How to Build a Boxed Newel Post
A newel post is the upright support at the top or bottom of a staircase where the handrail terminates. There are two basic types. A solid newel post is turned, or cut, from a single piece of wood. A boxed newel post is a hollow column made from lumber nailed into a four-sided structure. You typically install these posts by attaching a block to the top of the stair, then setting the post over it to fasten it down. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Pine 1-by-6-inch lumber
- Pine ¾-inch cove molding
- Pine lumber 8 inches wide
- Pine 2-by-6-inch lumber
- Framing square
- Treated deck screws
- Drill
- Wood glue
- Miter saw
- Tape measure
Instructions
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1
Cut four pieces of 1-by-6-inch pine 40 inches long with a miter saw. Mark the lumber with a square to ensure a square cut. Spread glue along one long edge of one of the pieces. Align it with a second piece to form a 90-degree corner with the glued edge against the face of the second piece and flush with the edge. Clamp the boards in place with bar clamps.
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2
Nail through the second piece into the edge of the first with 2-inch finish nails every 8 to 10 inches. Glue the long edge of the second piece opposite the first, and nail the third piece with one long edge flush with the face of the second as you did with the first two pieces.
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3
Glue and nail the fourth piece between the first and third pieces to complete the column of the newel post. You should now have a four sided, open-ended box.
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4
Cut eight pieces of ¾-inch cove molding with 45 degree miters at each end, one right and one left, 7 ¾ inches from outside to outside of the miter tips. Glue and nail four of the pieces around one end of the column, with the top edge of the molding flush with the column end. Put three 1-inch finish nails in each piece.
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5
Cut a piece of ¾-inch thick pine 8 inches square. Glue and nail this piece to the open end of the column, flush against the top of the cove molding, centered. Use two nails in on each side of this cap, into the ends of the 1-by-6-inch boards.
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6
Measure and cut a piece of 2-by-6-inch board, 4 3/4 inches square. Position this block on the stair, centered where you want your newel post. Drill four holes through the block, one in each corner. Drive 3-inch treated deck screws through each hole to secure it.
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Fit the open end of the column over the block attached to the stair top. Drive two 1 5/8-inch treated deck screws through each side at the base of the column, ½ inch up from the stair, into the block to secure it. Glue and nail the remaining four pieces of cove molding around the base of the post, flush against the floor as you did with the top.
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References
- Photo Credit Dana Hoff/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
