painterbug- I am assuming that the hollow metal pole is the central vertical pole that goes from the floor to the top of the spiral stair. I'm also assuming that it is a fairly decent gauge (thickness). I'm also assuming you're talking about a relatively short length (maybe 3' or so?) of vertical 2x8 that you want to attach. The easy part is getting it attached; the more difficult part is having it stay that way. As for attaching, I would drill the 2x8 in 3 places (top, middle, bottom), then drill matching holes in the pole and tap threads into the holes; then bolt the 2x8 on. If you want to be fancy, you can countersink the bolt holes in the 2x8 and then cover the bolt heads with wood plugs to hide them. If the pole is not heavy enough gauge, then you might have to drill holes on both sides of the pole and put carriage bolts of the right length through the pole and use nuts to join things together rather than tapping threads into the pole. The harder part is that you've attached a flat surface to a curved surface, and, if there is any chance of flexing, this connection could loosen over time. You could consider cutting a cove up the whole backside of the 2x8 so that it matched the curve of the pole. Then you would have much more bearing surface and could even add some epoxy where the two surfaces meet. Since you're competent enough to build a custom railing, I assume you have a table saw and could do the coping on that. If the coving operation would take too much wood out of the backside, you could just do a smaller radius cove than the pole and at least you would have a pair of vertical bearing points on either side of the bolts and this would also be very sturdy. At any rate, please re-post and say whether this is what you had in mind...or provide a clearer description so I can take another go at it. Here is a link that might be useful: How to Cut a Cove

Well, planning a paint job 500 miles away with a ten day window has been tricky. I've narrowed my quandary down. (Will skip the 'rust conversion coating' since no one local I've talked to has a clue what that is nor carries it in stock. Did grab some wire grinder attachments for my drill, that should help with tackling the rust by hand. ;) Will have access to what looks to be a couple good products for exterior metal. Coronado's Coro-Bond or BM's Iron Clad. If anyone has experience with either product, I'd be interested in hearing about it. The only hesitation I have with the BM product is that it's a primer and topcoat in one product. Would definitely be a time saver, and am not sure exactly why it makes me uneasy, but it does. ;) Also it's oil-based, so going with white I'd be faced with yellowing. :/ So I might use the Coro-Bond primer and get a good latex top coat.

Thanks for the Reply “ rgress Looks like Sweet Gum to me. Was there any of the prickly Sweet Gum balls around?” IMO the bark is too smooth unless this is the nature of a small Sweet Gum limb. I thought the 7 pointed leaf vs 5 was a lead to red oak but I found pics of 7 on Gum. I know the Fruit/Balls and saw no signs and learned some are fruitless. There was no sign of Rosin and a Red Oak grain structure which led to Red Oak. “Finally”, Looking Close at the curbed wood not close to the trees, I saw I had two close looking woods. I always thought rosin/gum made wood useless to burn but learned it just need to season longer. I have basically restocked the 1.5 cord I needed in my 3 cord rotation but can find room for more if it’s blocks vs miles away. I’m sorry I mixed these concerns.... The plumbing is done with me replacing 37” of 2” Cast Iron. Things got too frustrating related to inspections, bids, the research and thought vs knowing 2” Cast Iron Trench-less existed. I have contacted one local Co “Afterwards” that is to call me to watch a local 2” job. It has been over10 yrs since the last 03 repair and very minor compared. I would like to have the approx 65’ relined if it’s reasonable but I c/n visualize how the various connections will be made (sink/dishwasher, washer Y and A/C’s condensation T) vs a straight pipe. What I did is a “Homeowners” version of Tunneling vs a plumber’s larger holes. There is a post on this plumbing before the fill, concrete and tile at the link below. Tunneling or plumbing out and around has been the options I have seen vs “One” Trench-less. I question if it’s a differences in the section of Cast Iron section’s “Quality” or what settling and chemicals have caused since 1969. There is a section “Yet” that you can hear and see water in that drains (but there has to be a sag) that is not showing in the hall’s floor. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/2946652/whats-a-good-safe-cure-to-stop-or-slow-root-entering-sewer-line?n=13

Using copper pipe, is there a better metal stake I can use?