hand rail will go. Putting in the center rail is then easy. All you have to do is measure straight down or up on you verticals find center and there you go.
Can't tell from the video if this was a factor, but the most common reason for parts to come up short when cutting multiples of the same length is to use each cut piece as it's finished to lay out the next one along the stock. It is a particularly notorious problem with curved stock, like cable or coiled tubing. But it can also crop up when cutting multiples of straight stock when the cutoff angle is anything other than 90 degrees. If you are going to use a "master piece" to lay out multiples of the same length, always mark and use only that designated "master" as your layout tool (in woodworking it's sometimes called a "story stick"). But guys can get careless and keep grabbing the piece they just cut to layout the next piece. That often leads to progressive shrinkage from one piece to the next. Just a thought.
Building codes generally specify the distance to the top of the stair rail from the nose of the step tread. Typically 34 to 36 inches. If you go an inch or so in front of, or behind the nose of a step tread and get that measurement, it will be wrong! It’s one more reason why it’s a good idea to chalk a full size drawing on the floor complete with the locations of the top and bottom step nose, then build over the drawing. Start with a long straight baseline and square off of it. If it was easy, women and children would be doing it! (Quote from a contractor friend!) In my area, they would require the guard rail on the level landing section to be 42” tall. They want all the welds ground down nearly flat. You did a pretty job on this!
Another great project in the books, Austin 👍. I think it came out real nice. Now it's time for you to go get your pilot's license and a small Kitfox, c'mon 👌
Thanks for sharing with us Austin, really enjoyed watching your video. Turned out great, looks great installed. Have a great weekend. Fred.🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👋👋
Man I'm building a bed for my work truck and I'll cut a piece and go to put it on and it won't fit right and I'll just stand there thinking, how the heck did I come up with this! Lol
Nice stairs man! I wanted to join your new pipe fence program, but ive been putting all my money into my welder. Hopefully If you start another program I'll be ready!
My uncle taught me to use 6011 to make sure I got a good joint often times the metal was dirty and you needed to burn through the rime rust. He said use 7018 to cover the 6011 bead and make the job pretty
Wish I could post a picture of the stairs I built. I found a stair calculater on the internet that helped in the beginning. Figured out the angles with an angle finder and on the speed square.then you can set the speed square on the hand rail, at the angle marked on the square,then set a level on that to check for perfection.
Was gonna say what most others are saying ... Always measure handrail height at the nose of each tread ... Stairs can be a bugger , but very gratifying when you finish ... I used to have a 5 x 12 ' table to lay the sections out on , but now have to do my layout on the floor ... It's a lot harder to do handrails in the shop and them bring out and install on stairs ... Much easier to build them onsite ...
Again a great job. You said your upright posts are 36" most handrails in a plant or facility are 42" high. Also on your platform a 4" toe board is common practice. Again a great job.
Residential guardrails are minimum of 34" and maximum of 38" it might vary also in different states but this measurement is what i searched for in Oklahoma. In commercial applications that require OSHA that minimum is 42" with 4" toeboard.
I built steps for a raised platform. The poor cats that built the platform in the 80s had a tough job with crooked concrete. I had a bunch of fun making the stairs look good. Tape measure, level, and angles meant nothing. Lol. I built 4 steps to that platform. It was built as you go for sure.
Awesome job man. I don't have any critiques except I wish I was there to help. That's a lot of fun. Just curious if you know the difference between 7010-P1 and 7010-A1 rods. I thought I had bought P1s, but it ended up being A1s and I'm having a hard time running them downhill on pipe.
the minute you change the camera angle 2:46 you can see that the rear is a higher post ( If you'd put a level across it I think you'd have noticed?) You definitely went the right way to fix it! Awesome work by the way
That project turned out pretty dang good! Look forward to the next job. Tell Kayla to keep up the good work. Hope y’all have a great 4th of July! Work hard and be safe.
Fantastic looking job man. If you really want to get particular about your handrails, you can use a little Bondo 🤪. I did that about 6 or 7 years ago on a job, every time I go by there I look at it, it's still holding up 🤸
youre mistake was when you pulled a measurment perpendicular to the slope of the steps. Always measure the part, ie, the vertical support post for the hand rail. I always measure from the point that the support connects into the stringers to the bottom of where the handrail will be.
