[TheForge] another railing question

[Roger Olsen]

Out of curiosity I am interested how others of you have chosen to deal
with this question.
 A fair number of railing jobs I do involve fixed runs of varying
lengths.  There is always the dilemma of spacing the pickets so the two
outside pickets match the distance from their mount post or wall the
same measurement as that between the pickets.  Easy enough on each
section as it stands alone.  But say a separation of 3 &3/4 inches works
perfect for one section but on the next cuz a difference in length it
leaves the two outside ones 1 inch from the post or wall.  Do you layout
each section as a 'stand alone'  concentrating on the end pickets
working with the field, thus not matching the exact distance between one
section and another as long as it is close.  or do you match the
distance between pickets and totally ignore the end pickets.

When I first began doing this sort of thing I always assumed I had to
match the measurement between pickets in one section exactly the same as
another, but have found that a tiny increment say 1/16 or as much as 1/8
can make a dramatic difference when played out over 12 or 16 pickets and
it is small enough that your eye does not pick it up.

I always try to match the distance between pickets from run to run. and
some designs dictate that there is no other way, but some designs allow
the freedom to be flexible.  Sometimes it just doesn't look right no
matter which you choose.

Just curious which way most of you compromise on this, although I think
I already know.

Roger Olsen