Amazing Duncan🤩All the years I,ve been doing it, and I cant believe its even simpler🤯Every days a school day👊The video showing how I cut and fix this handrail and newels is out VERY soon👍Thanks again for your great comment and for watching😎Cheers Del
@@jordis_journey-9981 you would divide distance by 100mm + width of spindle as that’s max spacing allowed. Round up to whole number of spindles, then follow Del’s explanation.
Del I just lay 18 spindles together down to a newel post then measure the gap left then divide by 19 . To get infill length , if it’s over 100 mm just put another spindle in and divide by 20 . Brill idea del putting putting pre finished spindles in . Be a nightmare painting em after 😉
When i was an apprentice (18 years ago now) this Is the way i was taught, my employer was savage strict about the fine details. I'm glad he was because it's stuck with me, now I'm extremely fussy. Another great video explaining something we face on a daily basis.
Good video my friend , an easy solution is as follows , if using a 32 mm spindle , think 8 spindles to a meter . 8 x 32 = 256. ( clump 8 spindles on your bench and physical measure to check accuracy) If opening is “say “ 1050 mm , 1050 - 256 = 794 . 794 divided by 9 = 88.2 mm . This is your spacer size, the number 9 is used as there is always one more spacer than spindle , Add or subtract a spindle to open or close your spaces just follow the procedure above again . Some times it is good to mark a rod on a scrap piece of timber as you did in the bottom floor trim to see I you creep top as well as bottom.
Hi Dermot🖐 Are you saying from experience that 8 spindles per meter is about right and a good starting point to go from🤔If so, then you're technique is superior as you can find a baseline number of spindles straight away just by measuring the run and applying your 8 spindles per meter formular👍I like it as I'd never though to actually check back on a finshed run and see how many spindles there actually was per meter😵💫 Thanks for adding it into these comments😎Cheers Del
Hi Del , no I go 9 spindles per meter ,it works for me , it gets me moving 2m span 18 spindles, I clump them together to get a true overall measurement then follow my maths procedure , I can plus or add a spindle or two to home in on my desired spacer size , the face width of the spindle is key . It works the same on the stair rake , A horizontal line between newels , same procedure will give you the length of the raking spacer . Many wouldn’t look at it twice let alone calculate it ! In the van and gone with the £’s and onto the next one while we are still looking for the masking tape 😁. You need some decent knee pads my friend , As the paddy’s used to say to me “ we are still waiting for the first man to beat Mother Nature “ 👍
Del, Not only interesting and logical, reading the comments has also given an insight to this issue. Being discalculate has dogged me on spacing in the past. Bob.
Very good explanation we as carpenters always get there some how due to our perfection habits to be accurate .I always try my best when doing spindles to be accurate
Hi Mohammed🖐You're spot on with your comment bud, its a cool part of the job having to figure things out and get your brain working👊Thanks for your comment😎Cheers Del
I work out my spacings a little different, but that idea of marking out a rod in the base plate is a useful double check tip, and just like the door lining jig I'm stealing this as well. Thanks alot.
Great video Del, accuracy is spot on. Nothing more satisfying than working spindles out and fitting them in near perfect. I’m with you , PVA glue rather than mitre mate as plenty of people pointed out to me once..😬 Apps are cheating..🤣, unless it’s a roof.. 👊🏻 🙌🏻
Hi Dan🖐I think that mortice and tenon working straight of the saw give the same kind of feeling as when a hip drops in perfect, first time😎You're right about mitre mate, and some guys use it foe everything😲Thanks for watching bud🤗Cheers Del
Every carpenter has their way. brilliant and love the videos. Good to pass on the knowledge! well done. on a lateral run, I measure the o/a length and gestimate the number of spindles, this becomes intuitive over time, if you have 12, then 13 spaces. 12x32mm add this and take from the o/a measure divide the remainder by 13, check regs, and adjust. I then make a rod and check the run and use this to check for 'creep' on the saw. Another chippie I work with does it different again 😀
Hi there🖐You're quite right and we all have our different ways😉I also use a rod, but more when I do the stair flight spindles, as like you also, you need to keep an eye on the spaces 'creeping'👊Thanks for watching and your great comment 😎 Cheers Del
I had another look at your math. That's clever..there is a stair guy. I had his book. He sets out his Strings exactly like this. He increments on the tape marking the point of the treads to negate error. I'll try this out 🤓
Good video Del with some useful tips, I've only ever done spindles by measuring between the posts, calculating the total width of the spindles and dividing the gap by 1 extra. I do agree how useful it would be to have a reference mark. One tip to ensure if using spindles that are turned is to do your calcs so that the gap in the middle of the spindles is under 100mm.
