In this video, Ben Uyeda of HomeMade Modern demonstrates how to build a sleek, contemporary spiral staircase using just a standard schedule steel post, plywood and a CNC router (along with a healthy amount of wood and construction glue). To build the staircase, Uyeda uses the CNC to cut out 12 shapes of incremental size from a plywood sheet, which he then stacks and fits around the post to secure into place.
HomeMade Modern has also made the CAD files available for free, so handy woodworking types can attempt the construction themselves.
Uyeda estimates that each full step requires approximately 1.25 4 foot by 8 foot sheets of ¾ inch plywood, which cost him about $40 a sheet. Add in the cost of the steel ($450) and screws and glue ($200), and the finished material cost rang in at a price significantly lower than the prefabricated metal spiral staircases available on the market. But with a construction time of about 2 hours per stair, the material savings does not come without a rigorous amount of labor.
HomeMade Modern is also beginning a partnership with AutoDesk to utilize their brand new BUILD Space (BUilding, Innovation, Learning and Design), a state-of-the-art coworking and shop facility dedicated to exploring the potential of digital fabrication technologies. Located in South Boston, Massachusetts, the 34,000 square foot space contains workshops for metal fabrication, CNC & manual machining, woodworking, water jet cutting, large format routing, laser cutting, composites, glass, robotics and 3D printing. Read More…