I think you did it right. Fitting and marking up is tough. Things go screwy sometimes. Best bet is take your time fitting up and catching mistakes like this before you weld out. I haven't seen everything and I share in this issue at times. I don't know that any fit up ever goes 100% perfect unless you are repeating the same part over and over and build a jig for it. So the video is real world, check, and recheck before you weld any project out. Great demonstration of what it takes to get a job done. Theory on what went wrong to be off by such a small amount: could be a matter of measuring in the wrong spot Top upright appears flush with your steps/run end (from what I can see in the video) the bottom upright is sitting in front of the stringer making your adjustment about half of the OD of the upright material. Again, just a theory/best guess. BTW, I love all the carpenters weighing in. They know this stuff cold, lots of great suggestions. I have used supports squared up and tacked to the stringer at 2 points to make sure longer handrails come out right(more if it sags on a long run). Sometimes I make a makeshift "T" at the top of the supports from flat bar. Gives me something to clamp to. Never easy being a one man show, got to find ways to make "extra hands". Great video as always. Keep 'em coming!
Very nice project! Could you please speak a little bit about the “projecting “ phase. What kind of measures do I need to take to make the handrail of the right length, height and with the right angle? Thanks
As has been mentioned, lay that thing out on the floor, mdf, or plywood. Cut pcs. Weld. Build next on top of first. Install. All my rails are pipe. Things look to be a little looser there code wise. 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 sch. 40. Yes in some cases you can use Sq tube if it's been stamped but you'll never go wrong with those two pipe sizes. Get r, b Wagner or Sharpe cat or use website for fittings. If you are working with stamped approved drawings.
Top stringer and bottom stringer height differs (Stair stringers). So measuring from rail to stringer will give the same measurement on top and bottom. But your top rail will be higher because your top stringer is fitted higher where it meets with the bottom stringer.
Austin one other tip I can give is get a small mug or fluxcore welder 110 volts u will save sooo much money and it will cut ur tim in have brother I am telling u the clean up is 10000000 times faster and the welds look soooo much cleaner
Also to get the correct height on rails to the upright post at top of stairs you have to come out the distance of how far the up right is set back and then angle down. Sometime you do and sometimes it’s close enough not to if it’s not set back too far or at all
Hi Austin,like all things there are constants,the heights of the handrail is one,as you approach the stairs you want the rail to be in front of the first tread,being an extension or reveal ,so if you rail is 36 it would be 36 from the floor up vertically,so the floor is like a tread as is the landing,so if your at 30*,most stairs are close,draw a horiz,draw a 30* or whatever your staircase is then a line representing the height of handrail,your vert spacing should be around 42,at the edge of the see where your at,you should be parallel,start from the floor first,
dude nice job, best way I found to do handrails was to layout and weld on a flat surface, then put up. stair stringers and handrails can be very difficult especially if you are not experienced.
I like it. But as an aspiring custom stair builder i would have liked to see the railing on the landing higher 42" on landings and gallereys for code anyways great soloution for a shop tho. Wish i knew how to weld. Keep atem. Look into a rake board for getting the rail over the treads evan
Could of be the angle of ur cut measured to the wrong side of ur angle but u figured it out !!! I have been doing handrail now for over 18 years now and u do a lot of extra work than u need to but of it helps u figure it out awesome u are doing clean work congrats. But also keep an eye on ur stringers some time they bowe and bend so when ur doing ur hand rail try and find a level point where u can measure both sides I would start using a laser with pointer and a straight line or all ways it will make ur life sooo much easier
At 4:00 when wondering what went wrong with the vertical post.. Next time take the bottom post one tread length horizontally past the bottom step so maybe 10” depending on your tread sizes (the run)
Bldg stairs out of same tubing right now. If you needed 36” on long side and you measured 36” on short side cutting 22 1/2 degree for 45 angle that will throw you off about 3/4” on length won’t it? And oh man those pieces with angle on both ends, big cup of coffee and don’t talk to me while I’m laying it out. Looks good!!!
Besides your great work is also how well organized and clean you keep your work site. I keep an old coffee can to discard all my welding rod stubs (looking for a better way). I always wire brush my welds. I had an inspector that was anal about that. A habit I still have. Thank you very much for sharing.
A sheetrock square would guarantee an accurate measure from your handrail to your runner. I spect you weren't holding the tape at exactly the right angle. Otherwise, the stairs look fantastic!!! Cool Austin.