Hi Kevin🖐Great to hear how you do it bud, and, you're right, that you need to accommodate turned spindles when setting out thier spacings👊Thanks for watching and your comment 😎 Cheers Del
You keep smashing out those great tips 👍 I would have been faffing about with centres etc and still be at it when you are home for tea already 😊 Have a great week
A good one Del never thought about the equals on the calculator , just have to watch the creep factor 😁 never thought of just glueing them into place , your right about the pin head mark 👍 , missed your video when it came out to busy watching the news 👋🇮🇪☘️👍
Hi John🖐Yes bud, the glue is super strong, and leaving out pinning it, saves work for the decorator👊I know its awful, but I don't watch or listen to any news anymore as its virtually impossible to work out who's not twisting it one way or the other😬Thanks for watching and your comment😎Cheers Del
Always enjoy your videos Del,very informative and practical .one thing to watch out for is when coming towards the end of a run of spindles do not fit the last few spacers until you get all the spindles in place as you need to put them in at an angle, This is especially true in short runs get them to one side and then spread them apart, finally sometimes I cut the top of the last spindle at a slight rake to help in getting it in. Hope this makes sense Regards Liam
Never met two carpenters that do it exactly the same. I sort of do it that way but my calculation is a bit different. Before nail guns we always used to glue and panel pin the spacers. Now I glue and Brad the spacers. I like a mechanical fixing as well as the glue and it was how I was taught. I like doing stairs and handrails interesting part of carpentry.
Hi Dave🖐You're so right bud, and that's the beauty of meeting/talking to other carpenters. You can be doing something the same way for years, then someone shows you a different way which is better, quicker and easier👊I really enjoy fitting stairs, and the more complex the better as it really gets your brain working🤓Thanks for watching 😎 Cheers Del
We start on one side get somewhere near half way , then start on the other side , then the odd spacer is in the middle of the run , the average Joe blogs won't spot it in the middle of the run, and the end spacers near the newel on both sides are the same , great video again mate
Hi Mark🖐Ultimately bud, it's all about how it looks at the end of the day, and usually, if it looks right it's alright👍Thanks for watching 😎 Cheers Del
@@thetallcarpenter would you say the “let your eye be your guide” is a good principle to work to?, do sometimes obsessing over the mm even though it’s barely visible and not necessarily noticeable a waste of time?, will their always be that slight imperfection in one’s work but as long as it looks right?
