How to make a handrail

[Paul.]

A couple of people have recently asked me if I could give a few details of some of the stainless work that I produce, so without giving away too many trade secrets or boring you with basic stuff, here is a few pictures of the manufacture of a small stainless handrail come barrier.

This railing is made from 2" dull polished tube, the joints will be made from pre formed dairy fittings,
when there are several joints its best to make up small sub assembly's and clean them up while they are easy to handle, so first the tee in the middle, welded appearance not important here as its being cleaned off, but a full weld profile with no undercut or crevices is essential, I don't want to be welding up pinholes that may appear when polishing,


Then I work some magic on it, with a flap wheel in the die grinder, can you see the join.

same with the bends for the ends,


The legs need to be notched to form a nice tight joint, a bit of careful setting up with a 2" holesaw in the bench drill is all you need,


A touch with a flapdisk to finish them off, and ready for assembly.


I knew those angle clamps would come in handy.
The mounting plates are 3mm thick, bent on the flypress, then deburred and dull polished


The finished item, final cleaning just done with soapy water and scotchbrite working with the grain, a couple of places needed a rub with a garryson abrasive block to remove some minor scratches,


It's to fit in front of a reception counter at a clinic, they have had problems with clients leaning over the the counter to reach paperwork etc, and on a couple of occaisions even spitting at the staff. so hopefully this will keep them a bit further away.

 

[wyn]

Nice looking work Paul.
Do you use constant pitch or vari pitch holesaws for your tubing work ?

 

[Mikey D]

Yea great work paul , i presume the tube is 16 gauge . The hygenic fittings are usually 16 g arent they?

Re the constant pitch holesaws , iwanted to try out a constant pitch cutter drilling stainless tube . Most ones in the shops ,screwfix etc are vari pitch .
Found some on the starratt website and they sell direct which is a bonus .
yet to try it yet tho

cheers mike

 

[chunkolini]

Interesting stuff, I often look at this kind of stuff and wonder 'how did they make that'.

Chunko'.

 

[RedOrZed]

Cheers for that, good set of pics

 

[Paul.]

Nice looking work Paul.
Do you use constant pitch or vari pitch holesaws for your tubing work ?

Wyn, that particular one is a variable pitch, its just one I happened to have, they do tend to snag as the cutting angle changes on the tube, constant pitch are better but as Mickey D said not so common.

Micky, yes 16swg tube to match the fittings, when you try your holesaw, use some Rocol RTD cutting fluid, not cheap but I reckon one of the best.

 

[Mikey D]

Paul i used to use the RTD paste ,not denying it good but i prefer an aerosol cutting spray theses days spray as you cut

cheers mike

 

[Paul.]

I like the paste for tapping, especially on site as it helps to contain the swarf, RTD fluid I decant a drop into a small pot and use a small paintbrush to apply it, less mess than a spray.

 

[the snooper]

nice work but you could have made out of something a little ligher look at the cracks it caused in the ground

 

[Welderpaul]

I prefer the RTD paste as it clings to the tool, even HSS bits in a drill for much longer and seems to have a lower melting point than a lot of other pastes that slide of the bit almost straight away.
I drill a hole in the centre of the lid and use a small brush to apply. Lasts a lot longer this way.

 

[richy_B]

If it is not a trade secret, how do you steady your hands to weld round the joint in picture 7?
Thanks for sharing by the way.
Rich

 

[Paul.]

Being comfortable is the key really as with any welding, control your breathing but don't forget to breathe!, try to find a torch grip that lets you rest either a finger or your forearm on the job or the bench. make a practice run without arcing up to get the feel of the wrist movement required, I also wrap the lead once round the wrist to take the weight off the torch, a flexible neck torch can make a world of difference, bend the torch instead of your arm
Other trade secrets, for a steady hand be relaxed, don't go lifting heavy weights or swinging a hammer just before an important weld, your muscles need to recover first, although some people just have shaky hands, fortunately I'm not one of them (yet).
For the notched joint you refer to, the rail was on the bench, so I sat on the floor, and used an adjustable stand that normally is used with the saw as an arm rest.

 

[richy_B]

Thanks for that Paul.

 

[strube1369]

Thanks for taking the time to post this. We appreciate it!

 

[Wagin]

Beautiful work. I'm jealous of your finish quality. I occasionally do various stainless jobs, sheet metal and pipe. Recently I've done a few sheet metal jobs for various applications in restaurants. I always struggle with the finish/polish being consistent. Your finish is flawless. Please give more info. Thanks!

 

[Shox Dr]

Wagin, I don't know what Paul uses, but I use 60/80grit grinding disc in the direction of the grain first off, finishing with 80grit flap wheel again in the direction of the grain on a DP finish

 

[Tigman]

I got a question for you Paul , how do you cope with distortion , specially on your branch weld , does the tube pull out of square ?

 

[Paul.]

I got a question for you Paul , how do you cope with distortion , specially on your branch weld , does the tube pull out of square ?

The straight joints were set up in a length of stainless angle, they do pull a bit but leaning on it whilst its clamped to the bench soon sorts it, its only 16swg, and moves quite easily, same with the branch, initial set up using a corner clamp, then sequence the welds, then when its cooled, clamp it down and give it a tug,
Another trick you can do with handrails, is to stick a sleeve up the joint, cut a short offcut down the length, and squeeze it up in the vice so it spring fits inside the tube, its a handy tip for when your working alone, or setting a job up on site, to make sure everything fits before welding.
You can of course buy proprietary handrail systems that use these methods.

 

[Tigman]

Thanks Paul , done a few jobs in stainless and it seems to distort more than mild steel , not done a handrail as yet , looks good by the way !

 

[Paul.]

Managed to grab a photo of this barrier installed, apologies for picture quality, but it shows the finished job.