General contractor Tom Silva takes us on a house call to help a homeowner make their Queen Anne-style home’s staircase whole again. The homeowner explains that her daughter broke one of the balusters on the staircase, and due to the ornate rope profile, getting replacements has not been easy.
After assessing the staircase and without making promises, Tom decides to try the project. He removes another loose baluster to take as a sample and heads back to the shop to turn a new baluster on his lathe.
Tom makes a profile template for the baluster at the shop using thick manila paper. He then carries the template’s marks to the blank wood and carves. Using a host of chisels and gouges, he’s able to carve the base and top of the baluster and round over the mid-section in preparation for the rope detail.
To create the rope detail, Tom divides the blank into three sections and then runs a string from mark to mark to create the rope detail’s rough shape. He then cuts the profile with a backsaw before tuning the shape up with a rasp and sandpaper.
Next, Tom applies lacquer over the entire baluster before applying a finishing stain to match the look of the existing balusters. He then cuts the baluster to length, installs a dowel that connects the base of the baluster with the stair tread and finishes the job by fastening the top of the baluster in place with a trim head screw.
How to Replace Staircase Balusters
How to Replicate Antique Staircase Balusters
汤姆（TomHomeHome
replicas on alathe.
Where to find it?
Tom traces the profile of the original baluster onto amanilla folderwith ascribing compass. Tom then cuts out the profile of the baluster withscissors.
- Tommeasures and marksthe center portion of the baluster in equal increments.
- He uses theparting tool对于主轴细节的低点。
- Then, Tom uses the主轴凿进入更紧密的区域。
- Tom uses theskew chisel来carve into the spindle’s larger areas and round out the edges.
- He uses ahand saw来cut slots in the spindle following the traced out lines from thestring.
- Tom uses arasp来file down the edges of the saw cuts until each section has a rounded edge.
- He then applies awax-free gel shellac来the spindles to match the existing ones.
- Tom uses acircular saw来cut the spindle to length for installation.
- Tom applieswood glue进入胎面的现有孔，并通过掉入到位dowelextending from the bottom.
- Finally, at an angle, Tom uses apin nailer射击两个1-inch pin nails穿过彩色的顶部，将其固定到扶手中。
Original Air Date: May 25, 2023, Season 21; Ep. 24 23:42