Tools for Building Stair Rails

Measuring and Layout

• To create attractive, sturdy stair rail installations, carpenters must accurately measure and layout a rail system's components. A tape measure not only measures the required length of handrails and the height of posts but also helps carpenters determine the location of support anchors for wall-mounted rails. Carpenter's squares, such as combination squares and framing squares, allow carpenters to lay out both straight and angled lines for cuts and fastener placement. Additionally, spirit levels establish perfectly horizontal and vertical planes for post placement and rail support hardware.

Fabrication Tools

• Although premanufactured stair rail components are widely available, many carpenters fabricate custom newels, balusters and handrails. Aside from standard layout and cutting tools, carpenters use specialized woodworking tools to shape decorative stair rail components. Carpenters perform initial shaping with planers and jointers, which accurately shave thin layers of wood from a board. Hand tools, such as chisels, or power tools, such as routers, perform decorative carving, shaping and joinery. And manual and power sanding tools provide wooden stair rail components with a smooth, attractive finish.

Cutting Tools

• To create the angled cuts required for stair rail installation, carpenters use either manual or power miter saws. A manual miter saw consists of a miter box and backsaw. Slits that line the sides of the C-shaped miter box correspond with common carpentry angles, such as 45- and 90-degree angles. Rail material sits within the miter box's center, and the backsaw slides between the box's slits to create accurately angled cuts. Stationary and generally mounted to a table or bench, power miter saws consist of a flat, stationary base and an adjustable blade. The blade's angle adjusts relative to the saw's base, allowing carpenters to quickly set the angle of the tool's cut to a precise degree.

Fastening Tools

• Installing stair rails typically requires both drilling tools and nailing tools. Carpenters use drilling tools, such as a standard power drill, to bore holes through walls for rail support anchors, to create mortises for baluster and handrail joinery and to drive screws to fasten separate components. Nailing tools allow carpenters to install decorative trim, newel caps or molding. Common nailing tools include finish nail guns, finish hammers and nail sets. Nail sets are small, metal cylinders that allow carpenters to manually "punch" finish nails beneath the wood's surface.