I am a total newbie at woodturning, just at the stage of reading,
learning and trying to grasp the fundamentals of the craft. One thing I
find interesting is figuring out how to make balusters. Looking at
online catalogs, I see shapes that I could probably do with some
practice. Reeds, flutes and twists aren't of much interest to me right now.

It looks as if there are only a few basic shapes combined end-to-end in
an endless variety. When you get right down to it, there are the bead,
cove, ogee and taper shapes. These are sometimes grouped in recognizable
combinations, such as a narrow bead next to a wide bead next to a narrow
bead, resulting in what I would call a "spool", maybe. Another pattern
is a narrow bead beneath an ogee with a long cove or taper portion at
the top, what I would call a "bulb" or an "urn". Another combo is a
narrow bead next to a wide, deep cove next to a narrow bead. I haven't
made up a name for this.

The point is, I'm surely not the first to think of this. Could two
spindle makers talk with each other using words but not diagrams and
accurately describe a baluster design? Is there some standard naming
convention for describing baluster designs? Could you recommend some
literature that covers baluster design? Are there some "forbidden"
combinations that look ugly only because of their position next to each
other?

Thanks in advance.