maple frame, tempered glass railing extension
Just finished this job up yesterday - involved extending the stub wall which was serving as a railing on the main floor. The entry way is a drop of approx 5 or so feet from the dining room, and over the stairwell > 10 feet. The customer's son has (IIRC) some form of autism which reduces his fear of heights, and this is so he cannot climb over and the 36" high wall and fall. We actually have done similar jobs in the past for other customers, for the same reason.
Trying to do something like this as not to look like an after thought, and also to to be too bulky and ugly is a challenge.
How does this tie in with the Shopbot? Well, if you look closely you can see every upright, and the end cap that ties the glass & frame into the stub wall, has an ovalular (I made that up lol) pattern I cut into the face with one of the Whiteside router bits that is like a round over that comes to a point.
I did a few different designs and they liked this one the best (I did not, but after it was done I agreed it suited the rest of the work in the home).
The main frame is made up from a top and bottom pc of 3/4" thick hard maple, with 1 1/4" maple uprights (4" long) that are set into the top & bottom by 1/4". The groove for the 1/4" thick tempered glass panels is also 1/4" deep. I assembled everything in the shop before final shaping and sanding, then took it apart and finished it. Final assembly was done on site, lifted up on the wall and screwed down and plugged.
Just something simple, yet different. Thought I'd share a few cellphone pics I snapped.
The next thing to be done are new railings to go down the stairs to match this work, and also replacing the baby gate with more of a door (which will be a maple frame/ tempered glass panel as well) as well as a second gate/door at the bottom of the stairs.
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