Capping a Pipe Rail
Strengthen and enhance the look of steel handrails with this clever cap.
I occasionally use 1-1/2 in. dia. steel pipe for handrails. It is plenty sturdy and easy to grip. But it needs something other than a 1-1/2 in. dia. cap threaded on its ends to look presentable. As shown in the drawing, I use a 1-in. dia. cap threaded onto a 1-in. dia. nipple instead. I wrap the nipple with a couple of turns of electrical tape to ensure a tight fit. The nipple is held in place by a 3/16-in. dia. stove bolt that is run into a hole drilled and tapped into the pipe and nipple from below.
Walter D. Cotton, Wellsboro, PA
From Fine Homebuilding #133
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This is a clever way to cap a steel pipe, but a handrail for a stair, to be safe and code-compliant, should first be "returned" to a wall or post to prevent clothing or hand bags or back-packs from catching on them and possibly causing an injury. To be fair, the tip does not say that the handrails are on a stair or are not already returned.