I have a miscellaneous supplier who is being required to make their 90 degree miter joint (in handrail) a CJP. I know most of the D1.1 rules and realize there is no pre-qualified joint since they cant get a decent backing at the root zone and the 'heel' portion of the miter is going to be real tough as well. Has anybody made this joint before. Would you let us know how it was accomplished? Thanks, Bruce

Bruce,

I hope you and your family had a great Christmas and New Year's.

Is this something that's shown on a design drawing or a spec.? As you know, this is a bit extreme for a handrail joint, but if a CJP joint is required, has anyone asked if manufactured elbows could be used, and then CJP at each end of the elbow? Although there would be two CJP's instead of one, this might be an easier option.

If this was specified in a contract document, maybe the EOR has had some bad experiences with handrail splices.  As far as straight butt splices, I've seen splices that were prepped with a 1/8" gap, welded, and ground flush, that were o.k.  I've seen splices that had a solid round bar for backing and extra strength, welded, and ground flush, that were o.k.  I've also seen straight butt splices that were simply welded and ground flush, and the minute a little stress is imposed on the splice, what's left of the weld just snaps.  My guess is that if an EOR specified this, it may be because he's had splices to break, because otherwise, in my past experiences, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Maybe the manufactured elbow, using a solid bar for CJP backing at each end is an option.  Either way, hopefully their estimator caught this requirement.

Bruce,

Not enough info.

Is this being done in the shop or in the field?

If in shop, qualifying the welders is not that difficult. Just make sure that the remainder of the (field) splices is on straight sections.

To what code is this handrail being built to?

It’s been a while but, I thought that 90 degree mitered corners were out according to the ADA.

Check here for a LOT of handrail parts - http://www.wagnercompanies.com/Home.aspx

Wedge-Locks are just the answer for CJP welds on tube/pipe handrails – Page C1 in the online catalog.
No engineer I’ve worked with rejected them because they are not continuous.

Otherwise, it’s pipe, tubing or solid slugs for back-up material. (Obviously, it only works on straight splices.)

Cheers,
jb