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handrail construction question

John Daugherty

John Daugherty

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Oliver Springs, TN
A guy I work with is wanting to make a handrail from some oak he has. It's 2" thick by 4.5 wide. He needs the total length to be 16' long. He has one piece that's 12' and another that's 6'. He asked me how I'd join the two together to get the total length. I thought about maybe pocket screws but use some that are about 2 - 2.5" long. I don't know if that would leave a gap at the top. I also mentioned dowels but gluing the two sections together might be a problem. Would you cut the two ends at 90 or 45 degrees?

How would you do this?
 
John, you want to make a scarf joint. You cut both peices at a shallow angle.

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john i believe don has the right answer here. have seen a few done that way. and by doing that you will have the strongest joint you can have and can also maintain the position better than attempting a dowel set up..he will probably have to feather out the transition between the two.. with some sand paper or a scraper.
 
It looks like a scarf joint is the consensus so a scarf joint it is.:thumb:

How would you cut the angle? The 12 footer is one heavy sucker!:D

Tony, when you say 12 to 1 since the board is 2" thick would that be a 24 inch cut?
 
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I think I'm gonna have to back up and punt.:huh: Jeff's jig would be great except I have to make the cut in the 4 1/2" direction. I can't use the table saw.:(

Do y'all think the cut could be made on the bandsaw? Would it be accurate enough?
 
Those are going to be some long unwieldy pieces to move around.

Couldn't you use an angled fence and use a circular saw?
 
if the boards were cut into 3 equal lengths ,--moving them around on the saw table would be much easier // when I need to fit 2 planks end to end ,I use a power saw to get the angle and use a hand - power saw to saw between the ends while the boards are clamp together but I not sure if this will work on hardwood like oak
 
don, does it make a difference which side the scarf joint is on.
for example, if Im using a 2x3 piece of ash for a handrail, will it mean anything if I make the joint and join the pieces as sides, or top and bottom?

the jig looks just like my leg tapering jig, without the end piece.
 
allen levine said:
don, does it make a difference which side the scarf joint is on.
for example, if Im using a 2x3 piece of ash for a handrail, will it mean anything if I make the joint and join the pieces as sides, or top and bottom?

the jig looks just like my leg tapering jig, without the end piece.
Click to expand...
A picture is worth a 1000 words
 

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