Groove depth and expansion in oak

LukeD said:

I would like to make a railing similar to this:
https://www.homedit.com/stair-handrail/

But put 1/2" thick glass and use red oak.

I was planning on using a 1" to 2" thick board for the top and bottom, top acting as the rail as well.

Is there a guideline for how deep the groove should be? Does the height/width of the glass influence this?

If the glass will be 1/2" thick, do I have to make the top and bottom grooves larger to accomodate wood expansion? If so by how much?

My current thoughts for dimensions would roughly be:
Bottom board 5" x 1" x 8'
Two posts 3.5" x 3.5" x 3'
Top railing 2.5" x 2" x 8' (less thickness of posts)

Cut a groove in the middle of top and bottom at 0.5"x0.5" to slide glass in to.

Glass would run full length less an inch or so on each side.

Any tips, thoughts, and suggestions would be great as I am fairly new to wood working.

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SPS-1 said:

Keep the glass loose in the groove. You are over estimating how straight the boards, your cuts, and the glass is if you think you can make that a 1:1 fit on the glass.

Glass isn't going to move. Going to be heavy as heck.

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huesmann said:

Don't forget if you use glass there it needs to be tempered.

To cut your groove(s) you can use a router with a fence, or maybe a table saw with multiple passes—or even a circular saw if you're real steady-like, or rig up some kind of ghetto fence.

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ron45 said:

I would use clips instead of grooving the wood.

https://www.google.com/search?sourc...pAhUclXIEHQmVBgAQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1920&bih=937


Or even glass fasteners.

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