broken stairway spindle

[Scott Welty]

Have a request to try to fix a loose stairway spindle. I can feel where it's broken. Was this built in two pieces or previously repaired? I can feel that the lower piece must have a dowel up inside the upper piece (or the other way around). I can wiggle the upper and lower pieces around and feel that. My only idea is to drill small hole through lower piece and into that inner dowel and glue/pin with another dowel (1/8"). Sand and try to finish to match. My rough sketch below. -Scott

spindle.jpg

[Matt Day]

Given the little information I have no idea if that’s how it was built, but that’s how I’ve fixed them before. In my case the spindle was one piece and broken by kids at the smallest diameter. I cut it, doweled in a new piece and turned it smooth, and matched the color.

[Frederick Skelly]

I've done the thing as Matt described.

[Charles Lent]

One of my kids broke twp spindles in my railing many years ago when he fell down the stairs. I glued one of them together well enough to make a pattern, bought two sticks of poplar 36" long from Lowes, and used my lathe to make two spindles that matched the original. To install them I had to cut the bottom tenon shorter than the original, so I could fit the top end into the railing and then slide the lower end tenon over and into the mortise. Some Titebond II on both ends and a couple of coats of paint and no one can tell them from the originals.

Charley

[lowell holmes]

If your fix fails

Or as I did one time, I had a local shop turn a new spindle

[Scott Welty]

All good ideas. I've no lathe though. But if I could get it out I could do a better repair. How DO you get ONE spindle out?
Scott

[Bradley Gray]

How DO you get ONE spindle out?

If you remove the return nosing from the end of the tread you should be able to pull the nail holding the spindle at the bottom.

At the top you will likely need to remove the spacer below the spindle to access it's fastener.

At least that's the traditional way.

[Richard Wolf]

[QUOTE How DO you get ONE spindle out?
Scott[/QUOTE]

Older balusters had a dovetail tenon on the bottom. A matching mortise was cut in the tread and the baluster was slide in from the side and the tread return was used to cover it up. Your house doesn't look that old. It most likely has a round tenon of the bottom placed in a round hole, 3/4". It is into a drilled hole under the handrail and pinned nailed. I would see if you can turn the baluster without breaking anything to bend the brad in the top. If you can pushing the baluster up to expose the tenon on the bottom. If you can't lift it completely out of the hole, cut the tenon so you can. Once it's out of the bottom, pull it down and out of the rail.

[Kevin Womer]

I fixed one for a friend once, but I just turned a spindle to match. I was lucky b/c the finish was just a golden oak color, shellac matched pretty close.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Just shoot two 23 ga pins to hold it still like this X.
Only you - God - and anyone reading this thread will know they are there.
No need to go to anything more extreme @ this time since the dark markings in the grain will hide any trace of the pins.
If needed, a Sharpie or some other permanent marker daubed on the head of the pin will hide it. Just apply it to the heads before driving them.

FWIW - I've done maybe a dozen stiles with only a pin or a brad in the last 15 years & not had to go back and redo any of them.
Additional ones,,,yes,,,but,,,none that had already been pinned.

[glenn bradley]

Since the spindle is still in place, here's another idea. Lee Valley 'Chair Doctor'. I also have some throw-away syringes (that I have cleaned out after use and used many times). Woodworking supply shops have them for reasonable prices.