When a homeowner reached out about a missing hand-turned spindle in the staircase of her 1900s Queen Anne Rowhouse, Tom Silva replicated the spiral-detailed spindles on his lathe.
He then cuts the baluster to length, installs a dowel that connects the base of the baluster with the stair tread and finishes the job by fastening the top of the baluster in place with a trim head screw.
Steps for Installing the Spindle
Spacing Matters: Before marking your cut, measure the horizontal distance between neighboring spindles, split the difference, and mark the rail where the new baluster will go. Then measure from that mark down to the tread and transfer the measurement to the baluster. This ensures even spacing across the balustrade rather than simply centering on the old location.
Pro Tip: When ordering replacement balusters, keep in mind that each baluster on a tread may be a different length due to the handrail’s slope. Provide the company making your new balusters with a sample of each length needed. Also, have extras made — as This Old House contractor Tom Silva points out, many things besides careening furniture and roughhousing kids can break a baluster: “an ax, a baseball bat, a saw….”
- Measure the length of the top of the existing balusters and transfer this mark to the new baluster. Hold the baluster in place at the railing at this mark and scribe the profile of the railing onto the baluster. Use a coping saw to cut the baluster at this mark.
- Dry-fit the spindle in place. Mark the length on the bottom of the baluster, and cut the baluster to length.
- Use a Forstner bit to drill a hole in the bottom of the baluster and a corresponding hole in the stair tread. Cut a piece of dowel to length, place it in the bottom of the baluster and over the hole in the stair tread, and fit the baluster in place. Secure it by pre-drilling and installing trim head screws before touching up the hole with the stain.
Getting the Angle Right: Before trimming the new baluster, use a bevel gauge to capture the exact angle of the handrail’s underside. Place the gauge against the bottom side of the rail, align the arm, and tighten the wing nut so it stays in place. Then lay the gauge against the baluster at your length mark and scribe the angle with a pencil. This ensures a precise, gap-free fit at the top.
Resources
- Tom uses a circular saw to cut the spindle to length for installation.
- He applies wood glue into the existing hole of the tread and stand the baluster in place by dropping in the dowel extending from the bottom.
- Finally, at an angle, Tom uses a pin nailer to shoot two 1-inch pin nails through the top of the baluster to secure it into the handrail.
When cutting balusters for a staircase, remember that the angle of the railing dictates the angle of the cuts. Tom positions a mounting strip on top of the bottom railing, sets the baluster in place, and marks the underside of the top railing to get an exact length before making the cut. This measure-in-place approach ensures each baluster fits precisely, accounting for any variations along the run of the stairs.
Pro Tip: Rather than toenailing into the side of a baluster — which leaves a visible hole you’d need to fill — Tom prefers attaching balusters to a thin nailing strip, screwing through the strip and into the baluster. This hides the fasteners and produces a cleaner finished look. It’s also important to seal all pieces of the railing system before assembly so you can coat all six sides, especially the end grain and the underside of the nailing strip.
