Present Joys

Today Jordan spent all day installing spindles. 24 spindles—three on the lower run of steps, nine on the platform, and 12 on the upper run of steps. And he is done!

It’s hard to describe what a big difference it makes to have the balustrade completed. I was concerned about the visual weight of the spindles, since the 1.5″ diameter felt large in isolation. But I think everything looks just right in context. I’m really beyond pleased at the progress and at the end product! There are many small details I have yet to finish. I’ll take some better photos once everything is officially done. For now, here’s the completed balustrade.

My spindles are finally done. I coordinated to pick them up on Saturday afternoon, and since then I’ve been in a race against the clock to fully prefinish them before they’re installed on Thursday. These are finished according to the same schedule as everything else in the foyer: dye stain, two coats of oil-base polyurethane, sand to 400 grit, two coats of gel stain, then at least two more coats of poly. Doing all of this to 24 spindles, plus leaving time for things to dry and cure, takes longer than one would think.

These spindles were produced exactly to my designs. There are three lightly different lengths: two which allow for the beaded design to follow the angle of the handrail up the stairs, and one other length for the horizontal platform balustrade. They were originally slated to be hand-turned by an Amish guy up in Holmes county. However, he decided the project was too much for him to tackle so he coordinated for Buckeye Spindles to get them done for me using a CNC lathe. I’m disappointed they don’t have the hand-crafted element, but overall, the quality is excellent, and they are taking the stain nicely.