@@charlierodgers2776 Ultimately Charlie, most people can only tell a jobs not right just by looking at it, so yes, to a degree, something can, technically be wrong, but actually look right in the context of the job as a whole👍Cheers Del
Excellent. Everyone has slightly different ways of getting the finished product. It's so easy to gain on the run a half a mil add up over 18 spaces. I like the gauge do you can keep a eye 👁 on it. I used 18 gauge pins for the infill with pva , your right I wasn't gone on the pins afterwards.i wasn't sure if glue alone would do it. I'm looking for to your old school hand rail fitting with mortise and tennon 🤔🤣. Great video as always 👍
I pin the fillet pieces top and bottom, two 18Ga brads in each plus pva. The spindles get pva and two brads top and bottom as well. I have my eye on a 21Ga pinner from Senco, it leaves a tiny hole, 🔨🇮🇪
never thought of gauging it out as you describe though which is a cracking idea too. i often use those hand rail zip bolts particularly on oak jobs too
Hi Paddy🖐Not all calculators apps do it, but I find it really handy for gauging things out👊 Anyway, I learnt something today also, and that is that there is an app for working out spindle spacings rendering my video obsolete😜I hope there's not an app for cutting mortice and tenons, or my next video will be a waste of time as well😆Thanks for watching😎Cheers Del
I like the masking tape trick. I usually just use an 18g pin gun but your way is better. I hope Dan has seen it, he can keep his 20 clamps in the van next time 👍
Hi JRS🖐I really had my head turned about PVA glue a many years ago by a chap who worked in a stair manufacturer. He showed me how quickly he could start working on glued parts, and how impossible it was to split glued work once it had cured👊 (yes, Dan does have an obscene amount of clamps😆) Thanks for watching 😎 Cheers Del
Nice explanation only a year to late ;) Had to make more than 15 fences with spindles last year. I made a jig to assemble them to make sure they were all the same
when i do spindles i measure the gap in your case 2390 then as you said 18 spindles id find out what 32mm x 18 is so 2390 - 576 = 1841 then divide it by 19 as there will obv be 19 spaces which makes 95.4mm
Hi Paul🖐Its cool that we've all got slightly different ways of doing this kind of thing, and I've learnt 3 now different ways of doing it, but all we need is an app nowadays, which I've only just found out there is plenty of to do these calculations🤯Thanks for watching bud😎Cheers Del
@@thetallcarpenter ohhh aye... nowt worse than when ya see spindles with odd gaps or hard up to a newell post. simple maths gets ya there though. sometimes the last couple of fillets need a bit of a trim but ya can get it nigh enough how we all seem to do this job
@@stantheman7467 To be fair, you do need to find how many spaces to divide it by in the first place, which is where part of my method comes in👍(all pointless anyway, as the app does it all for us now😬) Cheers
Hi Mark🖐It works a treat bud, but you want to take it off the next day, or it can become welded on if left on too long😬Thanks for watching 😎 Cheers Del
If your spindles are 35mm and you have 18 of them, you can x 35 by 18 subtract that from the run and divide the remainder by 19 (because there will be 19 spaces) This way you divide the available space by the number of spaces and arrive at an even spacing, in this case a gnats knacker over 92mm.
@@67spoon I can't remember what I was taught Kevin😮and the method I use helps me find out how many spindles and spaces there are to start with👍Thanks for your comments bud🤩Cheers
Great job, I take it you levelled the base rail so that all spindles are the same height for a tight fit? Also, a video on what technique you would use for cutting and fitting handrail & spindles on the slope would be greatly appreciated. It’s a part of my game I want to get quicker and more efficient at doing.
Hi Diarmuid🖐Yes, the base rail and handrail were both level, so all the spindles were the same length👍I haven't fitted a set of stairs for a couple of years, which is odd, as I'm a bit of a stair specialist🤔I'll definitely do a series of videos when I next fit some stairs covering raking handrails and spindles👊Thanks for watching😎Cheers Del
Hi Del, what would you do if the newel were out of plumb?. I’ve held my 600 level on both the top newel post and bottom and it’s around 5mm out. The newel is in total 12mm out over the length of the newel. Now I’ve obviously guaged it out as you described, and it works out at 96.5mm. But like you said you like to keep the spindles plumb but if I did that it would mean the gap on the end spindles next to the newels would have an uneven gap?