Stair rails are challenging . . . That s until you figure them out. Always measure rail height from the nose of the stair. Here is the kicker. It's also what code calls for, but we don't think of code as instructive for process. Learned the first time in Audels. The second time on a LONG handrail. Top and bottom spot on, but I could not figure out why the middle was off. (Also on mine, a string line would have sufficed.
handrails are tough, I have done hundreds if not more, they are pretty strict here in Tn. the stair rails have to be 32-36in. and the landings 42in. ln stair rails have to be measured from the very edge of the stair treads. I have had my fair share of extra pieces piled in corner to be used later. LOL. I have drawn them out on concrete a lot of times, but I am too broke down to work on my knees anymore, and that doesnt always work with sloping concrete.
Hi again,I only see one other little thing is the last tread and it's below the landing,so your handrail doesn't match,so if your last tread matched you step right on the floor and your rail is that height,just food for thought,looks good,
I see where the issue is I build stairs way to often. On that upper section the post is past the nose of the tread. And following the angle it makes it a bit shorter than if the face was even with the nose of the tread. I've done this to myself countless times
One of my rules is once I'm hot, stay hot until I'm done working outside for the day. I can press on and just down litre after litre of water but as soon as I cool off It'll take me half the day to get my mojo back.
First off i would like to commend you for your humbleness and willing to learn and accept your mistakes. What you want to do is measure from nosing to nosing on each tread Get the over all distance between the top tread nosing down to the bottom tread nosing. Write that down. For each stair. Then take your angle finder. And a straight edge. Lay the straight edge on the nosings on each stair. Take a torpedo level rest the angle finder bottom on the straight edge. Use the torpedo level to plumb the blade on the angle finder. Lock it in at that angle. Now the take the measurements of the nosing to nosing. And that angle you took on the straight edge that was laying on the nosings. Go to the floor or a table. With a straight edge take the angle finder put it against the straight edge and mark your angle. At one end. Measure from that work point the distance from nosing to nosing righy straight dowm the straight edge. Mark the distance. Put your angle finder on the work point mark the angle. Continue the lines to be long enough for the post height. Then measure from the straight edge 90 degrees down at both ends make the marks connect the two lines. And you will not only have a perfect plumb post but the horizontal lines will be right on parallel to each other. When you measure your height off the nosing to top of rail. Make sure you measure straight up and down or you will be off of parallel from top to bottom. If you lay everything out on table to scale you can use your layout for all the cuts on material. Hope this helps.
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Measure the stair case.
Strike the rails out with chalk on a bench or the w/shop floor first . Then you can see what your about to fabricate.
Tack up and build the opposite rail directly on top of your first rail.
Both will be Identical
Definitely the quickest way to be sure they match! I build a lot of ornamental railings, and on stair rails I always draw them out on the floor and build over the drawings. Industrial railings, like in this video, are SO much easier to build with square tubing than pipe!
Wise words from gordon . Been doing it that way for 35years its the way to do it
@@scaifefab4585 Agreed!
I have only done one staircase, but that would of definitely helped
I've been fitting and welding structural steel for 20+ years. I'm here to tell you stairs and handrail ain't no joke. Remember it's exposed and cosmetic. Meaning you can spot a minute detail out of true quite easily. It's always good to take your time and check and recheck lay out and fit up. Adhere to +/- 0 tolerance. And my god invest in a wire feeder if you're going do more of these types of projects! Nice work man. Keep up on the vids.👍
Lol yes there are no joke I make all types of railings
We had 7 seven sets of stairs to build, 14 treads, 2 landings, handrail, after stick welding up the first one, (we are stick welders) we bought a wire feed, more than doubled our speed. maybe even tripled.
i am no expert but i think you made some verticals taller..and they should have all the same height for the diagonals to be paralel
I love building rail
That's what I was wondering, why not use your mig on this.
You never get a second chance on a first impression! When I received my package I was blown away! Wrapped in brown paper, Blue Book in its own little bag and soap stones in a tidy storage tube. Oh the bonus stickers were great too! Great job Kala!
All I ordered was some stickers and the packaging was incredible and I and I even got a hand written thank you card. There’s not many places that do that kind of stuff, keep it up Austin and Kayla!
