[TheForge] Re: stair case design

[Mike Spencer]

> Has anyone had any experience with removing ballasters from a wooden
> staircase 6"on center and building an iron railing that covers the  2 holes
> in  each of the steps?

I'm not sure I'm clear on just what you need to do but:

If you're going to put a new ballaster where each of the old ones used
to be, you could put a collar on the iron ballaster that isn't firmly
attached.  They can be just loose so they slide down to cover the hole
in the tread.

There are ballasters like this in the Canadian House of Parliament,
(possibly made by Paul Beau).  The collars are (as if) 4 small pieces
of moulding mitred and assembled into a square doughnut. (But I don't
know that they were made that way.  Couldn't tell just how they were
made in the poor light.)  You can slide them up with your fingers to
reveal that the attachment of the ballaster.  (The security guys
became somewhat alarmed when they saw me in a dim corner, twiddling
the metalwork but that another story. :-)

- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada 
                                 
mspencer@tallships.ca            
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/