Hi Elliot🖐In this instance I would guage, as you have, to the widest measurement between the newels and keep the spindles upright. You can't do anything about the newels, and it's better that its just them.out of plumb rather than some of your spindles👍Cheers Del
Hi there🖐The thickness of the spacers will be relative to the depth of the groove that the spindles fit into👍Personally, I prefer to have the spacers sitting a few mm proud of the groove👊Good luck🤞Cheers Del
Hi Philip🖐Yeah, the cool thing about sharing these videos is that it gives viewers the opportunity to say how they do things, giving me and anyone else a chance to learn something👊(even it is just using an app instead of doing it mathematically) Thanks for watching 😎 Cheers Del
Hi Stefan🖐Yes, it's exactly the same, the trick there is how you project the inside line of the bottom newel up enough to be able to take the measurements🤔and I normally just clamp a 6 foot level on the newel to do this👍Cheers Del
@@thetallcarpenter so as it's an incline the spacer would be longer to allow for the angle. And the spindle width would be taken from the angled cut at the top or bottom of the spindle which would be longer than the actual width?.
@@Stefsax Sorry Stefan, I wasnt 100% clear in my first reply😬I first find the HORIZONTAL distance between the lower and upper newels, and divide that as per the video👍I then cut a spindle the appropriate length, (with the stair pitch angle cut on each end), to fit in between the string cap and the handrail groove and make sure it is plumb. I then move this spindle away from the newel until the space matches that of the calculation, but HORIZONTALLY. I then cut the stair pitch on one end of a piece of spindle spacer and put the cut end against the newel, (this can be rested up the side of the spindle and not in the groove), and then mark the spindle spacer up the side of the spindle. This then gives you your spacer length which you can use to set a stop up on the mitre saw to repeat cut a load. I still mark out all the spacings and spindles on a rod and keep checking every few spindles, HORIZONTALLY, and adjust the spacer length if needed👍Hope this makes more sense, and I,m going to try and cover this in a video soon👊Cheers
Hi Paul🖐Exactly the same way, but you need to clamp a straight edge/level up the side of the lower newel so you can get the 'run' measurement. Once you have this measurement, you can cut a spindle to the right length, and put it the calculated distance from the newel, and then direct mark a the stair pitch spacer from this👍Hope this makes sense🤞Cheers Del
Hi Aaron🖐I've had a few comments now about apps for this, and I kinda feel like a right dinosaur, and also that this video is, basically, redundant😆There's an app for everything nowadays🤯Thanks for watching 😎 Cheers Del
@@thetallcarpenter I used to do the maths but always end up been a bigger or smaller gap the app dead easy put in the width and you have different opdion to add more spindles or less for a bigger gap just used it today on a decking job saves a lot time al send ya the link to one I use it’s so easy to use
@@aaronbell8527 There is quite a few apps for this and I got a message through IG from a chap that developed his own which blew my mind how cool it was🤯Its called Even-Spacer
Hi Mark🖐The cool thing about posting videos is that it gives people the chance to respond, and as a result, we/I can all find out the different ways we do the same things👊Thanks for watching😎Cheers Del
Nobody would have the time to fiddle about like this on site .Do them 90/100 mm max and break up the difference on your last 4/6 spindles . You’ll be fine .
Hey del I’ve never got my head around Japanese pull saws and pulling planes . Never used either . Never liked putting a coping saw blade in to pull either 🤔 there chisels look the business don’t they del
Hi Terry🖐As a carreer carpenter, I guess I/we should all appreciate Japanese carpentry, but like you, its something thats never really got my juices flowing like it should😬Great comment😎Cheers Del
Don’t want to be rude but all these trade videos actually piss me off. It’s great what you do, but I learnt this without videos and doing all these videos allow the joe public to do these jobs themselves depriving hard working trades that have taken years to learn their craft of potential jobs.
Hi William🖐I hear what you're saying bud, but my channel is pretty trade specific and not at all aimed at the DIY'ers. My aim is to try and pass on bits and bobs of what I've learnt over the years to other carpenters, especially ones who are in training or starting out. In my experience, you will always have the kind of folk who will do it themselves, and they, generally, will not employ the likes of fully trained tradesmen. The massive influx of cheap, poor quality labour from abroad has done far more to harm the building industry, push down rates and take work than videos on RU-vid. Thanks for your comment👍