Bending the Hand Rail

More progress was made on the barn staircase this past weekend.

This was the hardest part... the most dreaded part: bending the wood to create the hand rail.

Using a series of clamps, glue and lots of muscle, the guys were able to create just the right curvature to create the rail.

Clamping the layers of wood to create the curved shape

The next step, scheduled for this weekend, will be to unclamp the wood and see if it held its shape. We're crossing our fingers in a major way.

If that doesn't work, I overheard a conversation that involved torching the whole thing. We joked that it would have been easier just to mold a rail out of clay. Yeah, an adobe hand rail.

We will all be glad when this arduous task is complete.

Next project: the kitchen...