On Saturday, February 9, 2013 6:16:55 AM UTC-8, Greg Guarino wrote:
This is not really a woodworking question, but I figure someone here

can answer it.



My Dad is 92 and needs to grab onto things to climb the stairs. But

for a short section of the stairway in their house, there's no

sensible thing to grab.



Their house is plaster on lath if memory serves. Wood strips, I think,

not wire. [This is an ancient memory. My parents had a larger closet

made when I was a very young boy and I was allowed to bash away at the

plaster for a little while. I remember being disappointed when I came

back from school and found that the rest of the demolition had already

been completed. ]



Anyway, I have no experience finding studs in that kind of

construction. The walls are too rigid for me to just sound them out

with my fist. I don't own a stud finder, but I might buy one if it's

of any use in that kind of wall. I'm not eager to drill a series of

holes that I'll need to repair, and then match the paint. If it comes

down to it, I suppose I could remove the base molding and drill holes

at the bottom of the wall, but the molding is finished oak, and a

little complicated, and would be very hard to replace if an oaf like

me were to damage it.



Suggestions? I imagine I'd use oak railing parts from the Borg, by the

way.

If there is no insulation in the wall cavity, I've had luck with the following procedu
Drill a 1/8" hole, bend a coat wire into two 90° angles (z shaped), insert one leg into the hole and rotate the wire. When you hit a stud, the outer identical leg, will show you where the edge of the stud is located. May require more than one hole.

Ivan Vegvary