I love the airplane bit! I'm a pilot and am facinated with your welding, so I guess you could say we are looking at each other thru the same fence.
I used to be a formwork carpenter, was on a job with hundreds of 3.6m x 500mm x 500mm Insitu concrete columns, I could square and plum them within 6mm over it's length. with my eye.
I'd always check with a plum bob after the concrete was poured.
But once your eye is dialed its pretty darn accurate.
You need something in the area to gauge your eye off, but it doesn't need to be that close.
Hi there I believe your issue on the hand rails was because at the top upright for your railing you have it at the back of the tread and the lower upright is at the front of the tread and that would change your angle if both uprights were cut the same length. Hope this makes sense. Very nice work!
It’s crazy cause a few years ago I watched your channel thinking maybe one day I’d learn to weld and get on the pipeline, and a few years later I find your channel again and am actually welding at my high school and plan on doing welding as a side business
If you measure from top of step you have to measure from the same place on the step each time. I built some metal stairs that were almost identical to those except the bottom part was hinged so that it could be unpinned and rotate under the stairway.
Quality is never rushed 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I appreciate how good of a job you were able to do with how you had/chose to do it. A few suggestions: 1) all you need to know is your rise and run. Take that and lay it out on a large welding table (mine is 5’x12’) and once satisfied, weld angle clips to the table and there’s your fixture to build in. 2) stop screwing around trying to stick weld everything (friggin’ pipe weldors). Get a suitcase or an inverter multi-process MIG machine (I would suggest the Lincoln 210MP).
Or the Lincoln weld pak 180 on a cart with a 120 cf argon/co2 tank
@@Ruben901 That is what we bought after welding up a huge set of stairs with a stick machine. No way were were doing the other six sets with rod.
I just got done with a handrail job and ended up learning a lot from my dad who did handrail for 20yrs
Next try a set of curved stairs. I built my own 35 years ago. Considered buying them, but cost would have been $25,000. I invested $500 and 16 hours, and they turned out great. Was really pleased that my plan for the layout was correct. Did a lot of head scratching figuring it out. On a Southwestern style house, white stucco.
Hey " A " man, just quick thought on the out measurements, check where you messure on the step. If you check it from the bull nose, will be longer, but at the back of the stair it will be shorter. I've run into it in the beginning. Hood down lights on.
The six "magic" words, "I was able to fix it!" Congratulations on a beautiful staircase!
Nice job Austin! You nailed it!
For sure, I always go with the lines of the surroundings over true level.
AMEN! Case that's what the average people will do when they look at them.
I recommend you use a mig welder and save you a bunch of time and make you more money. I use a tight cone on my Miller welder and you can weld outside even with a go breeze with no problem
14 ga is strong enough for a railing like this. I use 14 ga all the time and never have any issues even on railings I’ve done over 10 yrs ago
I’m a carpenter and I used to have some trouble keeping railings parallel with the stringer but then I learned from someone to cut two equal spacer blocks perpendicular off the stringer and set your railing on top of them. It’s so hard to get your tape measure perfectly perpendicular off the stringer or perfectly plumb off a nosing, so it’s easy to be off.
the secret to stair construction balustrade (stairs in general) is to use a angle template or a protractor, geometry is the foundation. Physical measurements produce the issues encountered, transferring angles to each element reduces errors in your cuts.
great tip!
My next project is a metal fence... everything u do on this channel helps me out a lot thank you God bless 👏🏼
Hello Austin. Thank you for all you do! I am a Pipefitter out of Local 469, Phx. I was a Carpenter years ago. The way I was taught to install handrails is. You take a framing square and lay the 16" leg on the front of the stairs treads, you would do this twice, on the top and bottom and get marks on the drywall but in your case you might need to put up temporary post. It will seem very low but if done properly it will work out great. I love watching your videos keep up the good work!!
This is a crack-up! I went through the very same problem myself! I'm like you, I never did figure it out,it dam near drove me crazy! Your right about eye balling it. I find it to be true in wood working as well. I think one of biggest problems is that we don't work with angle enough and by the time we figure it out, we're done with the job. We're human and we forget, from one time to the next. Have ever watched someone that knows about hanging crown molding? I can do it. But by the time it takes the average person to figure it out, there done. It's a lot like welding, the you practice, hopefully the better you become. Angle are just tricky period. I think with angle alot come into play. We think we have measured right,cut right and yet we are off! Oh I was suppose to tell myself to leave the line on, not cut it off! Oh well! Always enjoy learning something from you Ross ✨ God bless and keep up the great work!
