Craftsman/Arts & Crafts Newel and Pilaster

[Stephen Musial]

Below is a newel and pilaster I made for a friend/customer (he was unhappy with his finish contractor and hired me to do the trimwork, casing, etc.) The lumber was all 4/4 rough quartersawn red oak. Everything was milled on my Delta lunchbox (I really need to get a bigger planer...)

The floors in the rooms are red oak stained natural and coated with waterbased poly. I was hoping to fume it and follow up with some amber shellac to knock off the green for a nice contrast with the floor. Unfortunately they want it all to match, so their floor guy is going to finish it.

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Tomorrow, I'll finish the railing, make a hide glue/sawdust mixture to fill the holes and gaps, and put it all in place. Inside the newel is a 24" plywood core so I can run a threaded rod with a nut down through it and into the structure below.

[Jim Rimmer]

Really nice work.

[Stephen Musial]

Screwed in place. Now I just need to anchor it to the structure of the house.

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You can see the through-tenons on the rail.
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[Ted Calver]

I really like that look Stephen...good job!

[Scott T Smith]

Stephen, that really turned out nice. You might want to consider something other than fuming for the red oak though. Usually red oak turns a greenish color when fumed with ammonia, unlike white oak which turns brown. A dye might yield better results.

[brad jansen]

Outstanding. Great project.