These balusters were turned for a customer in San Francisco. The sort of odd thing about these is that although the center diameter is 1 3/4 inches the square ends (not shown) are 1 1/4 inches. That is why I am turning the center area separately. The square top and bottom will be added after.
These are for a customer in San Francisco. They are part of a renovation for an older home. Although the originals were much shorter these mimic them (we stretched the “turned” portion). One of the unusual aspects of these is that the largest diameter (at the center) is 1 3/4″. The squares, however, are only 1 1/4″.
These are a set of mahogany balusters that we just finished. They were specked at a certain length for their stairway application. The balusters have a ten inch base, twenty four inches of barley twist and a six inch top. The width of the balusters is 1 3/4 inches. Every other baluster bottom will be cut to achieve a baluster arrangement that has the bases and the tops following the rake angel. See my baluster arrangement page.
We were just contracted by a customer to make these poplar balusters and starter newel for a home in Connecticut. The post-to-post newel has an octagon base middle and top. The top id quite narrow and will require the handrail to attach horizontally. As such, an up easing will have to be used. The handrail attaching on the rake angle would be too wide for the newel top. The newel measures 8″ at the widest. The design is based on the image from a magazine article and came off quite nicely. The balusters are a based on the image from the same magazine article. The pattern was a common pattern used at the turn of the last century and prior to.
I did not turn these. My partner in crime (turning crime that is) turned these. Great job Walter!
I occasionally have customers that request a staircase with large balusters. The challenge with creating a staircase with extra large balusters is two fold:
The solution to using larger balusters is also two fold:
The image below is a cross section showing the handrail with the large base which enables it to “receive” the large 3 1/2″ baluster.
I received a request to make these poplar balusters by a customer in South Alabama. His wife had a liking to an image in a Pottery Barn catalog. I did my best to replicate these from that catalog image. They are, of course, an alternating series. They measured 3 inches at the squares.
Alternating Poplar Balusters
Pictured below are a number of Spanish cedar balusters made for a renovation project. You can see the original in white paint to the left. They measure 3 1/2 inches in diameter and are about 30 inches long. The shoulders on the top and bottom are square. (shoulders are the transitional area between the square section and the turned section).
Spanish Cedar balusters
This set of Sapele exterior balusters went to a custom in Colorado Springs, CO. I thought they were somewhat unique. The original balusters were turned probably in the 20’s and these were designed to match the existing balusters (the white one). Ultimately they wound up on an exterior balcony in downtown Colorado Springs. They are only about 20 inches high by 3 1/2″ in diameter.
Sapele, by the way, is a import form Africa that looks much like mahogany but not as expensive. I weathers well out side. That is, it is rot resistant.
Sapele exterior Balusters
These are exterior balusters for a home in Atlanta. They measure 3 1/2″ X 30″ 170 pcs. They were designed by the architect, Laura Depree. The wood is Sapele, an African import that is very similar to mahogany. It holds up quite well outdoors and does not have a tendency to bleed through the paint as does Spanish Cedar.
Sapele Balusters 3 1/2\
These were ordered from a repeat customer in Mass. The twists are called rope twists as opposed to the more popular barley twists. Since the balusters were tapered I recommended the shallower rope twist. There are around 220 balusters for two stairways in this home. I hope to get pictures of the finished project. They usually do a beautiful job.
These are in soft maple.