I fit up and welded many hand rails ...we used round. Pipe and we layed them in cups on a welding table...we did the platforms too..I talked them together on the table using 60110 and 7018. 3/32 ..we used flapping welds to clean and sand the welds!...laying them out can be a problem!
With as many parts in your project and as much joints and angles and doing it all by yourself, you did a fantastic job !!! 😃😃😃 Thanks
Good video and good points about using your eye. A lot of people don't understand the trials and tribulations we have as welders/fabricators. I've built many stair cases and handrails. When we do handrail, we always bevel all joints and flap wheel all weld joints, so it looks seamless like one piece of material. A lot of times, we go with a 1x2 rectangular tubing for the top rail, as it looks better than just using 1 1/2" for everything. Good job and smart move to use a transit before hand.
Suitcase welder with flux core wire would be my choice to make this staircase. You did a great job on this project just like all the other stuff you fabricated. The only way to get better is repetition, but you build all sorts of different stuff.
Be blessed and enjoy life.
I work in hydronics and bosses rush us to get pipe in air which leads to pointless number of field welds not in accessable spots. Usually mirrors evolved all to hurry up and get that show pipe up and not think ahead and cost more time redoing yet alone how much harder it is to get to with all other piping in the air in your way. Spend time think it thru, lay out and re think and go from there will be your best bet for having things right with out rework. Love what your doing and would love to do it my self some day.
WENT THROUGH MOST THE COMMENTS AND THEY WERE WRONG lol
I've been a carpenter since i left school at the age of 16 here in Sydney, Australia. Im now 31 and opening up a structural steel fabrication shop supplying steel for other carpenters and builders. Love your videos!!
This is where you went wrong.
When you are measuring the height of those two posts, you need to measure the heights from one side of the post...either the left side of the post or the right(ill try my best to make sense of it)
In this case, if we look at the top post...we can measure the height from the inside of the post(which is the right side) we can call that X-cm
Now when you measure the lower post, you dont measure the height on the internal side of the post(left)
The height of X-cm has to be measured on the outside of the post(right)..
When we work spacings in carpentry we always measure "over to in", "but in to over", that's how you keep heights parallel when working with angles/slopes.
I drew a little diagram but i don't know how to upload it on the comment section.
Love your work tho
Mystery solved.
You need a special tool you seem to be missing, namely a second set of eyes to compensate for "exact" measurements.
Measure all you want, but if it doesn't "look" right, it's not.
Know also, you're not alone. Heck, we're never really alone; Murphy is always lurking about somewhere!!
I always go with the ol eye ball over the tape 👌🏻👀😉
The handrail should be 34 to 38 in measured plumb from the front edge of the tread. In a commercial setting, there should be a guard rail that is 42 in high measured plumb from the front edge of the tread and you would also need the grippable handrail at 34 to 38 in measured plumb from the front edge of the tread. It matters if you're measuring from the front edge of the tread or the back edge of the tread. Could that be where your angle got screwed up?
Hey " A " man, One quick thought, checking the angle of the rail. Go to your framing square, hold a straight edge fom the rise to the run, then hold the beveling T square against the rise and the tongue on the angle, then tighten the wing nut, and their you are. Thats the quick and easy, let me know how it works for you. Hood down lights on.
I understand you want your rails to be parallel so the finished product looks right and symmetrical. But when you where measuring your heights parallel to the stringer. If you look at code you are suppose to measure from the the noise of the stair tread vertically. So by measuring the way you are, on an angle and thus throwing the measurement off. For simplicity try measuring your vertical rails and mark them. next run a piece of tube, wood anything thing straight and clamp it on you mark. Check it my eye and the mark where the straight hits you mark thus giving you your angle and proper height of where the hand rail will go. Putting in the center rail is then easy. All you have to do is measure straight down or up on you verticals find center and there you go.
