A Simplified Guide to Custom Stairbuilding and Tangent Handrailing (Paperback)

~ George R. diCristina (Author) "Stairbuilding begins with the stair plan..." (more)
Key Phrases: pitched tangents, tangent handrailing, rake rail height, Simplified Guide, Plan Plan, Plan Figure (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In order to construct continuous climbing-turn handrail sections for a staircase, the basic elements of tangent handrailing must be understood. This guide to building custom staircases, including elliptical stairs and continuous incline stairs, explains the tangent principle for the advanced woodworker. Covering everything from locating risers in a curved stairway to the installation of balusters, this simple method enables the craftsperson to make distinctive, personalized stair and handrail designs that are not available from stock staircase companies.

About the Author

George di Cristina began apprenticing in his father's stairbuilding shop in 1931 and has been a principal of J. di Cristina and Son ever since. He lives in Burlingame, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Linden Publishing; 2 Revised edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941936635
• ISBN-13: 978-0941936637
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,528 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for advanced stairbuilding, May 13, 2002

By	Todd Barrow (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews

More easily understood than "Treatise on Stairbuilding". I have consulted this book on many occasions, and it has never let me down. Well written, but will take some study to master the vast amount of information contained in the book. This book is not for the geometrically challenged.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The really useful book out there, September 12, 2003

By	Dan Bloomer (Waterville, ME United States) - See all my reviews

This is the only book available that one can actually use to learn tangent handrailing, and classical stair design. This is an advanced text for the architectural woodworker with some grounding in stairbuilding. If this describes your situation, buy the book, glue up some practice blanks out of construction lumber, and begin your exploration of a fascinating craft. Mowatt is a great conversation piece on the bookshelf, but the only reason I know what he's talking about is owed to the time I spent with DiChristina's book. My copy is somewhat beaten-up due to the time it has spent on the workbench. I am grateful to the author for the clearest and best organized book on this subject.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not an "eleventh hour" how-to, June 26, 2006

By	kh (Bend,OR) - See all my reviews

honestly, if you are halfway through a curved handrail at sort of a sticky point and think "I'll order this book, it looks like it might help", well, you are probably wrong.

Lots of info, like a lot of the other stair books, but not put together in a way that will be useful in the short term. I'd say it's more like a text book. Also the term "Simplified" in the title...I guess if you are Stephen Hawking, then perhaps. But why would Stephen Hawkings want a book about building stairs?

A lot to get your head around, not going to help you out of a bind, unless your bind is something like "how do I find the vertex locations of a rake-to-level section"