NEWEL POSTS ARE INSTALLED! 

Pro tip: When cutting metal with a chop saw, you want your thickest section to span vertically, not horizontally. In other words, stand your flat bar on its edge. It will cut A LOT faster and produce a lot less heat. When cutting angle, lay it on the table with the free ends pointed down and the intersection pointed up. It’s a lot easier to lock it in with the clamp and cuts faster/colder than it would if you position it flat.

Just want to say a special thanks to Matt Jackson over at Next Level Carpentry for helping me out with the installation method of these posts. Do yourself a favor and go subscribe to his channel! ru-vid.com His channel is one of my favorite channels to watch!!!

You have been a great inspiration to Me I live on cape cod have been doing carpentry Sincei was 12 years old I am now 36 And finally quit my job to do my own custom work When I started watching your videos My life got better Thanks bro

Two of the best carpentry channels, Next Level Carpentry and Finish Carpentry. You both make things look way too easy.

I love Matt's channel, good shoutout to him! And nice work!

Cover the thread with liquid nails, the one that goes into the subfloor. And use a silver Sharpie to mark on dark, and metal surfaces. Works grear

I appreciate that I can learn something clever each time I watch your videos.

I used the threaded rod technique and it worked great! Many thanks to you and Next Level Carpentry for the ideas.

Looks great! I might add some epoxy to the rod before threading into the floor joist, but I tend to get carried away with things. For instance, I am now thinking that it would be extremely rigid to cut out a recess in the subfloor to glue and bolt in a 3” x 1/4” plate to span the entire way under all 3 posts, and install your flooring over the plate. Then drill for your rod as normal, but run a tap through the 1/4” plate, so the rod has metal threads to grab on its way into the joist which would prevent the rod from wallowing out the bores in the joist and you wouldn’t have to worry about over-tightening and pulling your rod out of the wood.... Like I said, I get a little carried away and end up spending way more on a project than it should ever cost. Lol

Throw a block to keep the bottom in place. Awesome way to mount them.

Hi Richard, A little tip when need to mark black steel sticking a piece of masking tape always a fast way for marking your measurements, nice high quality workmanship you doin there, keep the good work up.

Nice job, I would recommend using a block at the bottom of the post inside to keep the bottom of the newel located where you want it. Maybe inset a cap on the bottom and just drill a hole. I've been doing more railings lately on my projects. Also I would recommend adding solid blocking at the rail attachment points and check out zipbolt for rail attachment. The old school rail bolts are a pain, but they are super strong. Regular screws, pocket hole screws are just not strong enough for railings. One more fyi most building codes allow you to go up to 8' between newel posts for rails.

Even experienced carpenters can always learn something, good job. The long list of comments have a wealth of info. One suggestion Richard: I often will skip viewing a video because it is a bit too long for the time I have. Many of your videos can be easily shortened without losing any useful content, an accomplished writer explained to me about economy of words and this applies to videos as well. I think you can expand your views a lot by trimming the length. Thank you again Richard!

They are looking good. Take a dowel, drill a hole in the center, tap in a tee nut in the hole, drill a hole in the newell cap and glue in the dowel with the tee nut inside. Then you can screw Newell cap onto the threaded rod.

Nice alteration to the design of Next Level's post install. Very enjoyable watching skilled craftspeople design, try, and improve an idea or application. Thank you to both Finish Carpenters! -Bob...

LOVE YOUR CHANNEL MAN! Your videos are super helpful, I enjoy watching you work and I do learn a ton from you! I'm a DIY guy but am a perfectionist and your videos help me a ton. Last but definitely not least Thank you for your service to us and your Country!

This project just keeps getting better. Looking forward to seeing more of it.

Great Method. I do the same way but I use a hardwood sleeve at the bottom with washer and nut. So when you slide the post over it centers and gives it even more strength. , still using the top nut but I use a piece 3x3 or 4x4 3/8 steel stock so it’s captured at the top as well.

Man, I admire your skills. Your customers are in good hands.

I’m a huge fan of you and Matt. I watch everything you both put out. You’re two totally different carpenters, but both great!

