I've been recruited to design and build this Craftsman-style railing for a friend and she wants the railing to be removable so that she can move furniture through the stairwell without any problems. It's an older home, so things are a little tight to begin with as far as space and clearances go.

I've seen Tom Silva use the Invis system (invisible magnetic fasteners) to join railing sections, which would really be ideal for this application. However, the cost is a bit much, so I'm exploring other economical options. If I can't find any, I'll take the hit and buy into the Invis system (I'm sure I'll find more uses for it down the road).

So my question is this...has anyone here either seen or built a removable railing system that didn't use the Invis system?

Here's some shots of what the staircase looks like now...I'm also pulling out all of the existing treads and risers (and the really bad trim job), installing new skirtboards, treads and risers. It'll look like a whole new staircase when I'm done.

P1010130.JPGP1000445 (Medium).JPGP1000444 (Medium).JPGP1000446.JPGP1000447.JPG

cont'd...