Can't tell from the video if this was a factor, but the most common reason for parts to come up short when cutting multiples of the same length is to use each cut piece as it's finished to lay out the next one along the stock. It is a particularly notorious problem with curved stock, like cable or coiled tubing. But it can also crop up when cutting multiples of straight stock when the cutoff angle is anything other than 90 degrees. If you are going to use a "master piece" to lay out multiples of the same length, always mark and use only that designated "master" as your layout tool (in woodworking it's sometimes called a "story stick"). But guys can get careless and keep grabbing the piece they just cut to layout the next piece. That often leads to progressive shrinkage from one piece to the next. Just a thought.
Math is tough!! But doing everything with miter joints is the premier way to go, really classy and looks great in the end.
I weld in architectural for a living! Loved watching this and your learning process to this interesting fabrication!
Building codes generally specify the distance to the top of the stair rail from the nose of the step tread. Typically 34 to 36 inches. If you go an inch or so in front of, or behind the nose of a step tread and get that measurement, it will be wrong! It’s one more reason why it’s a good idea to chalk a full size drawing on the floor complete with the locations of the top and bottom step nose, then build over the drawing. Start with a long straight baseline and square off of it. If it was easy, women and children would be doing it! (Quote from a contractor friend!) In my area, they would require the guard rail on the level landing section to be 42” tall. They want all the welds ground down nearly flat. You did a pretty job on this!
Another great project in the books, Austin 👍. I think it came out real nice. Now it's time for you to go get your pilot's license and a small Kitfox, c'mon 👌
Thanks for sharing with us Austin, really enjoyed watching your video. Turned out great, looks great installed. Have a great weekend. Fred.🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👋👋
Awesome build Austin. Loved all of it. !!
Thanks! Thanks for watching!
You did an awesome job for having no help thanks for sharing
Packaging was top class and so was the welding shirt and stickers I bought!
I sure appreciate your videos.Thank you.GBY!
It’s the way we learn something everyday!!!! 👍🏻👌 good job Aross!
Man I'm building a bed for my work truck and I'll cut a piece and go to put it on and it won't fit right and I'll just stand there thinking, how the heck did I come up with this! Lol
HA!
I am looking forward to the next project
Looks awesome. Nice project.
Nice stairs man! I wanted to join your new pipe fence program, but ive been putting all my money into my welder. Hopefully If you start another program I'll be ready!
I'm with you on the airplanes. I work next to an Airforce base. Awesome to see the A10's (tank killers) practice their maneuvers.
Good looking stairwell. Job well done!
My uncle taught me to use 6011 to make sure I got a good joint often times the metal was dirty and you needed to burn through the rime rust. He said use 7018 to cover the 6011 bead and make the job pretty
Wish I could post a picture of the stairs I built. I found a stair calculater on the internet that helped in the beginning. Figured out the angles with an angle finder and on the speed square.then you can set the speed square on the hand rail, at the angle marked on the square,then set a level on that to check for perfection.
Alot of times you have to remember to measure the bottom step one tread length past the last one to get the handrail to hit at the same angle
As always, another great video. Keep up the great work, I love watching your videos
Was gonna say what most others are saying ... Always measure handrail height at the nose of each tread ... Stairs can be a bugger , but very gratifying when you finish ... I used to have a 5 x 12 ' table to lay the sections out on , but now have to do my layout on the floor ... It's a lot harder to do handrails in the shop and them bring out and install on stairs ... Much easier to build them onsite ...
Again a great job. You said your upright posts are 36" most handrails in a plant or facility are 42" high. Also on your platform a 4" toe board is common practice. Again a great job.
Residential guardrails are minimum of 34" and maximum of 38" it might vary also in different states but this measurement is what i searched for in Oklahoma. In commercial applications that require OSHA that minimum is 42" with 4" toeboard.
That’s what I was wondering. I made some rails for a factory and they had to be 42”. Guess if it’s somewhere OSHA would never check it would be ok.
I built steps for a raised platform. The poor cats that built the platform in the 80s had a tough job with crooked concrete. I had a bunch of fun making the stairs look good. Tape measure, level, and angles meant nothing. Lol. I built 4 steps to that platform. It was built as you go for sure.
Thought for the day !
Be wary of the Gremlins, they seem to always find you when you least expect it !
Awesome job man. I don't have any critiques except I wish I was there to help. That's a lot of fun.
