wobbly stairwell post

[DAV8 ROAD]

Hello, Experts!

I have a wobbly stairwell post. It has a base metal, 8"x8" size, which is screwed down to the floor plate. I can see one side of the metal and tightened 4 screws. The other side is covered by the base wood plate where balusters are planted. I'm wondering if I need to remove the whole baluster build to see the other side of the metal, or cut the base wood just at the foot of the post. How would you think? What would be the least destructive way to fix the post? Appreciate input from you.

Thanks!

 

[PJB12]

Hi Dav8 Road,
Assuming it's a solid post, can you get underneath the newel post? Perhaps the problem can be repaired from below with long fasteners up into the post.

OR:
Step 1:
On a house I had once, I drilled a long hole at a steep angle near the bottom of the post. Next I drilled the end of the hole about 10mm deep with a Forstner bit.

Step 2:
I inserted a long, coarse thread screw into the hole. The screw screwed into the stair tread under the post.

Step 3:
Repeated on the opposite face of the post, being sure to miss the first screw.

Step 3:
Then, I glued in a dowel to cover the screw and fill the countersink hole, aligning the grain of the dowel with the post. After the glue dried, I sawed the dowel nearly flush with my Japanese saw.

Step 3:
A light sanding to make the plug flush followed. A cheater pen was able to match the finish of the post. (I don't know the real name, but they are like stain + finish in a pen.)

OR-
Can the finial come off? If so, you might be able to drill down and insert a long, threaded rod. Modify the plug part of the finial to make room for the rod & nut. This also assumes that you can get underneath.

OR-
I'd have to guess that if you went to ThisOldHouse.com and did a search, there will be at least one article with ideas better than the ones I wrote above.

I hope one of these ideas works for you! (I'm betting on This Old House....)
Paul