- Susie adjusted the railing where it would attach to the ceiling. When the distance between the rail and the stair tread was the same as the lower step, she clamped it into position and drew a line on the ceiling where the railing would attach.
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- Next Toby drew a line along the bottom of the 2 X 4. This line represented the angle at which he would cut the post to accommodate the railing.
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4. Tenon and groove:
- After the post was cut at the proper angle, they cut a tenon or tab into the top of the post. They would cut a groove along the underside of the handrail and this tenon and groove would create a strong joint between the post and the handrail. The groove would also receive the upper end of the balusters.
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- To create the tenon, they drew a second cut line below the first.
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- Ron used a handsaw to cut away the section they had marked, which left them with the tongue that would fit up inside the rail.
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- After Ron cut out the tenon, he cleaned the rough edges with a chisel.
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- They moved out to the porch to rout the groove into the underside of the handrail.
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- In order to make the groove wide enough to fit over the tenon, they needed to make two passes through the router.
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5. Install hand rail:
- Finally, they were ready to install the handrail.
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- To attach the rail, Ron held the post end firmly in place while Susie aligned the top of the railing with the line they had drawn earlier on the ceiling.
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- Susie drilled a shank hole through the underside of the railing and into the ceiling.
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- They attached the handrail to the ceiling with a lag screw and washer.
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- At the bottom of the stairs, Toby drilled a hole through the railing and post joint.
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- Instead of attaching the two with a bolt, they used wooden dowels to maintain the handcrafted look of the staircase.
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- After gluing and inserting the dowels through the holes, Ron cut the ends of the dowels off with a handsaw.
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- Although the handrail ended at the ceiling, Ron wanted to continue with the balusters so there was no gap at the top of the staircase.
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