Just curious if you know the difference between 7010-P1 and 7010-A1 rods. I thought I had bought P1s, but it ended up being A1s and I'm having a hard time running them downhill on pipe.
the minute you change the camera angle 2:46 you can see that the rear is a higher post ( If you'd put a level across it I think you'd have noticed?) You definitely went the right way to fix it! Awesome work by the way
That project turned out pretty dang good! Look forward to the next job. Tell Kayla to keep up the good work. Hope y’all have a great 4th of July! Work hard and be safe.
Fantastic looking job man.
If you really want to get particular about your handrails, you can use a little Bondo 🤪.
I did that about 6 or 7 years ago on a job, every time I go by there I look at it, it's still holding up 🤸
youre mistake was when you pulled a measurment perpendicular to the slope of the steps. Always measure the part, ie, the vertical support post for the hand rail. I always measure from the point that the support connects into the stringers to the bottom of where the handrail will be.
I think you did it right. Fitting and marking up is tough. Things go screwy sometimes. Best bet is take your time fitting up and catching mistakes like this before you weld out. I haven't seen everything and I share in this issue at times.
I don't know that any fit up ever goes 100% perfect unless you are repeating the same part over and over and build a jig for it. So the video is real world, check, and recheck before you weld any project out. Great demonstration of what it takes to get a job done.
Theory on what went wrong to be off by such a small amount: could be a matter of measuring in the wrong spot Top upright appears flush with your steps/run end (from what I can see in the video) the bottom upright is sitting in front of the stringer making your adjustment about half of the OD of the upright material. Again, just a theory/best guess.
BTW, I love all the carpenters weighing in. They know this stuff cold, lots of great suggestions.
I have used supports squared up and tacked to the stringer at 2 points to make sure longer handrails come out right(more if it sags on a long run). Sometimes I make a makeshift "T" at the top of the supports from flat bar. Gives me something to clamp to. Never easy being a one man show, got to find ways to make "extra hands".
Great video as always. Keep 'em coming!
Very nice project!
Could you please speak a little bit about the “projecting “ phase. What kind of measures do I need to take to make the handrail of the right length, height and with the right angle? Thanks
Add jack bolts to the feet with all thread. That way your feet can be adjusted accordingly
As has been mentioned, lay that thing out on the floor, mdf, or plywood. Cut pcs. Weld. Build next on top of first. Install. All my rails are pipe. Things look to be a little looser there code wise. 1 1/4 - 1 1/2
sch. 40. Yes in some cases you can use Sq tube if it's been stamped but you'll never go wrong with those two pipe sizes. Get r, b Wagner or Sharpe cat or use website for fittings. If you are working with stamped approved drawings.
Excellent work
Top stringer and bottom stringer height differs (Stair stringers). So measuring from rail to stringer will give the same measurement on top and bottom. But your top rail will be higher because your top stringer is fitted higher where it meets with the bottom stringer.
Austin one other tip I can give is get a small mug or fluxcore welder 110 volts u will save sooo much money and it will cut ur tim in have brother I am telling u the clean up is 10000000 times faster and the welds look soooo much cleaner
Also to get the correct height on rails to the upright post at top of stairs you have to come out the distance of how far the up right is set back and then angle down. Sometime you do and sometimes it’s close enough not to if it’s not set back too far or at all
Hi Austin,like all things there are constants,the heights of the handrail is one,as you approach the stairs you want the rail to be in front of the first tread,being an extension or reveal ,so if you rail is 36 it would be 36 from the floor up vertically,so the floor is like a tread as is the landing,so if your at 30*,most stairs are close,draw a horiz,draw a 30* or whatever your staircase is then a line representing the height of handrail,your vert spacing should be around 42,at the edge of the see where your at,you should be parallel,start from the floor first,
Hello from bakersfield CA ! Get u one of those lazer levels brotha. I got one and its helped me. I used the dewalt one.
Central valley fresno area how yall doing down there
dude nice job, best way I found to do handrails was to layout and weld on a flat surface, then put up. stair stringers and handrails can be very difficult especially if you are not experienced.
Got job Austin
Thanks! And thanks for watching!
I like it.
But as an aspiring custom stair builder i would have liked to see the railing on the landing higher 42" on landings and gallereys for code anyways great soloution for a shop tho. Wish i knew how to weld. Keep atem.
