Custom woodturning

[2nd Law]

Can anyone point me to a woodworking company in the Chicago/NW Indiana area that does custom wood turning?

We bought a beautiful old house in Michigan City that's had a long and varied history -- built by the owner of a lumberyard, we've figured he decked out the inside to be a showcase. However, over the past 100 years the house, in addition to starting as a single family and reverting to that now, has been a real estate office, a dentist office, and at one point a halfway house.

When you walk in the front door, you see our staircase, which has some lovely, but relatively delicate spindles, and we need to replace about a dozen of them.

I'm pretty sure I've read about digital duplicating lathes which can scan and copy just about any turning, but I haven't been able to find anyplace that does it. These are made of white oak, and we have someone who can duplicate the finish, but no one who can turn them.

[Picard Kills Kirk]

I dont know of any specific people, but if you have a woodcraft store near you (www.woodcraft.com) they might be able to put you in contact with someone who would want to do it, or maybe a woodworking club that could lead to something. good luck!

[usedtobe]

Some reason for specifying "digital"?
Duplicating lates are not at all rare. Wanting the latest-greatest, obsolete next year toy is likely to run a bit more.
Contact a local millwork shop - if they can't do it, they sure know somebody who can.

[Sateryn76]

Try The Woodshop - it's in Crown Point. They do custom cabinetry and trim and such, so if they can't do your spindle, they should know someone who would.

Just out of curiosity - I'm in Lowell, and am working on a Victorian down here. What part of Michigan City are you in? That house of your looks lovely...

[Sal Ammoniac]

It's not strictly true that duplicating lathes can duplicate any pattern. It's hard for me to tell from the picture if yours is a pattern that can be mechanically duplicated, though it looks to me like there's a lot of fine detail, suggesting the answer is no.

And just as a general observation, really narrow spindles like this are harder to turn than thicker work, because the wood tends to deflect under the pressure of the tool. There are special gadgets used for support in such cases, or some turners will wrap their hand around the work to brace it. The upshot is that you need to find someone who really knows what they're doing.

As someone else suggested, a skilled hobbyist might be able to help you. Maybe check out these guys.