More and more people both professionals and amateurs are taking up the challenge of building a curved stair using my horizontal laminate technique.
Some of the results are really fantastic and have left me breathless as these exceptional craftsmen have added their personal touch to improve and develop this technique.
Here are just a couple of links to some recent articles that show a bit what this technique can do more simply and quicker than traditional techniques.
Traditional Wreathed Stair Using High and Low Tech
Amateur builds a curved central cut string
The basic principals of using horizontal laminate are simple and evident but the actual marking out of the laminates and the laminate template can still be a bit puzzling for a less-experienced wood worker.
To clarify the process of setting out these shapes using StairDesigner and ProgeCad I have recorded a video showing the method I use for building.
If you understand how to set up the laminates you can also set them up without CAD by drawing full size on a board, but it’s certainly much simpler and loads faster using StairDesigner and CAD.
Using these software packages you can go from design to having all the working plans in far less that an hour. Using a CNC to cut the laminates and stair parts you can build a complete curved stair in less than a week.
Note that you can use this technique to build boxed strings, cut strings, curved paneling or even curved furniture parts.
Here are a few photos of stairs built with horizontal laminates:
Don’t hesitate to contact me for more information on my stair building techniques.
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