Third segment video on your newel post construction, and installation. Looks fantastic. Kudos.

Thanks for being honest n not being fake and NOT taking the created of another.

First time seeing the wobble free post install. I love the idea and execution.

MJ is an awesome carpenter and teacher. Nice work Richard.

Whoa! That is a brilliant plan and solution. This is an incredibly informative video, and my favoriate one yet! I’m so happy for you and the self gratifying rewards of do it yourself home improvements and ownership. (It’s my favorite hobby, and I have a LOT of hobbies.) I almost forgot to mention, those posts are absolutely perfect!

Yes! we have done that on plenty of old houses. we try to get a nut and washer on the bottom too, when there is access.

Super idea. I would suggest putting a block of wood through the bar and fixed to floor. It will hold post square so handrail cuts are good. Keep up the good work.👷

Excited to see the finished product

Love your channel dude, learning so much. Tip for finding the center on the steel is just to scribe a line corner to corner and make a cross. Give. You the perfect centre with no measuring etc Keep it coming

I see the weak link being that top mild steel bracket that you made (max TQ delivered)... I think if you would have doubled up some 3/4 plywood and cut to fit the inside post and routed out, set in the doubled 3/4 plywood. It would have taken a higher TQ load... But regardless it’s quite solid 🤙🏻

I mounted my post the same method, after watching the same video you watched. Worked awesome

Brilliant work buddy! I love learning new tricks of the trade. Been a carpenter for 9 years and whenever I need to refresh myself on trim I visit your vids.

Awesome stuff Nice you gave credit to Next Level. Your a good man.

Watching this video, Texas came to mind. I hope you and family were ok during the storm and stuff.

Super nice newel posts! The wood that your top bracket sits on will compact a bit from the pressure of the bracket over the first few days, so go back and re-tighten in a few days before putting a top on. Also, like someone else suggested, a wooden square infill (like a square wooden washer really, that fits snugly inside the post) at the bottom of the threaded rod will assure that the bottom of your post cannot move. You are probably going to have some trim along the floor anyway, but a bit of extra sturdiness is never going to hurt.

Love it. To make it stiffer, while building the post put one of those bars in the middle. You could still get a nut on it with a crows foot and it wouldn't have to be super torqued as its just there to remove the flex as opposed to securing it like the top one. Alternatively or in addition to it, you could "double the wall thickness for a few inches at the bottom or even insert a block to make it solid at the bottom and/or put a tie bar down there as well. The more solid at the bottom, the more resistance to tilting. But I think with the other post you'll be fine. Last thought, pour some quick set cement in the bottom...wait...could that actually work, with four 1/4 inch rebar poles set into the floor and up a few inches?

Looking good Richard! Love the raised panels for sure. Perfection. Threaded rod is what we use on all of our pony walls and large railing posts. We use a bit thicker steel plate, but you shouldn't have any issue at all, your span isn't very long and you're material is fairly light weight. Nice job once again, and thanks for the content! 👊

Very impressed mate. A lot of work gone in the that!

You keep getting better and better. I learn so much just watching your videos. Thank You.

Nice work Richard. You are r3ally stepping up the design of your home. Looks great.

Looks great! RU-vid definitely pays attention to what we watch. I was watching your progress and that same video you referred to showed up in my feed. Watched that, and now here you are. Thanks for posting the awesome content!

One suggestion would be to put some resin in the hole for the threads to anchor to, that way it can never 'loosen up'. It would then be one solid unit with the joist.

Also adding a sleeve of rigid conduit over the all thread will take majority of initial deflection out . Great job and keep sharing .

Cool how the strength/stiffness of the post doesn't rely on the stiffness of that piece of all thread when it's first screwed into the floor, right? The rod's tensile strength is what stiffens up the installation when combined with the compression strength of the assembly. It can be a bit unnerving when you're installing the first one though. Any post installation is going to have some 'give' to it but compared to brackets that screw down and into the post, newels done like you show here are MUCH stiffer. BTW I owe you one (actually way more than one!) for that fantastic shout out Richard so thank you... until you're better paid! Best, Matt

Great video and product... I am a professional trimmer here in upstate NY...love your videos...I even have my guys watch them!!

