Some prework for my rail job this weekend

[rancher76]

The customer ordered all the ballisters and handrail prefabbed from a shop in china. Everything has been close-ish, but they made a mistake and sent 3 too many doubles, and 3 too few singles.
First step was to get everything cut apart.
The round bar they use was 16 mm, I used 5/8 hot roll. Drilled and tapped the end 8mm to screw onto the existing studs.

[rancher76]

Got the ends welded on.
Blended out and ready for install.
This was a lot simpler to do in the shop, rather than in the field. I’m hoping to finish the installation this coming Saturday, and I’ll get some pictures then. There are 8 flights of stairs, 6-7 steps each, with landings in between. It’s been interesting!
Edit- what I meant to say was 4 flights of stairs, 4 landings. 8 sections of rail total. I type faster than I think sometimes!

[Freebirdwelds]

Nice Job!

[whtbaron]

Sweet... I would have been sweating bullets until I got the first one welded. With my luck they would have been some un-weldable white metal alloy. Nice work...

[52 Ford]

Sweet... I would have been sweating bullets until I got the first one welded. With my luck they would have been some un-weldable white metal alloy. Nice work...

Been there, done that. I got this big, fancy, cast bronze urn thing from a job (homeowner's wife was an artist and collected all sorts of stuff) and I wanted to turn it into a flower pot. Got the top cut off, then wanted to braze something onto it. I did a test on the offcut with a MAPP torch to see if I could use solder before I got out the oxy torch.... Melted it! Turns out it was some sort of pot metal. Still turned out fine. Just couldn't add handles to the side of it

[rancher76]

Sweet... I would have been sweating bullets until I got the first one welded. With my luck they would have been some un-weldable white metal alloy. Nice work...

It had already been welded, so I wasn’t too worried. It actually welded pretty nicely.
And thank you!

[rancher76]

Nice Job!

Thank you!

[rancher76]

It has been a great customer to work for. He is pretty sharp and has been helping me so I didn’t have to hire help. And he’s dang good help. He was telling me about working with the Chinese company. He drew up his staircase, sent them the prints. They then built his staircase profile out of square tubing for a jig, and built off of that. Lots of pictures and communication back and forth though the whole fabrication process. Took about 4 months, start to finish. He had been quoted $350/ft from local shops. The overseas company fabricated, painted, and shipped to his house for $100/foot. It’s pretty good quality stuff. There’s things that you can nitpick about it, but you can with about anything. It’s unbelievable to me how they can do it.

[52 Ford]

It has been a great customer to work for. He is pretty sharp and has been helping me so I didn’t have to hire help. And he’s dang good help. He was telling me about working with the Chinese company. He drew up his staircase, sent them the prints. They then built his staircase profile out of square tubing for a jig, and built off of that. Lots of pictures and communication back and forth though the whole fabrication process. Took about 4 months, start to finish. He had been quoted $350/ft from local shops. The overseas company fabricated, painted, and shipped to his house for $100/foot. It’s pretty good quality stuff. There’s things that you can nitpick about it, but you can with about anything. It’s unbelievable to me how they can do it.

Cheap steel and cheap labor in China.

If I'm thinking right, that'd be... $5K-ish from Chicom vs $17,500 from a local company? Maybe I'm missing something?

Edit. 7 steps, 7-1/2" rise, 11" run. 8-ish foot rail * 8... $6400

[rancher76]

Made the adapters for the top of the ballisters. Started with 5/8” hot roll. Turned it down and put in a relief for me to stop the threads on, 12x1.75. I’m really liking this carbide insert for single point thread cutting! From right to left- round stock I started with, reduced diameter for threading, finished adapter. Where the corners meet on the staircase, I am having to cut off the original mount, and they aren’t long enough to reuse.

[itcanbewelded]

It has been a great customer to work for. He is pretty sharp and has been helping me so I didn’t have to hire help. And he’s dang good help. He was telling me about working with the Chinese company. He drew up his staircase, sent them the prints. They then built his staircase profile out of square tubing for a jig, and built off of that. Lots of pictures and communication back and forth though the whole fabrication process. Took about 4 months, start to finish. He had been quoted $350/ft from local shops. The overseas company fabricated, painted, and shipped to his house for $100/foot. It’s pretty good quality stuff. There’s things that you can nitpick about it, but you can with about anything. It’s unbelievable to me how they can do it.

Wow! Wonder what the local shop was building it out of. $350 a ft would build some really impressive stuff. I am building some hand rails now and about half the job is aluminum rails with a complex design and i still ain’t hitting $100 per ft. The same customer wants a 2 flight 3 landing staircase built from aluminum and although it will be more per ft than the handrails, i have a hard time finding a way to justify $350 a ft. The company musta been busy and didn’t want the work.

[52 Ford]

Wow! Wonder what the local shop was building it out of. $350 a ft would build some really impressive stuff. I am building some hand rails now and about half the job is aluminum rails with a complex design and i still ain’t hitting $100 per ft. The same customer wants a 2 flight 3 landing staircase built from aluminum and although it will be more per ft than the handrails, i have a hard time finding a way to justify $350 a ft. The company musta been busy and didn’t want the work.

