Banister Help

[WoodChuck34]

Okay here's a new one. I was upstairs changing when I heard my 1.5 year old daughter coughing while she was eating her dinner. I didn't get too concerned until my wife yelled "Chuck" at which point I raced down the stairs faster than you can blink an eye.

In order to change direction the 180 degrees back into the kitchen, I used the banister to help me catapult in the right direction. My daughter was fine, but my banister split very cleanly at a glue seam.

I have one of those banisters that come down the steps and does a curl on top of a post with wooden spindles along the length.

My question is can I glue the top back together with carpenters glue and some clamps or do I need to replace it. Second question, the builder apparently used construction adhesive at the top and bottom of each spindle. This thing has wobbled since I moved in. Would it be better to use carpenter's glue or is construction adhesive somehow better.

As always, any help is greatly appreciated.

Chuck

[Morgans]

Carpenter glue will fix the spit. Make sure no broken grain will keep it from getting back tight, then coat it well enough that a good bit squeezes out. Clamp firmly, but don't squeeze all the glue out.

I'm not sure about the wobble part. Is the adhesive being used to keep them from rattling, or is it holding them from falling out? Is the wobble unrelated to the picket problem?

What ever the case, it was not installed correctly. A real carpenter does not use construction adhesive to hold pickets in place. You might need to find a specialized trim and banister carpenter to fix your mess.

-- Jim in NC

[Eddie Munster]

HD sells a wood swelling glue. (Chairlock glue) It is very thin, soaks into the wood and swells it and glues it. May be good for the tenons as it is so thin, comes with a little needle applicator. As for the other question, only you can answer it. But didn't the glue seem have a nut and bolt inside it? What was it a butt joint?

Johh

WoodChuck34 wrote:

[peter]

I have to disagree with the other responses.

You can glue it, but is that what you want? How will this glued piece respond next time you come bounding down the stairs? Or when your daughter does?

It seems to me that this piece was faulty to begin with. A banister is not something to look at. It is a piece of equipment that must hold up under extreme conditions. This one did not. Get rid of it and put in one that will not break.

Peter

[Morgans]

Maybe no one else will ask, but I will.

What are your qualifications to issue this opinion, and so strongly put, I will add?

What about the fact that glue is stronger than the surrounding wood?

What about the fact that the banister was originally assembled with glue?

What about it, Peter?

-- Jim in NC

[Sam Krenov]

What about the fact that the banister split at the glue joint?

Doesn't speak well for the glue does it Jim?

What about it Jim?

[Morgans]

"> >

Seems I mis-read that portion.

I thought it split along grain lines.

New story. Where one part meets another, you are glueing end grains, so that will need extra mechanical fastening, so I go back to an earlier post, where I said to contact a carpenter who is well experienced with installing banisters.

The tone of the post hit me wrong. Sorry for over reacting.

-- Jim in NC

[Tom Watson]

Maybe yes. Maybe no.

Could have been good glue, poorly applied.

Regards, Tom Tom Watson - Woodworker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania

[WoodChuck34]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Just wanted to let you know that I did manage to get the whole thing back together. I banister had actually split cleanly along a glue line and believe it or not, there was no additional reinforcing to the joint (nails, screws, or other fasteners). Since the banister and most of the spindles popped off I took them all out and cleaned the tips and holes and put the whole thing back together with Titebond. Its more solid than its ever been. I'm thinking about damaging the other banister so that will stop rattling.

Chuck-

[Tom Watson]

OK, now you've got me confused. I thought that the over the post fitting had split along a glue line and, in that case, it would have been appropriate to clean up the joint and reglue.

Now it seems that you are saying the glue line at the joint between the fitting and the rail failed. If this is true, this is an end grain to end grain joint and must have a rail bolt in it to have any strength. The glue in this kind of joint only provides a bit of shear strength and a bit of a seal against moisture penetration into the end grain.

When I make these joints, I always use a rail bolt and also drive a finish nail into one face of the joint - clip it off so that about a quarter inch sticks up, and then draw the joint together with the rail bolt. The finish nail helps to keep the two faces from twisting out of alignment as you draw the joint tight.

Regards, Tom Tom Watson - Woodworker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania