Bannisters

[Hamie]

Hi all.

Stair bannister time... My (Loft) stairs are in & they have short posts where the newels go, with holes in them... How exactly do I fix the newels to the posts that are there? DO the newels come with large ieces of dowel? Or do I have to drill & then insert a piece? How should they then be held on the post? Just screws through the centre? Or just glue it?

Does it work very well if it's screwedso the bannister can be removed for getting large furniture up & down the stairs?

Oh yeah... How does the bannister fit onto the newels themselves? Slots & tounges? Or something else?

TIA

Hamish.

[Set Square]

A lot depends on what system you're using. There are several different ones, which fit together differently. There's lots of good information on the Richard Burbidge site at

[John Rumm]

If you buy a partial newel (i.e. the top bit only without a base) it will have a (typically 2") spigot on the base.

If you want a permanent fixing then chisel a flat on one side (so that air can escape), glue up and tap into place in the hole - it should be a nice snug fit.

I did my ones by making up the whole banister as a "panel", so that the newel, handrail, spindles, and base rail are all one construction that can be unscrewed and removed.

Drill and chisel a mortice in the square part of the newel, then cut a tenon on the end of the hand rail. Glue and possibly use a small pin / dowel nail through the side if you want it fixed, or leave it loose or screw through the side if you want to remove it.

In true BluePeter tradition, here is one I made earlier:

[Set Square]

consider the Burbidge Fusion system - which is entirely held together with screws. I used it to replace the old ranch-style bannister in my house. You can see a (rather grainy!) picture of my efforts at:

[John Rumm]

(the top panel on mine requires 4 screws to be removed to take out the whole banister - in theory, not had to do it yet!)

[Set Square]

Quite a lot! Each spoke has 4 screws - 2 at the top into the handrail, and 2 at the bottom into the base rail. The handrail end sockets simply bolt onto brackets on the newel posts.

In my case, I could probably undo all the bottom fixings (19 x 2screws), unbolt the handrail - one bolt each end - and lift the handrail off with the spokes still attached to it. The bottom newel post can then be taken out of its socket, after removing a couple of screws.

Alternatively, I may be able to remove the whole thing including the base rail - but this is screwed down to the stringer with a few screws hidden under spoke feet. So I'd have to know where the screws are, and remove a few spokes to get at them.

It *could* be done, and could be re-assembled without damage - but it's not something I would want to do too often!