Locate Baluster Centers
A simple scrap-board template and a Forstner bit makes accurate marks for drilling.
I was recently replacing a lot of balusters in a brownstone in Beacon Hill, Boston. I had to use rail bolts to install several of them. If I wanted to maintain a precise alignment with the other balusters using the rail bolts, I had to find the exact center of each baluster. To do this, I made a simple template out of a scrap board. I drilled a hole in the board with a Forstner bit the same size as the end of the balusters. I then slid a baluster part way into one side of the hole and inserted the Forstner bit into the other. By gently running the drill, the center spur on the Forstner bit accurately marked the center of each baluster. The center spur also created a handy pilot hole for the bit I used to drill the holes. This tip would work for other round stock and dowels as well.
— Jeff Wood; Weymouth, Massachusetts
Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller.
From Fine Homebuilding #323
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