Look into a rake board for getting the rail over the treads evan
Could of be the angle of ur cut measured to the wrong side of ur angle but u figured it out !!! I have been doing handrail now for over 18 years now and u do a lot of extra work than u need to but of it helps u figure it out awesome u are doing clean work congrats. But also keep an eye on ur stringers some time they bowe and bend so when ur doing ur hand rail try and find a level point where u can measure both sides I would start using a laser with pointer and a straight line or all ways it will make ur life sooo much easier
Good job AR
At 4:00 when wondering what went wrong with the vertical post.. Next time take the bottom post one tread length horizontally past the bottom step so maybe 10” depending on your tread sizes (the run)
Beautiful warehouse
Outstanding!!
“Holy roly poly oly it is dangum hot” hahah love it
Lol me too! I wonder if that’s as hot as a Billy goat in a pepper patch. 🤔
Bldg stairs out of same tubing right now. If you needed 36” on long side and you measured 36” on short side cutting 22 1/2 degree for 45 angle that will throw you off about 3/4” on length won’t it?
And oh man those pieces with angle on both ends, big cup of coffee and don’t talk to me while I’m laying it out. Looks good!!!
Besides your great work is also how well organized and clean you keep your work site. I keep an old coffee can to discard all my welding rod stubs (looking for a better way). I always wire brush my welds. I had an inspector that was anal about that. A habit I still have. Thank you very much for sharing.
Thanks for sharing.
You bet. Thank you for watching!
Great job
A sheetrock square would guarantee an accurate measure from your handrail to your runner. I spect you weren't holding the tape at exactly the right angle. Otherwise, the stairs look fantastic!!! Cool Austin.
Stair rails are challenging . . . That s until you figure them out. Always measure rail height from the nose of the stair. Here is the kicker. It's also what code calls for, but we don't think of code as instructive for process. Learned the first time in Audels. The second time on a LONG handrail. Top and bottom spot on, but I could not figure out why the middle was off. (Also on mine, a string line would have sufficed.
handrails are tough, I have done hundreds if not more, they are pretty strict here in Tn. the stair rails have to be 32-36in. and the landings 42in. ln stair rails have to be measured from the very edge of the stair treads. I have had my fair share of extra pieces piled in corner to be used later. LOL. I have drawn them out on concrete a lot of times, but I am too broke down to work on my knees anymore, and that doesnt always work with sloping concrete.
Hi again,I only see one other little thing is the last tread and it's below the landing,so your handrail doesn't match,so if your last tread matched you step right on the floor and your rail is that height,just food for thought,looks good,
The devil is in the details. I learn every time i watch one of your postings. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.
You bet! Thanks for watching!
great job!
Always measure the handrail vertical to the front of stair tread
Awesome job !!!
The difference in the handrail height is directly related to height of the first step off the landing.
I see where the issue is I build stairs way to often. On that upper section the post is past the nose of the tread. And following the angle it makes it a bit shorter than if the face was even with the nose of the tread. I've done this to myself countless times
One of my rules is once I'm hot, stay hot until I'm done working outside for the day. I can press on and just down litre after litre of water but as soon as I cool off It'll take me half the day to get my mojo back.
I’ve built thousands of hand rails and no 2 are ever the same and I’ve always used a jig to build them!
First off i would like to commend you for your humbleness and willing to learn and accept your mistakes.
What you want to do is measure from nosing to nosing on each tread Get the over all distance between the top tread nosing down to the bottom tread nosing. Write that down. For each stair. Then take your angle finder. And a straight edge. Lay the straight edge on the nosings on each stair. Take a torpedo level rest the angle finder bottom on the straight edge. Use the torpedo level to plumb the blade on the angle finder. Lock it in at that angle. Now the take the measurements of the nosing to nosing. And that angle you took on the straight edge that was laying on the nosings. Go to the floor or a table. With a straight edge take the angle finder put it against the straight edge and mark your angle. At one end. Measure from that work point the distance from nosing to nosing righy straight dowm the straight edge. Mark the distance. Put your angle finder on the work point mark the angle. Continue the lines to be long enough for the post height. Then measure from the straight edge 90 degrees down at both ends make the marks connect the two lines. And you will not only have a perfect plumb post but the horizontal lines will be right on parallel to each other. When you measure your height off the nosing to top of rail. Make sure you measure straight up and down or you will be off of parallel from top to bottom. If you lay everything out on table to scale you can use your layout for all the cuts on material. Hope this helps.
If it looks good it is good👍
Very nice brother tutorial next time new videos 👍💯