26 Joinery joints
Handrail joints to newel posts
Figures 3.13(a)(b)(c)(d): The stub- tenons on handrails,
which are mortised and draw- bore dowelled into the
newel posts, in a similar way to the string- tenons, are
usually shouldered slightly on their top edges – as
illustrated in Figures 3.13(a) and (b) below. This is
done partly to mask the top of the mortise and to
hide any eventual shrinkage – and partly to flatten the
top of a shaped handrail. This top- edge shouldering
also usually applies to handrails entering the newels
at right- angles, as they do when level handrails form
part of a landing balustrade – indicated in Figure
3.14(b).
Traditionally, the so- called ‘sight- line shoulders’
on each side of a handrail tenon (where they abut
the newel post) were extended by 6mm to allow the
oblique, elongated shape of the handrail to be sunk
into the newel post. This provided a housing to help
support the handrail in addition to the relatively thin
tenon. But this practise involved squaring the 6mm
acute- angled parts of handrails by chisel- paring,
which demanded a high degree of skill and was very
time- consuming; therefore, it is not done nowadays.
However, to illustrate the practise in its simplest
form, Figure 3.13(c) gives an isometric view of a
portion of newel post showing a right- angled, blind
mortise with sunken housing and draw- bore hole. This
easier housing was done to receive level handrails on
landing- balustrades.
Figure 3.13(d) shows the top portion of an outer
string jointed to a newel post; the newel projection is
known traditionally as a ‘newel drop’ or ‘pendant’, which
was usually made to match the upper newel caps. Note
that the top edge of the top tenon is not shouldered
(reduced, as shown in Figure 3.2(c)) to mask the pos-
sibility of the top of the mortise showing on an inferior
fit – or in the event of shrinkage across the string’s
width. The reason for this is that, after a stair has been
fitted on site, the top edge of the outer string is fitted
with a grooved capping to receive the balusters. This
capping would mask any gaps that might show.Tenon- thickness for handrails
Although, theoretically, the handrail’s tenon- thickness
could be up to a third of the handrail’s shaped, mean
width, to save time it is usually made to suit a 16mm
chisel size, thereby equalling the other mortises made
for the string- tenons.Short grain
would be created
if tenons were
rectangular(d)Figure 3.12 (d) Short grain would be created if tenons
were rectangular.
Figures 3.13 (a) and (b) Oblique stub- tenons into bottom-
and top- newel posts.—^2
3(a) (b)Figure 3.13 (c) Handrail mortise with a traditional, 6mm
sunken housing (d) Underside newel- projection known as
a ‘newel- drop’ or pendant.(c) (d)