Zipbolt 13.810 Slipfix Railbolt — Staircase Handrail Post to Post Fastening Solution, Durable, Fast, and Easy Residential and Commercial Installation, New Construction and Remodels

I had never used these or anything like them before, but was able to make a very nice stair railing with them. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done without these. They are fairly easy to use and make for a very sturdy railing. I would definitely use these again if I ever needed to do another railing.

These work as advertized. I recommend ordering the ZipBolt Railbolt Drill Guide which helps mark the 1" hole on bottom of the rail. It also is a life saver when drilling the 3/8" hole in the end of the rail. I opted to clamp the drill guide to the bottom of the rail so it wouldn't move when drilling. I found that there is a little bit of wiggle room if all the drilled holes and the parts aren't perfectly square. When installing the gear in the 1" hole, hold it in place with the hex bit against the the side of the hole where the bolt comes in, then slide the bolt into the 3/8" hole and screw the bolt counter clockwise into the gear so it sticks out of the end about a 1/4". Then slide the gear so the bolt is flush with the end of the rail. Then put all of the balusters in the holes in the rail, stand it up in place, line up and extend both bolts into the key hole plate in the post and push everything down. Tighten the bolts with the hex bolt bit turning clockwise. I have big strong hands so I tightened all the connections by hand. I am an experienced carpenter and it still took a fair amount of time, but the finished product was worth it.

Hold tight. I have had issue with these things binding up but I spray the nut side when a little dry silicone and I can assemble and reassemble on site without worrying about getting stuck.Installation is simple enough. If you think you can install a handrail you should be able to follow the directions on the package.

Follow the instructions and it will work!Pro Tip: cut a 2x4 to fit where the upper rail goes and use as a template before cutting the expensive hardwood handrail.

works as it should

Didn’t work. The mechanism would break every time. Pieces of junk.. better off screwing it in.

This made my installation so much easier that it would have been otherwise. I was installing a handrail between two immovable objects. So, there was zero wiggle room to work with. This product allowed me to install the handrail with minimum fuss and the result is rock solid. I strongly recommend doing a dry run first (3rd photo) so you can get the feel of things before the actual installation and get familiar with how everything works together. Based on some videos I watched, I took my handrail and cut off two small wafers of handrail and a third chunk of handrail that was about 3 inches long. One wafer was a template for marking the location of the center of the 1 inch forstner bit on your newel (middle photo right wafer). One wafer was a template for marking the location of the 3/8 inch hole one the end of your hand rail (middle photo left wafer) And I used the drill press on the 3 inch chunk to make a perfectly plumb 3/8 inch hole to guide my hand drill when I was making the 3/8 inch hole in the ends of the hand rail (left photo, top of middle photo). The key for me was making the templates and practicing (3rd photo) before doing it for real.

Works well. Railing is pretty right and secure using these.