Your lathe equipment, along with everything else, requirements will =
jump by
magnitudes once you start getting into large columns. ...
It's not my main job by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a
steady income and it's fun. (etc.)
=20
Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. It sounds like a nice way to =
pursue=20
a variety of interests.

The comments about equipment and market niche are right on, imo. Most of =
your work will be decorative (not structural) columns and stair =
spindles. And, you'll need to deliver something that an architect can't =
get from the companies doing this in a factory with a catalog. =
Therefore, most of you work will be restoration and possibly repair, =
too. You may also need to do carving, too. Working with architects means =
working with a very particular person. And, you'll need to be able to =
read blueprints (now there's an archiac term, they haven't been blue in =
quite a few decades!). Dan