Check this staircase out.

[Rob Amaral]

Solid laminated handrail... 1885... all parts 100% solid-condition and present.. no loose or missing parts.. My gosh..

Download Attachment: IMG_0180.JPG

61.16 KB

[Rob Amaral]

Woonsocket, RI

[Marc]

Isn't 'solid laminated' an oxymoron?

Marc

[Rob Amaral]

Good point.. I should "Solid, Man"! The thing was in perfect shape...

[kurt]

Terminology aside, it's an amazing stair. When I find these things, I'm always humbled mightily.

What kind of glue do you think they were using back then?

I recall working with an old guy years ago; he'd talk about how the stair guys were the top tier craftsman on any job. The cabinet guys were the grunts; the stair guys were like the temple builders.

Think about the layout on a job like that; fairing all the lines, cutting, fitting, final shaping, etc. It's mind boggling.

[Rob Amaral]

Here's a side view...

Download Attachment: IMG_0183.JPG

72.47 KB

and another close-view

Download Attachment: IMG_0182.JPG

55.21 KB

[Steven Hockstein]

Nice railing and stairway. I also like the way you photographed it. Thanks for sharing.

When I see beautiful wooden railings in old multi-family houses designed for working class people it makes me think about the amount of quality craftsman that were around a hundred years ago. It was considered standard building practice. Nowadays this type of woodworking is limited to the wealthy because it is so expensive.

[Bill Kibbel]

That's a big piece of an artisan's life we're looking at.

[Rob Amaral]

This was a house for a 'captain of industry' guys....... This was grand dame of a place... I wish I knew the history...

BTW, Woonsocket, RI is like an HO train-set lay-out... It's got every imaginable 'thing' you'd see on a train-set.. 1880's train station included... old factories, a gorge with a huge dam and falls... It's basically the 'end' of the Blackstone Valley that is the drainage for the Worcester, MA area.. there was a canal from Worcester south to that region... It really is a classic place... ... but.. it is not doing very well and has not been doing so for a long time..

[kurt]

That's not a bad description for a lot of Rhode Island. As picturesque a place as anyone could imagine, but........

There are towns scattered all over the midwest that are the same way. Public square, courthouse, old dam and mill pond, incredible old houses on main street built of old growth native hardwoods by the titans, and old factories long shuttered.

[Steven Hockstein]

Click to Enlarge

38.67 KB

This is the stairway of a 2.5 million dollar spec house that we designed. The railing system does not come close to the quality of the one you photographed. Probably would have added another 50 grand to the price!

[Rob Amaral]

Nice photo.. Reminds me of my days slappin paint in dorms in Boston's Back Bay... we'd be doing the ceilings over these wells that were 5 stories high.. Not fun...