Messed up newel post

[Deleted member 174758]

I've done it loads of times, use it all the while. Sets that solid you'd never know it wasn't a tight dowel.

Rebar is very soft steel and I reckon it will bend easily if subjected to side pressure. It's also a bit on the small side (8 to 10mm?) to secure what looks like an 84mm (3-1/2in) newel post. I've fitted bigger newels in hotels where the manufacturer supplied a stainless steel rod to go up the middle, but they were about 30mm diameter and something like 450mm long and we installed them using a thin smear of epoxy resin they were a close fit), not car body filler (which isn't a structural filler and probably won't take a lot of side loading which is what you will get on newel posts as folk do swing on them as they round the corner at the top of the stairs). I have to agree with Norcon that it's probably a bodge too far - and the OP's trying to avoid that.

 

[joe-90]

Try it. Using a big dowel peg that is - not rebar.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Try it. Using a big dowel peg that is - not rebar.

Yes, but you need at least a 2in or 50mm dowel ideally protruding 3in or 75mm and the joints need to be tight to make this work safely. and safery is an absolute requirement in stair work..... The OP doesn't have the large diameter equipment required for this task, so.........

 

[Norcon]

Four smaller dowels in each corner and epoxy glue the lot together.
Say 18mm dowels 150mm long made from ash.

It won't be going anywhere.

I'd probably put a few large screws up into the post also (maybe a coach screw bolt) then fill the hole with unibond repair metal. And undercut the hole like a dentist does when filling a tooth. The head of the coach bolt is then anchored in the resin.
For belt and braces.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

What about the dirty great big hole in the bottom piece?

 

[Norcon]

Filled with the unibond resin.

 

[joe-90]

Try it. Using a big dowel peg that is - not rebar.

Yes, but you need at least a 2in or 50mm dowel ideally protruding 3in or 75mm and the joints need to be tight to make this work safely. and safery is an absolute requirement in stair work..... The OP doesn't have the large diameter equipment required for this task, so.........

Just get some 2x2 and trim it. The resin will fill the voids. I always make my own resin filler with Polyester resin (fibreglass resin) and Easi-fill. Way harder than car body filler - practically indstructable.