How would you build the top rail for a handrail of a spiral stairs

[Joe Carrick]

OK Scott,

Here's my basics. I start with the individual components (all of which are symbols I made before)

1. 6" Post - about 4' tall with a spherical cap
2. Tread - 32-33 degrees so that the next one will overlap - top of tread at 9"
3. 2" diameter 30 degree handrail section (Arc converted to PLine - Lock Start - set end z to 9") - move up 41" so that it's 32" above the tread at the nosing
4. Place Balusters - in my case 1" round

The 2nd pic shows all these things together.

Next I rotate/replicate the Treads, Balusters & Handrail about with a delta z=9", angle = 30 degrees.
Depending on how may copies I made I then adjust the post height.

The third pic shows a 16 tread assembly which can be converted into a symbol that can be stretched to match the desired floor height and stair radius.

The advantage to using this method is:

1. I can reuse just a few different pre-made symbols (the things that the fabrication shop does in the real world.
2. Each component has it's own material named to match the component (post, tread, handrail, baluster, etc)
3. Once the final stair has been converted to a symbol it can be stretched vertically within about a 10-15% range without being too distorted. The Railing, Riser Height, Post & Balusters all stretch together.

The 1st pic shows another stair with just 13 treads - it's so easy to make any size I need. If I need a special railing or some other custom feature I just add it to the repeatable unit.