Carpentry and Woodworking - Dismantle and reassemble a stairway railing/spokes

Hello,

I am trying to install a ceiling fan in the place of an existing light fixture. I removed the old fixture and disconnected the black and white wires from it and connected these to the ceiling fan and everything works great. The only problem is that the previous light fixture did not have a ground wire attached to it. There is another bunch of wires inside the electrical box which I believe may be the ground wire. How can I be 100% sure that this is a ground wire? Is there any tool I can use to test it?

Thanks
-- Ian

We are going to be moving some large pieces of
furniture from our 2nd floor to the first
floor. The process will be much easier if
we can dismantle the decorative wood railing
and spoke pieces that run along the last 6'
or so of the stairway. That way we can pass
the furniture through that opening instead of
having to raise it up and over. I have no idea
if the stair railings are screwed to the bannister
- glued or both. Can someone advise how
to temporarily dismantle it? Is it a do it yourself
job or would it require a professional?
I do have some experience with woodworking.

It should be at least glued, and probably nailed or screwed.
You'll just have to start with one and figure out what you need to do.
Good luck!
Mike

I started writing and after three paragraphs realized I still would have to write many more....Why? Stair railings can be assembled in a varitey of ways as well as the ballastors and thier are many considerations for removal........My suggestion is to pick up a book at Home Depot or the library that is specific to stair building and use it as a guide to reverse engineer it apart.......