Extreme How-To – September 2019

the notch had to be made deeper

on one side of the newel than

the other. Take careful measure-

ments and be prepared for such

inconveniences during your own

installation.

The newels from L.J. Smith are

constructed from 1x solid cherry

and built with a hollow center that

fastens over a wooden mounting

block. Before fastening in place,

we dry-fit the newel, measured

carefully, made necessary adjust-

ments, then marked all the impor-

tant rail-connection locations on

the newel using painter’s tape.

Marking the posts provides a

handy visual guide for assembly

and helps to organize the job so

you don’t forget any crucial steps

or misalign the components.

You’ll need to dry-fit both the

starting newel and landing newel

at the same time to ensure the

ExtremeHowTo.com 33

Use a jigsaw to avoid

over-cutting when making

the notch in a newel.

The hollow newel base will install

over a mounting block and filler

blocking.

Fasten the blocking to the floor

with screws and construction glue,

then apply the adhesive to all

points of contact with the newel.

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