These are exterior balusters that I reproduced for a customer on the East Coast. They are crafted in Spanish Cedar. Spanish Cedar is an import from South America that has gained in popularity among millworks companies in the US. Twenty years ago mostly boat builders used this wood because of the resistance to decay. I remember seeing SCedar in huge widths and thicknesses and lengths. You can still buy it that way but not as readily. If the smell doesn’t kill you, it is a fine wood for applications exposed to the weather. The downside is its tendency to bleed through the paint. A good oil primer is a plus.
The dark baluster is the original but you already knew that.
interior design
Tags: architectural design, architecture, interior decorator, interior design, wood balusters
Many of my customers have never understood the difference between a barley twist and a rope twisted turning. And though I try to explain it over the phone, I’m certain it is not well understood. “A rope twist”, I tell them, “looks like rope.” A barley twist, on the other hand, has an interior radius that differentiates it from a rope twist. This usually does not work. And so a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. Or this case – two pictures:
barley twist
rope twist
interior design
Tags: architecture, interior decorator
In this little video I am turning two different large (2 1/2″) stair balusters. the first was for a customer in Mississippi. I really love the heavy vase shape with the one inch pin tops. They are in poplar.
In the second part of the video we are turning red oak balusters for a customer near New Orleans. The red oak used was from his own property. He had been saving it for some time to use and finally got around to bringing the wood to me. I had turned a similar pattern in 1 3/4″ but modified the pattern to accommodate the larger 2 1/2″ size.
Interior Design
Tags: architectural design, architecture, interior design, stair parts, wood balusters, wood turning
These balusters were actually turned by a friend of mine in Massachusetts. I designed them to replicate those in the Silas Dean Museum – a historical home named after Mr Dean (he was apparently some significant American figure). Staircrafters in Washington State installed the three stairways and graciously sent final pictures (before the painters got to them).
There are actually three different balusters here – a plain, a barley twist and a fluted twist.
The last stairway to the third floor has plain only
A close up right off the lathe.
Tags: stair parts, wood balusters
The image below is a set of alternating balusters crafted for a customer a year or so back. The profile of the balusters is the same except for the center part.
The twist on these is called a barley twist as opposed to rope twist in the post below.
These are 1 3/4″ at the squares with a 3/4″ pin on top.
Below is a finished project with square top balusters. Thanks Jess for the final pictures – Anera Group
Tags: balusters, stair parts, wood balusters
Pottery Barn Balusters
These 3inch wood balusters were for a customer whose wife saw them, or something similar, in a Pottery Barn catalog. He asked me to reproduce them from the catalog image. They alternate from one profile to the next. They were crafted from poplar and were painted.
Tags: balusters, wood balusters
