Ornamental railings

Ryewalk84

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does anyone have any ideas of materials to be used to make an ornamental railing? I was thinking a combination of pvc and backer rod but would need something to stiffen the backer rod. This picture is way fancier than what I was planning but something like this.
 
A CNC router and making it flat really would be the easiest way to go, but I realize thats not an option for everybody.
 
A CNC router and making it flat really would be the easiest way to go, but I realize thats not an option for everybody.

With a plunge bit that has some interesting profile (plunge round-over/beading bit, or core box bit, or lettering/V groove bit, etc.) you could get a hint of depth easily. Whether it would be visible to anyone in the audience is another question, of course, probably dependent a good bit on the lighting.

Lacking a CNC router, this sort of thing is not too hard to do with a handheld router and a template and an appropriate template bit, particularly if there's some latitude in the precise design of the grating (to avoid sharp inside angles, for instance).
 
With a plunge bit that has some interesting profile (plunge round-over/beading bit, or core box bit, or lettering/V groove bit, etc.) you could get a hint of depth easily. Whether it would be visible to anyone in the audience is another question, of course, probably dependent a good bit on the lighting.

Lacking a CNC router, this sort of thing is not too hard to do with a handheld router and a template and an appropriate template bit, particularly if there's some latitude in the precise design of the grating (to avoid sharp inside angles, for instance).
For sure, a round over is what I was thinking, gives enough depth from stage to read the way you'd want. All of this is flat, the bridge rail bit in the middle is probably most like this, but with some layering of flat pieces you could add depth too. So the inner curly cues could be flat and then maybe the top and bottom/the "ties" could be added on top of the base layer.
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I really like your primary idea of using PVC, I'd use something like 1/2". Flatten it with a heat gun and pig weight or something. Don't flatten it completely flat leave a little bit of roundness. set some pegs into a a worktable and bend to shape, Heat the ends of the pipe and pinch to give it that finished Wrought Iron look. Or you could just use Aluminum tube bend it around a form. the wraps are already there in the design to hold it in shape.

I mean, Yeah, a CNC is nice. a Cut-awl is great. Heck a jigsaw and Luan will work. it's just all about time money, talent and expectation of finish.
 
A CNC is nice. a Cut-awl is great. Heck a jigsaw and Luan will work. it's just all about time money, talent and expectation of finish.
@Van Expectations of finish in a least two senses: a; The finished appearance and b; The odds of your finishing this in time for the paint to dry prior to your opening performance.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
View attachment 18375 does anyone have any ideas of materials to be used to make an ornamental railing? I was thinking a combination of pvc and backer rod but would need something to stiffen the backer rod. This picture is way fancier than what I was planning but something like this.
@BrianWolfe Would you have any products or suggestions for poster @Ryewalk84 ?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
@BrianWolfe Would you have any products or suggestions for poster @Ryewalk84 ?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
There are a lot of ways to approach this. We have purchased the cast iron and vacuum formed it, or made a silicone mold and cast it in urethatne. Cutting them in wood. Cutting in plywood and adding latex detail to make it more sculptural. But the best and most economical way if weight is not an issue is to just order the cast iron from a wholesaler like King Architectural and use that. The cast iron is usually much cheaper than any fabrication technique.
 
I have made ornamental railing similar to this out of long 1/4 inch wood dowel. You have to make a template to bend the railing around, usually a pattern of nails in some plywood, and then you soak the wood overnight in a trashcan or plastic gutter. We made a small tub out of plastic gutter to fit the 8' dowels. Once they were soaked they bent very easily around the template and we just let them dry into the shape. The longer you soak them the easier they are to work with.
 
I have large Flat bed lasers, CNCs, and a 48x48 vacuum former. When I do something like this, I tend to default to laser or cnc cutting it from a flat substrate, and painting it to appear 3 dimensional. My question would be this: What is the use? Is it going to be viewed up close? From afar? Also, what is the durability expectation? One of my specialties is building machines, and jigs. another option I have used for a more "long Term" installation, would be to get a single plate vacuum formed out of ABS or something like that, and use silpak resin with an aluminum powder additive, and mold them. It's fast, they'll look like a million bucks, and finish like metal. You'll be able to be a hell of a lot more intricate if that's what you're after. You could even build your own vacuum former to make your molds for very little money. It all depends on the application, life expectancy, and detail level you're after. resin is relatively inexpensive, super durable (like rock hard) and easy to machine, or re-work post-fab.
 
View attachment 18375 does anyone have any ideas of materials to be used to make an ornamental railing? I was thinking a combination of pvc and backer rod but would need something to stiffen the backer rod. This picture is way fancier than what I was planning but something like this.
I've used Romex (in-wall wiring) to fake this look many, many times.... looks great as a simple wrought-iron design, but probably not recommended for anything more "ornate" than the image you've provided.
 
After reading through this thread, I ended up being inspired to go with a slightly different technique: 1x4 and 1x6 PVC trim boards ripped down to 5/16"x3/4" strips that were then bent around a wooden form with the help of a heat gun. I picked a really simple, symmetrical pattern where I just had to make a form for one half, then flip the piece around to do the other half. There's enough flex to make it really forgiving as it's stapled to the wood framing for support. Add a little paint and I'm really happy with how it's turning out. The hardest part was just figuring out the right proportions and how to draw a nice spiral to fit.

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