Handrail question

[Greg Luckett]

The old handrails on my Laguna 24 are 1 inch wide Teak, and very worn, needing replacement. I am removing all the Teak on the exterior and replacing it with Mahogany. The Mahogany stock I have is about 1-5/8 thick (after planing) and my original intent was to resaw it to about 1 inch, then cut out new hand rails using the old ones as patterns. A short while ago, after setting up the band saw to do the resawing, it occurred to me to wonder why not make the hand rails 1-1/2 thick? Stair rails are at least that thick.

Is my idea to go thicker a bad one? Opinions please?

Thanks,

Greg.

[capt jake]

IMHO it is all a matter of proportions. If it looks good, go with it.

[ken connors]

i epoxied two strips of 3/4 meranti for my handrails. the beefy feeling is nice when when you really need to grab them. i doubt youll reget stronger handrails.

[Greg Luckett]

Thanks. The pics pretty much answered my question. I am going to go with the thicker handrails.

[Dave R1]

Greg, if you decide that the stock would be too thick at the top, you might consider making it narrower there while leaving it wide at the base. You can do that with a simple sled and the planer. If you want sled details I can make you a quick sketch that will tell all.

Ken, good looking boat you have there.

[Greg Luckett]

I hadn't thought to do something like that, nor with a planer. Yes, I would like to see some pics.

Thank you!

[Greg Luckett]

i epoxied two strips of 3/4 meranti for my handrails. the beefy feeling is nice when when you really need to grab them. i doubt youll reget stronger handrails.

Was that meranti lumber or plywood?

I had originally thought of using some of the white oak in my stock and laminating it together to make the bigger thickness, but then found the mahogany, which will look better anyway, I think.

Thanks again.

[Guest]

Ahhhhhh,, kids hands are not that big, member??? :wink: Consider redoing them with stainless ones??? SO many choices, so little time on the water,,,,,,,,,,,,, :twisted:

[Greg Luckett]

Ahhhhhh' date=', kids hands are not that big, member??? :wink: Consider redoing them with stainless ones??? SO many choices, so little time on the water,,,,,,,,,,,,, :twisted:[/quote']

My kids use the stair handrails like monkey bars (since being toddlers) and therefore I do not think it would be a problem.....SS is so 50s

If I taper the thickness with the base left at 1-1/2 and the narrow part at the hand gripping for smaller hands should not be a problem at all. I am considering this option too.

Thanks!

[Dave R1]

Greg, I hope the following sketch makes sense. The idea is to hold one edge of the stock up so the piece passes through at an angle. The planer will take off the highest part. By adjusting the height of the planer head you can control how much of the stock is removed. To make the handle stock symmetrical plane one side then double the amount of lift and flip the stock end for end.

When I need something cut like this, I make up a sled from scraps and usually just hold it all together with carpet tape.

It seems counterintuitive but you must put a stop on the leading end of the sled. The sled is intended to ride through the planer with the stock and the planer will be pulling the stock so the stop needs to be in front.

I drew the stop as transparent so you can see that the stock is laying on the base of the sled.

I find that shaping the stock like this yields a much nicer surface than tilting the blade on the TS. Generally there's very little sanding required once it is done.

[kydocfrog]

Nice coaminigs. Are they laid up or bent?

DocA.

[ken connors]

Nice coaminigs. Are they laid up or bent?

DocA.

THANKS. thats also 3/4 meranti lumber. it bent pretty easily. even the rubrails took the bend well. i think i snapped one.

[Greg Luckett]

Nice coaminigs. Are they laid up or bent?

DocA.

THANKS. thats also 3/4 meranti lumber. it bent pretty easily. even the rubrails took the bend well. i think i snapped one.

WOW :shock:, where did you find merianti lumber?

[ken connors]

[

WOW :shock:, where did you find merianti lumber?

its easy to get around here in all kinds of widths and lengths, pretty cheap too. last i checked, 1x4s were .85$ a foot. we call it poor mans mahogany. :? :oops:

[Greg Luckett]

[

WOW :shock:' date= where did you find merianti lumber?[/quote]

its easy to get around here in all kinds of widths and lengths, pretty cheap too. last i checked, 1x4s were .85$ a foot. we call it poor mans mahogany. :? :oops:

Man, now I am going to start hunting around here. It took me a long time to finally find local mills for white oak and sassafras, then okume panels and mahogany. I have not tried finding merianti at all.

Thanks.

[JeffM]

Ken,

I'm about to start looking into lumber for rubrails, etc, and I'm not too far from you. Would you share your source/s? Almost all my other dimensional lumber comes from Maine Coast Lumber -- nice folk and good prices, but you don't just get a few pieces spur of the moment...

[ken connors]

Jeff, LIBERTY CEDAR in kingston ri is the place to make your big order. if you need to pick up a few planks to replace the ones you screwed up, go to WICKFORD LUMBER in ,well DUH!, wickford. thats north kingstown. just dont let me find out you were in wickford without stopping by my shop. :wink:

last time i was at liberty cedar, they were great. they let me pick thru the stock for straight grained planks that would bend well. ive heard since that theyve become more contractor-oriented. most contractors dont need to bend wood, so specify your needs. if you have any trouble, let me know. i know a guy who knows a guy......

[JeffM]

Thanks, Ken! I'll look you up when I find myself in your neighborhood. I want to see that beautiful boat up close.