4×4 redwood posts and top rail.
What is the best way to attach the rail to the post?
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I would use screws, I would not do what I saw in a Menards video the other day.
I was walking through their adhesive isle and they had a video playing on a TV, I watched for a minute and they were assembling railings with Powergrab only. spindles to rails, rails to posts, everything, not a single fastener.
Then someone reachs over my shoulder and says "I'm sold", and grabs 4 tubes and walks away. Freaking crazy.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
How many cases of that glue did you buy? :-)
I didn't end up buying any, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I stood there shaking my head the whole time.
They were actually using it on endgrain butt joints and promoting no fasteners. "you don't need stainless fasteners for acq lumber, you need powergrab" is what they kept saying.
All I could think is "you need more than powergrab, you need a good lawyer."
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
>> All I could think is "you need more than powergrab, you need a good lawyer." <<
Powergrab - is that that Locktite (sp?) stuff? Actually the stuff is pretty cool. Because it sticks so quick. It's good to stick something in place and then you come back and add some metal fasteners.
It is good stuff, I have used it before. But in a box store advetising no fasteners to HO's? Bad deal there dude.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
Agreed...
My vote is screws too. The last thing you want is to have a safety railing coming loose. My method is to shoot everything in place with SS finish nails and then come back with screws.
Is the rail on top of the post?
Or does the post protrude through the top rail?
Or does the rail but to the post?
Rail on top--- I just screw down.
Post through rail----- square hole in rail slid over post & screwed.
Rail into the side---- then I like to dado it screws added for strength.
rail butts up to the post.I've done dados with the table saw, but the table saw isn't at the new house where I'm building the deck railing. First alternative that comes to mind is to cut the edges of the dado with the skill saw and use the router to clean out between the saw lines.
Rails butting into posts would be a good spot for routing out dados.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
& Don't underestimate the value of a good chisel when dadoing <sp> posts.
"Why do you hurt me when I do bad things to you?" My youngest son to his older brother