onebluestocking: bjds, designs, crafts and assorted nonsense

i finally got a few minutes to add the next step to my treehouse – the front railing. first i cut 2 square dowels to fit inside the front support beams. i measured and marked the center point, which in my case was 6 inches (i still alternate between inches and cm depending on which is easier or works better) then i drilled a hole for the spindle pinion (at least i think that’s what it’s called) the first hole was too small but worked great as a pilot hole for the bigger one. next i figured out the spacing for the other 6 spindles. that turned out to be a perfect 1-1/2″, easy! 🙂 i drilled those too and once i realized the holes had to go all the way through the dowel i placed the second under the first while drilling and got perfectly spaced pilot holes in my second dowel and none in my counter, bonus! 😉 for the second dowel i used scrap wood underneath to protect the counter. here is the result.

next i glued the bottom dowel to the base and weighed it down so that it dried flat. once the glue was dry i glued all the spindles in place, top and bottom and then glued the top of the railing at the ends. so it now looks like this.

i just have to sand the top of the railing since the pinions came through in a couple of places then add my balsa veneer.