I haven't messed with aluminum railings since before Covid, so I'm completely out of the loop on pricing, but $350/ft is an insult.

[rancher76]

I’ll try to get some more details from him tomorrow while I’m there. Maybe he’s feeding me a line, I really don’t know. The most I’ve done with the ornamental stuff is built a few gates years ago, and I ordered all the materials for it from Kings Architectural in Dallas. Structural sizes, I can bid and estimate. This stuff, I would have to do some research.
Got the old farm rig loaded up and ready to head out in the morning, I’m hoping to be on the road by 5:30, it’s just shy of two hours to get to the job site.

[52 Ford]

I’ll try to get some more details from him tomorrow while I’m there. Maybe he’s feeding me a line, I really don’t know. The most I’ve done with the ornamental stuff is built a few gates years ago, and I ordered all the materials for it from Kings Architectural in Dallas. Structural sizes, I can bid and estimate. This stuff, I would have to do some research.
Got the old farm rig loaded up and ready to head out in the morning, I’m hoping to be on the road by 5:30, it’s just shy of two hours to get to the job site.

Good looking truck.

[tapwelder]

Wow! Wonder what the local shop was building it out of. $350 a ft would build some really impressive stuff. I am building some hand rails now and about half the job is aluminum rails with a complex design and i still ain’t hitting $100 per ft. The same customer wants a 2 flight 3 landing staircase built from aluminum and although it will be more per ft than the handrails, i have a hard time finding a way to justify $350 a ft. The company musta been busy and didn’t want the work.

Since you put it out there…

??? Really.

If you are not hitting $100/ft and doing ally, Seems like maybe local pricing issue? But probably your choice and trouble “justifying” it. Run some numbers, what is your actual hourly rate earned(rhetorical). No issue if you are sitting fat.

10 ft of straight stairs for 3500$. Seems fine to me?

If the client can get stairs for 100/ft. Great. Maybe in 2000, I could have entrained that rate. If I can’t compete the I do something else or find paying clients.

No disrespect intended with this post.

[52 Ford]

Since you put it out there…

??? Really.

If you are not hitting $100/ft and doing ally, Seems like maybe local pricing issue? But probably your choice and trouble “justifying” it. Run some numbers, what is your actual hourly rate earned(rhetorical). No issue if you are sitting fat.

10 ft of straight stairs for 3500$. Seems fine to me?

If the client can get stairs for 100/ft. Great. Maybe in 2000, I could have entrained that rate. If I can’t compete the I do something else or find paying clients.

No disrespect intended with this post.

Commercial or residential?

[itcanbewelded]

Since you put it out there…

??? Really.

If you are not hitting $100/ft and doing ally, Seems like maybe local pricing issue? But probably your choice and trouble “justifying” it. Run some numbers, what is your actual hourly rate earned(rhetorical). No issue if you are sitting fat.

10 ft of straight stairs for 3500$. Seems fine to me?

If the client can get stairs for 100/ft. Great. Maybe in 2000, I could have entrained that rate. If I can’t compete the I do something else or find paying clients.

No disrespect intended with this post.

I kinda like where this conversation is going…but don’t want to hijack this thread. I will start a new one on the subject.

[rancher76]

Got some pictures today before I left, the 6 month old grandson is coming over and I need to get home! I asked him about the bid he got, it wasn’t a formal bid, just the shop saying that was a good budgetary number. The last few pieces from china were too short, I’m bringing them home to fix, and have to make two more singles from the doubles, too. I should finish next Saturday, I’m ready to have this behind me. We got a call to bale 200 acres of rye cover crop, so I need to be getting to the field, too. No rest for the wicked!

[farmersammm]

That's some interesting stuff you're doing.

[rancher76]

Good looking truck.

Thank you! I’ve had it for 20 years, it’s my go to. The wife wonders why I leave the newer one in the shed, I just like driving this one. 6 speed manual and kinda noisy diesel…it makes you feel like you’re in a truck.

[farmersammm]

I swear..........every time I look at that railing I gotta figure there's some really skinny folks living in that house. Get an old fat boy leaning' up against them, and they'll buckle. They chose 'em, so I guess they'll have to live with them.

[tapwelder]

Looks sturdy to me. Also, several turns and short runs help the integrity.

I was just wondering about the large gap at the transitions.

[52 Ford]

Looks sturdy to me. Also, several turns and short runs help the integrity.

I was just wondering about the large gap at the transitions.

Historic building?

[rancher76]

It’s new construction, a single family dwelling. It’s not my taste, but it’s theirs and they are writing the check. As far as the gaps at the transitions, we are going back with singles to finish them out. And for Sam’s comment, I am 6’2”, 250 pounds on my skinny days. And I absolutely don’t like how the railing feels, either. I don’t think it will catastrophically fail, I guess I am just used to industrial and cattle fencing. But again, I am just the welder on the job, not my design or taste!

[tapwelder]

How is the Newell attached? Were you able to penetrate the floor? That area will definitely wear and probably the toughest area to affix solidly if there if no agreement with the builder prior to install. Often amazes me how rails were finished 40 years ago and longer. Though not code compliant(short or wide gap), most often soundly attached. Now it is acceptable to hope one hit blocking underneath the finished area. Occasional I will get a contractor who request special provision for install.