Need advice re stairway bannister

[Brian Siano]

In order to strip the paint from my stairway bannister, I've had to disassemble it. This is actually a good thing, because, in order to move large furniture up and down those stairs, I've had to make the bannister removable.

But here's where I need some advice. The bannister itself attaches to the end posts at an angle of roughly 45 degrees. Until this past week, it was attached with a series of nails. Now, the bannister piece and the two post- pieces (6" square, made of 3/4" oak) are separate. I'd like to reattach them in a way that would enable me to _detach_ them if I have to.

I have been unable to find a fixture or mount of metal link or whatever that would do the job. So I'd like to ask if anyone knows of a metal fixture that would a) join two pieces of wood at an odd angle, b) keep them joined firmly and solidly until they have to be un-joined, and c) be hidden from plain view.

[Steve]

bannister

reattach

whatever

Bed bolt fasteners might work if you don't mind a decorative cover on the newel post. If you don't want the cover, use a wood/metal bolt (can't remember the proper name of them). Lag one end into the newel and route a groove and hole on the bottom of the banister. Then slide the banister over the bolt, put a nut and washer on and tighten it against the end of the hole.

Did that make any sense?

[Tom Watson]

Go to the borg and get some hardware packages for kit stairs. They should contain a hanger bolt, a star nut and a formed washer.

Tom Tom Watson - Woodworker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania

[Kim Whitmyre]

I'm sure they exist, but what I've done in installing bannisters is to use hanger bolts: wood thread on one end, machine thread on the other. You drill a hole in the newel post at the angle of the handrail joint, and thread the hanger bolt into it. On the underside of the handrail you rout/chisel a slot to a hole previously drilled (at the right location: the termination of the machine threads) hole large enough for the nut and washer to fit onto the hanger bolt. Lay the slotted handrail onto the hanger bolts and tighten the nuts/washers against the walls of the holes.

Kim

[Preston Andreas]

Check out

. They show fasteners for the handrail to the newell post.

[Brian Siano]

Hm. It looks like the one at the bottom of page 50 left is close to what I need. All I'll need is to epoxy the nut into the bannister, and a decorative cover for the head of the bolt (and a countersink).