Handrails & Bottom Rails
* The Handrail is made up of three sections – the Upper (A), Middle (B), and Lower (C).
* The Bottom Rail is comprised of four sections -- the Upper (D), the Edges (E), and Lower (F).
Begin by determining how much stock you’ll need. Use your Thickness Planer to bring all your stock to the various thicknesses indicated in the Bill of Materials, then cut your pieces to length. Be sure to add 3” to the length of each piece for mounting in the Lathe.
Next, table saw al Rail pieces to their finished widths, plus 1/8”. Use your Jointer to bring all workpiece edges to their indicated widths.
Note that the Bottom Rail Upper section (D) has a tapered top. This is created by making the top cuts on the Table Saw with the Worktable tilted to 15o.

Decorative Edging For Handrails And Bottom Rails
You can easily change the profiles of the Rails to suit your particular tastes, or even leave them square, for that matter. Our project required that we follow an architectural design closely to ensure the proper restoration of the home’s porch.
All of the edging on the various Rail pieces can be created with your Shopsmith Molding , or Routing set-up and any combination of Knives, Cutters or Bits you desire. In our example, we used a Round-Over profile for the Upper (A) and Middle (B) sections of the Handrail…and 3/8” and 1/2" Cove cuts on the Handrail lower (C) section and Bottom (E) Rail Edge sections, respectively.
Next, assemble pieces B and C, using a waterproof glue and finishing nails. Locate the centerpoint of this assembly and mark off every 4” to each end. Drill 7/8” diameter holes at each mark. Repeat for all other sections made from pieces B and C.

Laying Out The Spindles
Start by determining the number of Spindles (G) you’ll require. We placed our Spindles 4” apart, but you may prefer a different spacing for your design. If you have to glue up stock to get the proper thickness, be sure to use a waterproof glue (for outdoor applications) and allow ample drying time before proceeding. Cut the Spindle stock to size.
Next, you’ll need to draw a pattern for making the template that you’ll use with the Shopsmith Lathe Duplicator. Lay out the pattern very carefully. Even the slightest deviation in the pattern will show up in every Spindle you turn. Basically, all you’ll need to do is draw the pattern on a piece of heavy paper, being sure to extend the profile break lines completely across the pattern. These lines will be used to transfer dimensions to the workpiece. Glue the pattern to a piece of 1/4" thick tempered hardboard.
Use your Bandsaw or Scroll Saw to cut out your profiles (keeping slightly outside your cutting lines), then carefully file and sand the template to final shape. Your Lathe Duplicator Owner’s Manual provides exact instructions for this procedure.

Turning The Spindles
Now that you have an exact pattern for your Spindles, you can begin the turning process. Depending on the size of your project, you can either use a Lathe Duplicator or your standard MARK V Lathe set-up. In our example, it was more efficient for us to perform all of the initial turning for the Spindles freehand, then add the final sharp detail with the Duplicator.
First, we located the centers of our Spindles by drawing two diagonal lines from corner-to-corner on each end of our spindle stock. Be sure your Drive Center and Cup Center each penetrate the wood at least 1/16”, and preferably 1/8” or more on their respective ends.
Follow your template and transfer the reference lines to your turning stock, using a square to extend your lines completely around the stock (See Fig. 1).
Mount your stock between the Lathe centers and adjust your Tool Rest. Adjust your Outside Calipers to 1-5/16” for the far left shoulder and use your Parting Tool to make your reference cuts to the desired depth. Reset your calipers to 1-11/16” for the far right shoulder and repeat the operation. Switch to your Skew Chisel and cut the tapers at the ends of the shoulders. Complete this operation on all of your Spindle stock before proceeding (See Fig. 2).
Next, rough out the beads, coves and tapers using any combination of chisels you prefer. Remember that since this is merely a roughing-out operation, it won’t be necessary for you to re-set your calipers to each shoulder depth. The Lathe Duplicator will do all the finite detail work for you later.
There are two shoulders to the left of the taper. Set your calipers to 1-5/16” and use your Parting Tool to make your reference cuts to depth. Re-set your calipers to 1-5/8” and repeat the operation for the two shoulders at the right of the taper.
There are three beads on the left…and one bead on the right of the taper. Use the same 1-5/8” Caliper setting for marking all four bead diameters...then use your Parting Tool to cut them. Use your 1” Gouge to remove the waste. Change to your 3/8” Gouge to rough shape the cove at the far right shoulder. Re-set your calipers to 15/16” and cut the round tenon to its indicated depth.
Remove any excess stock with the small Gouge. After a couple of dozen Spindles, you’ll be turning like a professional. Complete all of the Spindles to this point before proceeding (See Fig. 3).
To finish up the Spindles, use your Lathe Duplicator. Follow your Owner’s Manual carefully for mounting instructions and alignment procedures. We used the 60o Triangle Cutter to perform all of the final cuts. The results, in this case, were 175 identical, professional-looking spindles.
Now, before we begin to assemble the components, you’ll need to use your MARK V Miter Gauge and a stop to cut a 15o V at the end of each Spindle so it will rest properly on top of the upper section of the Bottom Rail (D) when assembled.

Assembly
Place the already assembled Handrail Middle and Lower sections (B & C) on a workbench. Begin inserting Spindles in the 7/8” holes that are already drilled. Use a 2-1/4” spacer block to keep the Spindles aligned and spaced properly
Attach the Bottom Rail upper section (with 15o V) to the mating V ends of the Spindles by nailing or screwing up through the bottom into the Spindle. Center the Bottom Rail upper section (D) – with spindles attached -- on top of the Bottom Rail lower section (F) and fasten with 3-1/4” long wood screws. Attach the coved Bottom Rail edge sections (E) to the Bottom Rail upper section (D) with waterproof glue and finishing nails.
Place the entire assembly on its side and drive a finishing nail through the Handrail lower section (C) and into the center of the blind tenon on the top of each Spindle. Turn the assembly over and repeat the process.
Center the Handrail upper section (A) on top of the assembled pieces (B/C). Nail up through piece B and into A to secure the upper section. Continue until you’ve completed the amount of assembled Railing and Spindles you need for your project.

A Few Tips
* Hone your Lathe Chisels after about every third or fourth Spindle if: 1): Your turning stock begins to chatter 2): Your chisels begin to heat up [particularly noticeable with Parting tool] 3): Your chisel wanders and you lose control
* Chisels will mar the Tool Rest after such considerable use. When this happens, file the Tool Rest, smooth it with a medium sharpening stone and wax it. Untreated, these marks will affect the accuracy of your turning.

Assembly and Materials