Box newel post and balusters

[blackhawk]

I am starting work on some box newels and balusters for my own home. I don't have an indexer or lathe, so I am going with the box style. I am trying to come up with a good design idea to use with my Shopbot. Anybody have any cool ideas?

I had one idea on the balusters. They are 1.75" square red oak and I thought about cutting a 1/4" wide slot through on all 4 sides, except for a 4 inch area at the top and bottom. That would leave four 3/4" square mini-posts. Not sure how that would look though. The newel posts are 3-1/2" square, so I am not sure if I want to try that with them.

[Gary Campbell]

Brad...
I like the idea of the 4 "splines", but if your red oak is like mine.... those 4 pieces are going to take off in every direction after you cut them.

One thing I like to do when bulding box newells is to use a lap joint that leaves a 1/4" edge to the adjoining face. Then use a 1/4" radius cove bit to dress up that edge in the majority of the newell. The top, bottom etc are left square. The cove makes the corner joint "dissappear".
Joint is simple and strong:

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Here is one in Red Oak:

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Gary

[tkovacs]

How about 1x6 balusters with a pattern cut into them?

[Gary Campbell]

Into the archives...
1/2 X 5 cedar with Christmas Trees cut 1/2 into each side.

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They sat on a shoe, and both shoe and rail were dadoed for the ballustrade.
Gary

[blackhawk]

I've already got my balusters cut into 1.75" squares, so I want to stick with that size. I do like the 1x6 idea though.

Gary - Thanks for the lap joint with roundover idea. I was planning on doing a miter at the bottom of the newel and wondered if I could get a good joint with no gaps. Your idea will work much better.

I thought about leaving a 2" portion in the center of the balusters closed, that would help some to keep them straight. Still not sure if it will look good cut through. I think that I will draw it up in my 3D CAD and see how it looks.

[Gary Campbell]

Brad...
I have done it many ways... the miters are not as reliable as the lap joint. They almost always seem to open with time. Leaving a center in the balluster may just do the trick to fight against warping. Good Luck & post pics.
Gary

[myxpykalix]

Brad,
where are you located? If you're remotely close you could bring them here and I could spiral them for you.

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[blackhawk]

Jack - I really do love spirals. I did some once about 15 years ago for a coffee table and 2 endtables. I did them on a Sears Router Crafter. I still have it. The last time that I used it was 15 years ago. Did anyone else have one of those? I wonder if they still make 'em. I would take you up on your offer but I am about 2-1/2 hours away, but thank you very much.

I played around tonight and built a mini baluster to try out the idea. I believe that I like it. The oak stayed right in place, even by caliper measurement. The baluster in the picture is just a half length. But the length of slot would be the same on the full length version since I want an upper and lower slot with a solid piece in the middle. I definitely think things would start getting out of shape with slots along the full length.

Now I still need to come up with something on the newel between the base and cap. Maybe I could just make two slots on each side, but not go all the way through. I could just make them 3/4" deep or so.


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[jerryk]

Brad,
I really like your idea for the balister with the four mini balisters. What type of bit did you use? it appears that there is a roundover on the outer edge, but the through cut appears to be done with a 1/4 spiral or straight bit. I presume you made the cuts with just one bit. Good luck,
Jerry

[blackhawk]

Gerald - I did the cut with two bits. I did the through cuts first with a 1/4" down spiral from Centurion. The roundover was done in one pass after that. I used a plunge cutting roundover bit from Grizzly. I believe that it has a 3/8" radius.

[blackhawk]

Well, It has been about 4 months, but I have finally finished my stairs. I decided against my cut through design on the balusters. Dimensionally, my sample piece stayed true. I just worried about the strength. I could grab my hand around the baluster and squeeze the 4 mini posts in quite a bit. I have two boys and I could see them body slamming each other into the balusters and breaking them. They are the rowdy type.

I came up with this design where the balusters are kind of the inverse of the newel post. I cut the newel post design on the Bot with a 3/8 endmill and then a roundover bit. The balusters were done simply with a 1/4" ball. I also made the half-round style trim on the newel post with the Bot also. I drew the shape in Autocad and then used the Extruder program to cut the profile with a 1/4" ball.
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[gene]

Brad
That looks good . I bet this was easier to finish than the hollow ones would have been. good job..