Appreciate the detail. Excellent presentation. Keep up the good work!

That looks interesting. You need a next level carpenter for that! I have to work out a newel that can't go into a concrete floor (post-tensioned), and it won't be done by a carpenter like that.

Love seeing home projects! You can always take it to another level compared to doing work in someone else’s house.

Try getting a steel demon blade for all your metal cutting, it leaves nice clean edges that don't even need ground down and the blade cuts through steel like plywood! Thanks for the video!

I installed a knee wall that way back-plated through the subfloor 35 years ago. Great job.

Una persona que reconoce la grandeza de otra persona, demuestra su grandeza y la humildad con que vive... Mis respetos y mi admiracion.. saludos !

Good job, If you scribe a diagonal line from the end corners of your piece of metal, where they intersect (center of the X) is the center, saves a lot of measuring

Nice of you to shout out Next Level! 👍🏼

THAT is likely the best way to mount posts for railings I have seen. Simple, effective, (apparently), fast. I would be supremely confident that is not going to fall apart. One thing, a provision for cap removal. That way, from time to time as the wood moves around; and it will; you could throw a quarter turn on the nut to keep everything tight. Just my opinion.

Maybe it has been mentioned, but to make that even stronger, put another steel plate from inside corner to inside corner the other direction, and that would double the strength of the plate, and allow for more tightening strength, which would make the post even more ridge. Another idea to improve the strength would be to simply use thicker steel. The only thing I didn't like about your solution here is that after you drill the hole for the threaded rod, it doesn't leave much steel left on the sides of the plate. You could use a wider plate, but then perhaps you'd be getting a bit too close to the edges of the post. All in all, great work, I really enjoy your channel and learn a lot from it.

I think that was a good call by using the ratchet and not the impact to snug the posts to the floor. You don't want to crack or bust something at that stage. Looks great. Hope we get to see the finished project.

Thanks for plugging Matt! You both are awesome!

Thanks so much, I drilled and taped crown stops to my dewalt DW705. Worked like a champ.

Nice! I have an old Delta 10" compound miter saw I wore out ( won't hold a good enough angle for trim ) that I put a Dewalt metal blade on for cutting steel. Cheap and it works good enough for me.

Matt has it figured out, you are right! Only way to install Newell posts!!

I think marking black steel with pencil is totally fine when it's just a few holes, or cuts as long as it is small stock. You would've seen it without the shades :)

Very good method for securing newel posts. I bet you could adapt that method to floating shelves.

Keep building ! I subscribed and I rang the bell. Love people who strive to be better at what they do and give credit to those who they have learned from.

Man you have shown me so much since I have been watching your channel. Thanks

Richard...Flat Bar has a tendency to Bow under Tension...use a piece of Square Tube instead...a Lock Washer under the Nut might be a good idea too...Over-Kill I know but you get the idea right.

Wow, alright, I end up saying wow every video I watch of yours, I am soaking up all this information! Thank you again!

Great post! Thank you for the tip! It will come in handy in near future! PS! You don't need to measure to find the center of the metal. Just draw a cross (from corner to corner), then you will find the center.

Amazing work! I’m learning and getting ideas from your videos. I ALSO purchased the miter protractor per your advice in one of your other videos. Thankfully I’m in FTW so I’m also going to the get materials from the plywood company you talked about.

Great job! Keep up the great work!

Killer look man. I did a knee wall at top of an open case few months back. Used a similar method to lock the end in. But wished if have seen this 1st. That threaded bar was a nice touch. I'll have to remember that..

I enjoy Next Level Carpentry and also plan on using his technique for newel post mounting in our home. Question: How is the base on your implementation? Any slippage by pushing against the base of the newel? The Top look solid. Also looking forward to seeing how you finish the stairs / trim the stairs.

Fantastic look. Can't wait to see the railings! Keep up the great videos.

Nice sturdy construction. Thank you for sharing.

