On Jan 3, 5:42 am, Jules
wrote:
On Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:04:59 -0800, Matty F wrote:
I'd use a chisel to make a 2"x2" hole in the newel. And put a screw
underneath the rail diagonally into the newel post.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortise_and_tenon

Hmm, I could probably get away with something like 1.5" x 1.5" - the
rail's a pretty intricate shape, so carving a mortise to get it to fit
as-is would be hard, but I could probably fashion a square tenon
protruding from the end of the rail.

Think a conventional screw would be strong enough, though? I expect
there'd be quite a bit of lateral load put on the joint every time
someone grabs the top of the newel as they head up the stairs. I think
there'd probably still be space for the lag-bolt though - and I did a
test with my piece of scrap newel and lock-nutted bolt and it seemed to go
in OK so long as I kept backing it off a little every few turns, so maybe
that's the best bet...

This is what I was proposing:
http://i44.tinypic.com/rutb9h.jpg

however I have some rather large screws in my junkbox!