Aside: Building stairs that way is a really bad idea. Don't use angle brackets – you cut stringers. And besides the first and last step, stringers are pretty straightforward to layout with a carpenter's square with some stair guides (two little posts that screw to the square). And, generally you just layout 8" rise, 12" deep stairs, so you really don't lay out anything at all.
But, really, don't build stairs like OP suggested.
I also don't like that fixtures at top and bottom are SPOF. Why not add pillars to the top and ~3rd from bottom steps, then tie with another beam, like an H overlapping a ladder?
That way, there will be far less chances that bolts spontaneously rip off and stairs go down, nor the lengths of pillars to have to be critical dimensions. The pillars can optionally be cut to precise lengths to be screwed through both steps and slopes for maximum Apple-ness, or, can be lazily cut to long-enough lengths, nailed through to steps from the "outside", and used as base for handrails as if it had been the plan.
(dc: not an engineering advise. consult a real engineer for safety. Also add cross beams in width-height plane, they help tremendously)
Yeah, having the steps only connected by some small screw brackets is borderline redneck engineering, someone's gonna get killed when two screws come loose.
Somehow as easy as it is conceptually, I still find cutting 3 stringers that line up well to be surprisingly difficult. In part because I’ve only has to do it a handful of times in my life.
Yup. If you're doing almost anything in wood, a set of clamps is more useful than you'd think.
I made a table. The legs are all exactly the same length, but don't ask me what that exact length is - I eyeballed the height I wanted and then clamped all the legs together before cutting them.
Another tip for building things with legs - a 3-legged object is stable on any uneven surface while a 4-legged objects will wobble on uneven surfaces.
This is because 3 points make a plane, adding a 4th point that is not on that plane introduces a wobble.
Easiest way to avoid that wobble: get the legs to within 1 mm, add felt pad to the bottom of the legs. The pressure of the table will compress the felt and all four legs now contact the ground.
> Easiest way to avoid that wobble: get the legs to within 1 mm, add felt pad to the bottom of the legs. The pressure of the table will compress the felt and all four legs now contact the ground.
On a level floor, sure. But for something that will be on uneven surfaces, like outside, 3 legs are stable, even if the legs are all different sizes[1].
[1] Three points make a plane, the plane itself may not be level, but because all points of contact are on the same plane there is no wobble. When there are more than 3 legs, some points may not be on the same plane, producing a wobble.
pretty amazing how the simplest of solutions seems to be so elusive. i've been guilty on more than one occassion of making something seemingly simple as difficult as wrangling cats.
It's just experience. Everything you've done before or that you've seen done by people that knew what they were doing is trivial, everything you haven't done before is difficult.
But, really, don't build stairs like OP suggested.