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Old Handrail Joining Hardware

4/1/15       
Leo G

I have a railing that someone has brought to me to tidy up and make whole once again. So I'm squaring up ends, tuning things up and installing new hardware for the joining of the railing parts.

I had to take out some metal bolts that someone cut with a hacksaw, they came out easy with an easy out. They are odd. So I went and got some furniture bolts and drilled the hole and found that there is already metal threads inside.

I have one of the bolts and "nuts" that is whole. Anyone ever seen these, the thread size is odd and doesn't match up to any normal thread size. So I either find some of these or I'll need to tear into the railing to remove the threaded nut so I can stick an modern furniture bolt into them (screw on one end, machine thread on the other).

Here's a few pics.

pictures

4/1/15       #2: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

Hmm, that didn't work.


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4/1/15       #3: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

Guess you need to put it in the picture box not the link...duh...

And another


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4/1/15       #4: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
JT

I have one very similar, came out of the second oldest building in our state, 1878. I believe it was handmade by a local blacksmith, you could literally see the file marks in the grooves of the nuts on the one I have. Probably just really old.

4/1/15       #5: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

Was informed it was from 1845. I just used a holesaw and cut the nut out of the railing. Put a plug in there with some epoxy. I'll just use the modern hardware to join them.

4/2/15       #6: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
David R Sochar Member

I think it was Henry Ford that first standardized threads and thread sizes for interchangeable parts on his auto lines in the 1900's. Prior to that, each machine shop had their standards and "thread chasers" were an important part of every shop.

Seems hard to believe now, but each shop thought that their threads were what set them apart from the others, as an asset.

4/2/15       #7: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

Well, either way. I had to remove the old hardware that was inside the railings so I could use the modern furniture bolts to join them. Used a 1" holesaw to drill the buried nut out of the railing and then a 1 1/8" holesaw to make a plug. Used West System Epoxy to put everything back together.

This is before I cleaned things up.

The original hole was about 5/16". I bored it out to 3/8" and then put a dowel drilling sleeve into the hole before I used the holesaw. The sleeve guided me down the original hole so I could keep center. I made the plugs and used a 1/4" steel rod to keep them in the original hole at the bottom of the holesaw hole. Then after the epoxy was hard I used a pair of vice grips to spin the steel rod out. Now I have a plug with the holes predrilled in the correct spot.


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4/3/15       #8: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Jim Baldwin

This is an early handrail bolt of course and specifically invented for the purpose of joining the new butt-jointed handrail. This was part of the emerging practice of curved handrail formation by the "tangent method" which provided patterns for butt joints. This method replaced the former cylindrical and geometric methods where plumb joints were the common practice. The rail bolt was a technological breakthrough then and remains (in various forms) the best means of joining handrail.

An original bolts like yours, usually had a star nut on one end and a square nut on the other. Sometimes with swelled centers which wedged the bolt tight in the hole. The bottom of the railings were slotted for the nuts and a special "chaser" tool levered the star nut tight. The mortice-slot was plugged.

The proper method of dis-assembly would have involved removing the rectangular plug to access the star nut and knocking it loose with a punch. Usually there are dowels which break.

Looks like you're doing a good job. I receive parts like this on occasion which must be replicated and it's always interesting to see how things went together and how well things were usually done.

4/3/15       #9: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

I only found 2 joints with the square nut. The other 2 had the star nuts on both sides.

Today I put the new furniture bolts and holes in the railings. The tangent twist to straight 90 was the toughest. I put the bolt in the tangent and the hole in the flat curve.

The whole railing system is as follows. A 2' and 6' section that was hacked at the joint this is the section that travels up the stairs. I ended up taking out 7/8" of material and will have to put the section back together with reclaimed mahogany. I'll glue this solid into an 8' section. Then a 4' section that joins to the 8' section. The 4' section ends with the 90 degree tangent to the left. It joins with a flat 90 degree section that goes flat so that it swings back 180 degrees. It ends on a square joint that mates with another flat 90 that is about 4' long and terminates to the wall.


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4/3/15       #10: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

Pix


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4/3/15       #11: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

Pix


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4/3/15       #12: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

Pix


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4/3/15       #13: Old Handrail Joining Hardware ...
Leo G

Some of the joints will need sanding it. Not sure if they were never the same or they have swelled of time. The owner will be stripping everything down and new stain and finish will be applied. I'm just waiting for him to send me some reclaimed mahogany so I can make that joint in the 2' and 6' section. After that he can pick it up and have all the fun of installing it.

Oh, I guess I have to make the hole plugs too.


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