SeanMuprhy265 Project 1 Handrails Almost Summer Contest

[SeanMurphy265]

This project is for my church. Some ladies had a complaint (a good one!) about the current handrails, because they had to take one step down before they could reach the handrail. The current handrails were an afterthought and made from 4"pipe.

The rails were 30" from the bottom to the stairs.





Harbor Freight Tubing Notcher

[SeanMurphy265]

Here was my original drawing and what I had planned, but someone else furnished the pipe and told me to match what they already had.


Mr Ray, he worked me like a dog!!! I would have hated to work with him when he was younger!








The heat and the rain won the battle and I could not finish today. I have to cut the ends of and weld everything together. I used my PowerArc 140ST to tack everything in place. We used the two end post to center everything, and then I semi welded the center landing on my welding table. Handrails are fun and they LOOK easy, but they can be little tough even the simple ones.

[Brian Ski]

Handrails are fun and they LOOK easy, but they can be little tough even the simple ones.

Looks good... Sure don't look easy to me... There are a lot of angles there. I would have got them close and filled in the gaps... There are going to be a lot of happy old ladies hitting on you!!!!!!

[DaveO]

I like your original design, altho I agree the final product fits in better with the existing rails. Your drawing has a bend at the ends, to extend the rail and avoid catching clothes or handbags... is there a plan to finish the ends?

What software did you use for the drawing? That provides so much detail, so cleanly.

[CGCINC]

Yeah, the drawing looks good! I like the hoop at the end on your drawing.

Did you make the bolting mounts or are they something they furnished? Looks like the pipe threads into them?

[fdcmiami]

Yeah, the drawing looks good! I like the hoop at the end on your drawing.

Did you make the bolting mounts or are they something they furnished? Looks like the pipe threads into them?

why did he reduce the size of the pipe? i know that churches usually want work done for free. was this to bring the span between the to original single lines up to code? the span between them would not pass in most places, just curious if you have overzealous code enforcement.

[Rambozo]

Yeah, the drawing looks good! I like the hoop at the end on your drawing.

Did you make the bolting mounts or are they something they furnished? Looks like the pipe threads into them?

I believe those are standard plumbing floor flanges.

Came out very nice. Funny that they wanted you to match the existing rails, then they take out the existing rails. Seems kinda pointless. They should have gone with your original design.

[fdcmiami]

they took the other rail down?? amazing what a church can get away with. i'm not belittling the organization just pointing out a fact there must be 10 code violations there. do you get snow and ice in the winter? just so you don't think i'm blowing smoke i have done a load of stairs and rails over the years. for 2 1/2 years i traveled around florida doing big jobs. the last one was the bridge rail over the intracoastal at speedway blvd in daytona; i had the labor contract.

the drawing of the rail was good and if i were installing rail there i would have used a two line but it would have needed grip rail also. there are requirements for type of rails and the span between them. ADA, local code, OSHA, NFPA. obviously a church in a small town is going to get a pass but if three people were walking abreast on that stair at the conclusion of service and there was ice on the steps; one misstep and nothing to grab could take out several or more members. just a thought, it's a long way to the bottom. is there a ramp for the wheelchair bound members?

[SeanMurphy265]

LOL! I used a Harbor Freight tube notcher with a lenox 1-3/4" hole saw. I'm going to cut a piece of 16 gauge to shim up the angle finder and it will be dead on. It's not a bad notcher for the money. I've owned it for over a year and it's the first time I used it; I picked it up on sale around $30.00. Considering that I was notching pipe instead of tube I'm impressed.

[Winky]

Nice work my friend. Interesting system you've got for notching ... looks like it really works well; sure beats the way I've done it before. (angle grinder, I think next time I'll try my plasma cutter)