Forget the advice from "some guy at the store." Wood conditioners are meant to prevent splotching, but they do a poor job at that. Stains are of two basic types - Pigments : finely ground powders - Dyes : chemicals that are dissolved Think of third grade science where you put dirt in a jar of water and shook it and sugar in a jar of water and shook it. What was the difference the next day? The dirt mostly settled out to the bottom. The sugar remained in solution. Pigments work like the dirt and dye like the sugar. The big contrast comes about because the earlywood (large pores) get a lot of pigment in them and the latewood (hard and smooth), does not absorb so much because it's wiped off. Dyes, on the other hand will absorb more evenly and reduce the contrast (at least color wise). So, what you want is a dye. Problem is, Minwax stains are sometimes dyes, sometimes pigments, and often both. They don't tell you. I suggest looking up Bob Flexner's "Understanding Wood Finishing" at your local library, where he shows photos of oak dyed on one half and pigmented on the other. Then get some scrap of oak and test out your intended products and processes on the scrap before starting on your newel post. It's easier to not make a mistake than it is to recover from one. You can get dyes at most woodworking stores such as Rockler and Woodcraft, or via mail order. You can control the concentration by how much dye you add to solvent (distilled water in most cases). So you might want to mix up a series of concentrations and apply each to see the resulting color. But to see the true color, you will have to apply the finish coats as finishes intensify the stain colors.

I'm not sure but it is probably the I2012 RC. A guard and a handrail are different requirements but they can sometimes serve the same purpose. R311.7.8 requires a handrail for 4 or more risers. R312.1.1 requires a 36" high "guard" at a walking surface more than 30" above grade. At the stairs a handrail can serve as the guard if it is between 34" and 38" above the nosing of the treads.

Thank you Saypoint. Oh I like those brackets much better than my white ones and prefer without the wall plate. I like your newel too. Have you ever had a shirt (darn hoodie or comfy sweater pockets) get caught up on the rail? It might just be a me issue with my kitchen cabinet knobs and my short height! I'm wondering now why we have the railing going into wall plates. Do you think it has anything to do with extra support because my railing is so long? Actually the bottom of rail is directly into the wall. This one looks a little thicker than mine. If I'm going to keep the same spindles with the square I'm assuming I should repeat the square part in the newel. Saypoint I really like your newel paired with those spindles. I think I prefer that over the blockiness (is that a word?) of what I have going on currently.

OK, you all have convinced me to eliminate the oak look of the risers. While I'm too conservative to paint them, I'm thrilled with the many options for stick on riser decals that can be readily removed, including one with the pattern I've been nuts about for ages! It's called Astra, here. BUT -- back to the newel post/handrail for the upper section of this stairway.....previous comments were that we don't have the open wall for the spindles and we have no place for a newel post. I need to understand if the change I want to make isn't feasible, when it seems to me like it should be...please helps!