Mahogany Stair Rail with Radius and Bent Lamination

This recent project was especially enjoyable for me because I think it combined the best parts of what SWD does by creating something that is both functional and beautiful.   The clients had very specific needs when it came to the function of this particular stair rail.  First of all, the clients wanted something that would offer them better stability and safety.  The client’s knees do not handle stairs well; he needed a solid hand rail to hold on to that could ease the pressure on his knees as he goes up and down.  They had considered an electronic stair lift, but were unenthusiastic about such a bulky and expensive solution.  A lift also failed to solve another need; the stairs go down to a landing, and it takes one more step to reach the main floor.   Code did not require this final step down to have a railing.  A relative of theirs actually fell from the landing to the floor of their home, and the clients were concerned about preventing future accidents.  Additionally, they didn’t want a large rail post at the base of the stairs, which are fairly close to the entry way of their more modern style.  To solve these issues, they wanted a continuous low profile stair rail that could be grasped at the main floor and followed all the way to the top and would be sturdy enough to support a 200+ pound individual as he or she pulled himself or herself up the stairs.  This meant that the handrail had to bend around the corner continuously and tie back into the stairs in a structurally sound way, requiring a lot of curves and some creative ingenuity to attach it back into the steps and  the base. I accomplished this by designing the piece to start at the bottom step of the stair case and curving the handrail up from there, out over the base of the stairs, back around the wall, all the way up to the top of the stairs.  During installation, we tied back into the base at the landing riser and at the step just below the landing.  For further stability, we also put a loose tenon from the handrail down into the first step, and then we anchored into the first riser below the landing with two lags.  We plugged those holes with a plug that was cut out of the same piece of wood they were going into, so they disappeared for the most part without interrupting the sleek lines of the handrail.  The aesthetic of that portion of the stairs also served the dual purpose of stiffening up that whole lower section as a sort of membrane that tied the handrail back into the vertical post and the portion of the handrail that tied back into the step.  The pictures in this post help to clarify this. Another fun aspect of this project was matching the Brazilian cherry flooring to the African mahogany (Sapele) using Transtint dyes diluted in water. While having the word “cherry”, Brazilian cherry is actually more similar to mahogany than cherry. It took several test pieces to match the two different species, but the final product was worth it. Ultimately, SWD was able to provide some dear clients with a solution that kept them from needing to purchase a bulky stair lift and adds both beauty and safety to their daily lives.  It was very rewarding to do this project. The final stair rail is a unique piece that reflects both the aesthetics of the homeowners and myself.