ZipboltQT13.900KIT Angled SLIPFIX KIT for rake Applications

First off, the instructions are rubbish. They miss out a lot of crucial bits and in my case the angle at which the staircase is can be critical in whether this even works to begin with. Mine was a spacesaver with a 62 degree angle and the bottom end was almost impossible to deal with. Also it says not to cut your handrail before you drill in - well I had already cut my rail and you would have to cut both ends to even start the job, I don't see how you can approach this without having cut it first. It says to make adjustments to the handrail cut after, which is crazy. I managed to make the required holes without issue having already cut the rail, you just need to use your noggin when drilling and use a proper timber drill with a point for accuracy. Having an already cut rail will also mess with some of the measurements, but again it's not hard to compensate.So I would approach this with a whole lot of common sense before you go tearing off and following the instructions. The finished result is good, just take your time.

Nice and simple instructions, easy to follow, make sure you have the right tools. Did the job perfectly and leaves a tight solid joint.

The bottom joint worked fine. The problem I had was the top joint as getting the end with the shoulder to engage in the keyhole slot took over twice as long as all the other measuring, cutting and drilling put together.Each time I thought it had engaged and tightened the special (very clever) nut the thing had not engaged after all. As another reviewer noted, the end was too loose and the bolt also rotates compounding the problem.I did follow the instructions to the letter and everything was drilled correctly so a Plan B was required.I drilled another 25mm hole into the underside of the rail at the top end, approximately 25mm further away from the end than the first 25mm hole. This allowed me to access the end of the bolt and fiddle with it until it had engaged in the keyhole BEFORE inserting the special nut.End result is good and strong and worth 4 stars but the pain of fitting it in my case means 3 is all I can give.I would also recommend using a right-angle driver attachment with the hex driver bit. Trying to do it with a standard Hex key will drive you crazy.

Having just put these in 5 minutes ago, I'll write while it's fresh...ITS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU USE A 6.5MM DRILL BIT FOR THE BOTTOM NEWEL POST, NOT 6MM (like it says in the instructions). I can only assume they've rounded down from imperial or something because 6mm, it gets stuck half way and you'd break the elbow joint trying to torque it in.GIVE YOURSELF AN EXTRA 5MM when measuring from the bottom of the rail, up to the vertical 25mm hole the nut mechanism sits in. When you slide the rail over the protruding bolt, the bolt goes straight through the vertical hole to the other side - based on where you're advised to place said 25mm hole. This means you can't slide the mechanism over the bolt without hovering the whole rail in the air freehand, and it's next to impossible to get the mechanism to bite the bolt thread.THE TOP ELBOW BIT is a pain in the arse. Gravity means the top mechanism drops (along with the elbow bolt), so it won't go into the hole, other than extended straight (and then, you have no way of bending the elbow back to 45° so it grabs and sits in the slot)Also don't lose the Alan key. The top bolt is nigh inaccessible. You will end up tightening for 10 minutes in little increments.But, eventually , it does all grab and pull. But any longer, and my glue would have dried .

Was a bit hard to get together needs 2 people

We bought this to secure the handrail to a staircase we built. Worked very well and is still secure

These are great, and leave the rail absolutely solid.I've used the angled and the straight connectors - I've found the straight connectors much easier to use, these angled ones can be a little tricky, but they're still well worth the effort.Do read the instructions a couple of times, especially about which connector to use at the top and bottom (could see this being unsafe if this isn't followed).The main difficultly I've found is getting the bottom connector to get and stay in place while tightening (it has a tendency to move as you tighten). Highly recommend a second person to help with this connection. We tried a few tricks to hold it in position, but mostly just tried a few times until we got lucky.Even with the tricky connector, I'd still highly recommend these. The stair rail is absolutely solid, we did use glue too, but the rail was solid the instant these are tightened up.Would also recommend trying the holes on offcuts first, it can be a little tricky to get all the holes correct and have the rail exactly where you wanted it. Used a forstner bit for the larger hole, and didn't tighten too hard with a power tool, just manually tightened the last few turns.

Fitting directions where somewhat difficult to understand the mechanical parts need lubrication prior to fixing when tightening the the locking parts may fail