Reclaimed white oak staircase

Listing #793 Listed on: 07/25/2007 Company Name: Further
Name: Jason Neufeld Member

This project was a solid wood staircase handcrafted from reclaimed white oak from a barn in Pennsylvania. The project took 7 months starting from sawing up beams to spraying the finish and completing the railing. It was a labour of love and a pride to all who worked on it!

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Posted By:L.R. Holland
That is amazing. Fantastic job!
Posted By:lou
insane...I like the way it divides to the left and right.
Posted By:Reidar
Fantastic work ! I am certainly impressed. One question though, Why use reclaimed oak when you spray it with a black finish ?
Posted By:J Neufeld
we used reclaimed wood for the texture and because that is what we primarily work with. The finish looks black, but it's actually an extremely dark brown stain with a clear lacquer over top. Standing ten feet away, you can see the grain beautifully.
Posted By:Breadboard
There is not a single straight line in your staircase, all lumber must conform to the flow. Your work is a masterpiece. Congratulations!
Posted By:Harry DeVrieze
Very Nice! great combo of wood & iron. I know what it takes and you and the others who worked on it . Had it. Well done.
Posted By:BEN
Great work!
How are the treds fastened to the stringers?
What material was used for the handrail?
This kind of stair building is a dieing trade. Who was your mentor?
Posted By:J Neufeld
Thanks Ben.
Each tread was mortised into the stringer about 1 1/2". Then three 1/2" lag screws were screwed into each side of each tread from the outside of the stringer before the outside lamination was put on. The handrail was 2 1/2" steel tubing that was wrapped with italian calf leather. And lastly, I don't have a mentor. I taught myself to build winding staircases when I was 27 years old. And I built the large oak one at 29. You learn real quick when you're forced to.
Posted By:GC
Beautiful work.
Have you ever tried oly screws?, far superior to traditional lags, and I would think a minimum of 2 inch imbedment into the treads would be better even with a 1.5 inch mortice...over time that type of stair will begin to move.
Posted By:J Neufeld
You're right. 2" would be better than 1.5" but this stair is not going anywhere. We used $6000 worth of high quality marine epoxy. This stair will outlast the house it's in.
Posted By:Sternberg
If you did that at 29, after teaching yourself, they should have asked you to bid on the Sistine Chapel instead of that other schmuck.
That work of yours is fine art.
Posted By:Meg
Gorgeous staircase! Which marine epoxy did you use? I was under the impression epoxy didn't work well with white oak?
Posted By:J Neufeld
we used west system epoxy. It's designed for used with woods like white oak which was traditionally used quite a bit in ship building.

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