Can anyone point me to a web site which shows a variety of baluster
shapes?

Dick

Did a Google search for "woodturning balusters".
Got 792 hits, not too bad.

Mostly commercial "buy our balusters" sites,
but some are interesting:

https://www.stairpartsusa.com/category_s/20.htm
http://www.hansonwoodturning.com/balusters.htm
http://www.pagliacco.com/Balusters_newels.html
http://www.custommade.com/gallery/ca...balusters.html
http://woodstairs.com/parts/balnew.html

etc. That Google thing... simply amazing.

Michael Latcha - at home in Redford, MI


"Dick" wrote in message
oups.com...
Can anyone point me to a web site which shows a variety of baluster
shapes?

Dick

Since Dick has lots of pics to study, I hope he won't mind my imposing
an OT muse on his thread.

Funny how a local community's provincial use of words stays with you all
your life. I started to suggest that Dick just drive down the street and
look at porch railings, but something made me look it up first.

Until today I had thought balusters were for inside stairs and
bannisters were for outside porch rails ....wrong! I found out there's
no real difference. My concepts about davenports & sofas, settees &
chesterfields were also off the mark. I have missed the target with many
others.
Any of you ever been taken aback on finding a long and firmly held
concept was wrong? What were you mistaken about? Purists can limit
their errors of conception to woodturning if OT is too painful.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

Arch wrote:
Funny how a local community's provincial use of words stays with you all
your life. I started to suggest that Dick just drive down the street and
look at porch railings, but something made me look it up first.

Until today I had thought balusters were for inside stairs and
bannisters were for outside porch rails ....wrong! I found out there's
no real difference. My concepts about davenports & sofas, settees &
chesterfields were also off the mark. I have missed the target with many
others.
Any of you ever been taken aback on finding a long and firmly held
concept was wrong? What were you mistaken about? Purists can limit
their errors of conception to woodturning if OT is too painful.

I'm glad you brought this up Arch. I was going to wade in with some
links, until I discovered that what the pages showed were what I would
have called stair spindles.

I figured it was a British / USA thing and couldn't be bothered to try
and figure it all out. FWIW I would have used the term baluster for a
large diameter spindle, generally used outdoors and often made of stone.
This is not to be confused with Newel post which is the large diameter
post at the top and bottom of the stairs. Bannister OTOH I always took
to be the hand rail.

But checking my British English dictionary, banister (one 'n') is a
stair rail with its supports (ie the whole assembly). Baluster is a
small pillar supporting a stair rail or parapet coping. Balustrade is a
row of balusters.

So I hope Dick will clarify what he means by baluster by telling us the
application, then we can properly help him out even if we call them
something else. Is it fat ones or thin ones you want, Dick?

Getting back to Arch's musing, I guess it boils down to having a formal
education in these matters, rather than recalling being told by one's
parents to stop sliding down the banister then making assumptions about
what a banister really was. Maybe they didn't know either.

--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
http://chipshop.blogspot.com - a blog for my customers
http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com/TheToolrest/ - a blog for woodturners

Dick wrote:
As for the purpose, that is a little irrelevant as all I need is to see
shapes. If they are too fat or too tall, I can change that.

In that case, check out http://www.old-basing.co.uk/page2.html and the
other 8 pages of pictures.

I posted a brief blog post about it he
http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com/Th...-spindles.html

--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
http://chipshop.blogspot.com - a blog for my customers
http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com/TheToolrest/ - a blog for woodturners

"Arch" wrote in message
...
Since Dick has lots of pics to study, I hope he won't mind my imposing
an OT muse on his thread.

Funny how a local community's provincial use of words stays with you all
your life. I started to suggest that Dick just drive down the street and
look at porch railings, but something made me look it up first.

Until today I had thought balusters were for inside stairs and
bannisters were for outside porch rails ....wrong! I found out there's
no real difference. My concepts about davenports & sofas, settees &
chesterfields were also off the mark. I have missed the target with many
others.
Any of you ever been taken aback on finding a long and firmly held
concept was wrong? What were you mistaken about? Purists can limit
their errors of conception to woodturning if OT is too painful.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter

====================

OT, but in response, my daughter was taken aback when she found out that
"wind chill" was not the front glass on the car! {:-)

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.