Changing A Newel Post

For those who wish to alter the appearance of their staircase without the hassle and expense of replacing your entire balustrade, a replacement of a newel post can make a substantial change to your overall design.

The replacement of a newel post can be a tricky job, but taking your time to perform each step will pay dividends.

Here at Pear Stairs we have a wide range of replacement newel posts at competitive prices and to suit every taste.

There are two main methods for attaching the replacement newel post to the handrail, they are as follows:

Method 1 - Using Your Existing Handrail Tenon Joint To Secure Your Replacement Newel Post.

1.

Firstly, with your new replacement newel post, hold it against your old newel post and mark on the replacement where roughly the handrail will enter the post. 

Also, mark at the base of the existing newel, where the replacement newel post will sit on top of this "stump". 

Our newel posts have a pre-installed 50mm dowel already in position in the base of the post so that they can easily and securely fit into position for replacement of a pre existing newel post.

   hold replacement newel post against old newel post
   

2.

Approximately 10mm above where the handrail enters the newel post, draw a line squarely around the newel post and using a handsaw start to cut the post at this line.

   
  cut approx 10mm above where handrail enters newel post
   

3.

With the top of the newel post cut off, measure 10mm below where the handrail enters the newel post and squarely draw a line around this point.  Cut into this section of the newel post.

  cut approx 10mm belowe where handrail enters newel post
   

4.

Carefully using a sharp wood chisel and mallet on the top of the exposed newel post, chip away the excess wood around the square tenon joint that is built into the handrail.

   using wood chisel and mallet chip away excess wood
   

5.

Slowly chisel away at the surrounding wood until the square tenon joint is clearly and fully exposed.

   
  chip away until the square tenon joint is clearly exposed
   

6.

Where you marked the old newel post in "Step 1", cut this line with a handsaw to form a "stump".  Sand down the stump carefully so that it is very smooth.

   
  cut where you marked the old newel post in step 1
   

7.

To mark the centre point of the stump, draw two diagonal lines from each corner and where they meet is the centre point,  Using a 50mm arbor bit and cutter, slowly drill into the top of the centre point of the stump. 

These pieces are shown below:

   
  50mm bit arbor   50mm cutter   arbor and cutter combined  
             
 

Drill down as far as possible with the cutter, pull out and using a sharp chisel, chip away the remaining plug. 

Repeat this process until the hole is a depth of 10mm more than the length of the dowel on the replacement newel post.

 
  drill down as far as possible with cutter   repeat the process until a hole of 10mm deep  
         

8.

On the replacement newel post, mark out on the top edge of the post the position that the square tenon joint will fit into the newel. 

Using a sharp chisel, chisel out the mortise for the tenon joint on the newel.

  mark the position where the sqaure tenon will fit on the replacement newel post
   

9.

Apply adhesive, either PVA wood glue or epoxy resin, to the dowel at the end of the newel post and dowel hole in the stump and gently lower the post into the position on the dowel. 

Also apply adhesive to the square tenon joint in the handrail and fit this into the newel post.

  apply adhesive to the dowel end   apply adhesive to the square tenon in the handrail and fit to newel post  

10.

Allow 24 hours for the adhesive to dry. 

Once this is complete,sand and stain or paint your new newel post to match the rest of your staircase.

  sand paint or stain your newel post to match the rest of your staircase

 

Method 2 - Using Our Universal Handrail Fixing Kit To Secure Your Replacement Newel Post.

1. 

Firstly, with your new replacement newel post, hold it against your old newel post and mark on the replacement where roughly the handrail will enter the post. Also, mark at the base of the existing newel, where the replacement newel post will sit on top of this "stump". 

Our newel posts have a  pre-installed 50mm dowel already in position in the base of the post so that they can easily and securely fit into position for replacement of a pre existing newel post.

   
  hold replacement newel post against old newel post
   

2.

With a fine toothed saw, seperate the handrail from the newel post by cutting down through the tenon joint as shown.

 

seperate the handrail with fine tooth saw

   

3.

Where you marked the old newel post in "Step 1" cut this line with a handsaw to form a "stump".  Sand down the stump carefully so that it is very smooth.

   
  sand down the stump carefully so that it is very smooth
   

4.

To mark the centre point of the stump, draw two diagonal lines from each corner and where they meet is the centre point.  Using a 50mm arbor bit and cutter, slowly drill into the top of the centre point of the stump. 

These pieces are shown below:

  50mm bit arbor   50mm cutter   arbor and cutter combined  
             
 

Drill down as far as possible with the cutter, pull out and using a sharp chisel, chip away the remaining plug. 

Repeat this process until the hole is a depth of 10mm more than the length of the dowel on the replacement newel post.

  drill down as far as possible with cutter   repeat the process until a hole of 10mm deep  
         

5.

Once the dowel hole is drilled, without the use of the adhesive, slot the new newel post into place on top of the stump.

  slot the newel post without adhesive into place
   

6.

With the replacement newel post temporarily in its place, drill and countersink an M10 hole straight through the top of the newel post and into the handrail as shown.

 

drill M10 hole straight through top of newel post

7.

Remove the newel post from the slot in the stump. 

Align the handrail plate with the pilot hole you have just drilled through the newel post. 

Trace with a pencil around the plate onto the newel post as shown.

 

align the handrail plate with pilot hole

8.

Chisel out the depth of the newel plate out of the traced square on the newel post.

  chisel out the depth of the newel plate
   

9.

Next, screw the handrail plate into place on the edge of the handrail, as shown.

  screw the handrail plate into place
   

10.

Now, apply adhesive onto the dowel at the base of the newel post and fit into place on the stump.

  apply adhesive to dowel at base of newel post
   

11.

With the newel post in its final resting position, thread the long bolt through the newel post and affix to the handrail.  Apply adhesive to the wood plug and fit over the hole in the newel post as shown.  Make certain you align the wood grain of the plug with the direction of the grain of the newel post.

  thread long bolt through newel post
   

12.

A cross section of the finished position of the newel post it shown as follows:

  newel post cross section
   

13.

Allow 24 hours for the adhesive to dry.  Once this is complete, sand and stain or paint your newel post to match the rest of your staircase.

  paint or stain newel post to match staircase
 

Pear Stairs sell a number of products to finish your staircase.  Remember if you have any questions don't hesitate to phone us, about your staircase finish. 

We are a friendly company, phone Pear Stairs on 01938 553311.