Pinning spindles

Fliss · Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:22 am Post Subject: Pinning spindles

Hello

I have a bracket fix stair system - all going well, but about to start the spindles. On the accompanying video, it says "the spindles are held in place by the fillets and glue" (i.e. the spindles are just glued in) but in the printed instructions it says "cross pin and glue spindles". Does it matter if they are just glued? If I do need to pin them, what size nails should I be using? Do they go in at 90 degrees to the rail through the spindle? And finally, should I be using the same size nails to go through the fillets and do these nails have a head or are they the invisible type?

Thanks very much. Hope someone can help.
Helpline closed on a Sunday!

masona · Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 12:48 pm Post Subject:

The idea of the pins is hold the splindles in place while the glue is drying. You don't have to if you're using spacer blocks in between. I normally use veener pins as you can't see them being very thin. Make sure you wipe the glue 100% if you're going to wax or stains them.

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chappers · Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:08 am Post Subject:

if you are using a grooved rail to take your spindles with wooden fillets between then there is no need to nail the spindles just nail the fillets.
You only need to nail if the spindles are on flat base/hand rail.

big-all · Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:58 am Post Subject:

chappers wrote:

if you are using a grooved rail to take your spindles with wooden fillets between then there is no need to nail the spindles just nail the fillets.
You only need to nail if the spindles are on flat base/hand rail.

i agree you only pin the "spacers"
if you try and pin the spindles because of the angles concerned the spacers act like wedges and will lift up as you try and pin the spindles in

even if you can keep the spacers flat because your nailing diagonals the tendancy is to "encourage"the top of the spindle to tighten towards the bottom of the stairs and the bottom to tighten up the slope towards the top of the stairs
thus forcing them out of line

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Fliss · Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:32 pm Post Subject:

Thanks, everyone. In the end, we started by not pinning, but ended up having to at the top of the spindles as the top rail was sagging in the middle and it seemed the only way to keep the spindles vertical as we were going along (we had to push the rail up). It probably would have been possible to get them into the vertical position by adding the next spacer and pinning it, though. Anyway, job done! Now on to removing the paint from the stairs.....