Vol. 63, No. 3 autumn 2018 234


362. At each pillar location the styrene channel needed to be fi led to allow the rail to fi t.


364. A jig allowed a consistent length for the posts on the metal top rail.


365. Styrene disks were used as mounting plates for the metal top rail. 363. Tinning the fi ne wire allowed a tidy weld for the “T” joint.


durable joint. I found that K&S Precision Metals/ Special Shapes 0.8-millimeter rod could meet my needs. Photo 363 shows the “T” weld needed. I found that tinning the rail and the tip of the post and holding them in a jig allowed making a fast clean joint. Once they were painted I cut the posts to a consistent height using a jig. (Photo 364) Photo 365 shows the small pads used to secure the top rail to the wooden rail with the assistance of the modifi ed hair clips seen in Photo 351. Lots of patience and a steady hand did the trick! All of the guardrails on the second deck needed the additional top rail since there was no outboard decking, as found on the third deck, to catch inattentive passengers should they fall over the rail.


T e central forward staircase, from the second to the third deck, off ered another challenge. Photo 366 shows the fi nished product. T e diffi culty was to mortice the treads into the side rails with a consistent separation. First, the rise of the treads was drawn onto the cutting jig. (Photo 367) T e angle of the cut was set on the cutting slide. I added a brass pointer to maximize the precision of the positioning of the cutting jig. (Photo 368) All that then was necessary was to slide the cutting jig so that the pointer matched the next mark as it passed by the saw blade. T e blade height was critical, since the depth of the groove needed to be suffi cient for a good purchase but not deep enough to weaken the side rail. Photo 369 shows the bottom of the cutting jig. Note that there is a slot that exactly fi ts the dimensions of the


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