How do I DIY fix balusters that are coming off an indoor railing?

[ctuser1]

My house is a "raised ranch" - that is very common in the lower-middle end of housing in this area of NE.

I have an indoor railing separating the staircase and the living room. The balusters in this railing are coming off.

The railing is pretty old, probably original with the house that was built in 1978. At one point of time, the balusters must have snapped fit into the top and bottom rails. They no longer do, and are popping out very easily.

This railing gets knocked about a little bit. People coming up the stairs hold it for support. There is a reclining couch right against it in the living room side. Sometimes, the balusters are pushed when reclining the couch, popping them out.

I was thinking of getting some sort of wood glue and fixing them in place. Is this a bad idea? Any suggestions what sort of glue should I get?

Any other ideas/options?

[lthenderson]

Balusters aren't designed to take a lot of loading and thus they are often just slipped in or glued in place. I would just grab some yellow wood glue and glue it back in place. I mostly use Titebond and it is usually stronger than the wood it adheres. In this case since water isn't an issue, you can use type II or type III glues. I think type III has a slightly longer cure time.

[ctuser1]

Balusters aren't designed to take a lot of loading and thus they are often just slipped in or glued in place. I would just grab some yellow wood glue and glue it back in place. I mostly use Titebond and it is usually stronger than the wood it adheres. In this case since water isn't an issue, you can use type II or type III glues. I think type III has a slightly longer cure time.

Thank you!

In one or two balusters, I see a little bit of space between the end of the baluster and the railing slot where it is supposed to fit. i.e. it does not "snap" fit. The space is very small (probably < 0.5mm if I was to guess).

Will the yellow glue work for these? Or do I need to figure out some other sort of filler first?

I see this yellow glue to be very inexpensive at my local lower:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Titebond-Yellow-Interior-Exterior-Wood-Adhesive-Actual-Net-Contents-4-fl-oz/1000118959

If this is all I need then I'll be very happy indeed :-).

[lthenderson]

The glue should fill and hold for a gap that small but I would try to use a clamp to hold the baluster as tight to the rail as possible while the glue cures. The linked glue would is perfect for this project.

[ctuser1]

Yesterday I did 4 balusters that were frequently tumbling out, and they seem to be rock solid now. In fact, they are now providing more support to the entire railing such that the other balusters may not need any more immediate fix.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and of course the tube of Titebond handy in case anything changes.

[Uturn]

Titebond glue is a PVA glue.  PVA glue is nice because it has a relatively long (around a year) shelf life, but it sucks for second gluing.  New PVA will not stick to old PVA.  If this joint needs to be repaired in the future, all the old PVA will need to be removed.  If you suspect that the joint will need a second gluing sometime in life, then you need to use liquid hide glue.  However, hide glue has a much shorter shelf life, and should to be heated before use. 

[lthenderson]

The one drawback/advantage to hide glue is it's long pot life. Unlike PVA glue which you can remove clamps after a half hour to start working on it, hide glue needs almost a full 24 hours before you can remove clamps. I use it quite often when I have complex assemblies that I need to futz with awhile before I can get clamped.