How about putting a small blocking piece inside the post at floor level. Drill a hole in the middle of the blocking then slide it onto the threaded bar before the newel post gets attached. It keeps the threaded bar centred with the bottom of the post on the floor. Love your videos!

Thanks Richard for sharing with us all. They look beautiful! My finish carpenter isn't going to like me but, thankfully I only need three of them!

Great video and helpful instructions, on a personal note, now anywhere on social media I can finally say and mean it, I love that post LOL

Great system, I would add a wood block drilled to slip over the rod to locate the base perfectly inside the box at the floor.

Nice looking work.

Next time you want to find the center of the rectangle or square, just draw a line between the opposite corners. Where they meet in in the middle will create the center and a natural cross hair.

Beautiful work Richard. Semper Fi brother.

The next time you are near your tool source grab a scratchall. It looks just like the punch you used but with a much sharper point. It has lots of uses but mainly you can use it to mark lines on steel. No more painting and waiting to dry or carrying masking/painter's tape, which won't stick to oily or greasy metal. The scratchall is small and won't take up much space in a tool bag.

8:55 I have never seen anyone screw machine threads into wood before. When I did this I was able to thread a nut beneath the floor from a crawlspace.

The only change I would make sound be to add a second of your hold down brackets. Si repeat the process of routing the top of the invasive of the Newell in the opposing inner corners so that you can add the second bracket so that the two brackets form an X. I know that your Newell is well fixed and pretty solid but I would still do it. Awesome work on manufacturing some one off Newell's though dude 👍😀

Great job, I would suggest using medium strength thread lock (the blue one) on the threads so the nut does not become loose over time

Love watching your videos. You're awesome. I learn something every time.

If you ever do more work with threaded rod a quick trick to move the bit down the rod is to use a wire brush wheel on a drill. It won’t put torque on it but if you need to move a nut a few inches must faster that by hand or a wrench. Works best if the rod and nut are new, rust and dirt free, and straight

Use a silver sharpie for marking metal, as well as an awl. Would using a self tapping drill bit & some lock nut & washer on underside of plate as well as on top help secure it better for durability in the long run? Regardless, like the look over the posts, great job on them👍🏻, especially if this is your first time making them! Congrats..... L8R ✌🏻

Part 2 please! I wanna see the whole process with all post installed with rails fully completed. Looks awesome.

Hey man, That will be very solid, usually what I do is I install a solid 4x4 post into the joist like 10” and wrap the post, but what you did is good idea, thank you

Well done to be honest watching that when you first put the rod in it looked that flimsy didn’t think it was going to work but what a finish absolutely perfect can’t wait to see the finished article 👍

I have enjoyed this series of videos about the newel post construction. Thank you. I am a bit concerned however. If the rail that seems to protect against a fall to the floor below constitutes a guard rail the minimum height in California (and most states I suspect) would be 42 inches. (California Residential Code R312.1.1 and R312.1.2). The newel post might also be subject to the rule that requires a sign off by an engineer on the requirement that it would be able to withstand a 200 pound horizontal force. As a practical matter I think this would pass because it will be connected to the wall and the newel post at the top of the stairway. Although those newel posts are strong, I think an engineer would probably not sign off on the design if the newel post wasn't constrained by attachment to other structure.

Just a trick for you, for when you need to make an accurate mark on metal and do not have something to use, you can always use the scribe that is built into every combination square it loos like a little knurled knob just pull on it

Just wanted to share a pointer. Work in a body shop. The hot metallic dust from the grinder. Practically impossible to get off car paint. And chrome bumpers. And not possible to get off car windows. Just a heads up. Keep up the legit videos

These posts are awsome. It was good to see how you installed them! Thanks for sharing

Very interesting and yep looks really secure. Going to look awesome.

Nice guide, thank you for the assistance.

Would a base bracket as you have on top reduce the chance of knocking the post off center at the bottom? Love the videos.

It’s called allthread and awesome job bud keep up the good work

Yeah, great video. Nice work

That is the best way to do it and I did that years years ago. You need a thicker metal one bump and the metal will bend. The metal needs tobe 1/2 to 3/4 thick.