Hand Carving Stair Railings

Often curved staircases, and occasionally straight stairs, have complicated railing requirements calling for twisting and turning of the rails that cannot be made by bending the rail or with machines. In these cases, we must create a "hand carved fitting" specifically for the need of this particular application.

The process starts with a meticulous design based on the math of the staircase calculated in three dimensions. Then, the selection of heavy planks of the very best wood available is carefully cut and glued into a block large enough for the piece. The blocks are rough shaped with a band saw and sander to get the closest rough shape, and then it is all chisels and hand tools from there.

Hand carving fittings can take anywhere from 10 to 100 hours, depending on the size and style. It is a task that requires expert knowledge of the process and razor sharp tools.

Curved Stair Shopping Tips

When shopping for a curved stair ask questions:

• Have you made hand carved fittings on your curved stairs?
• How many hand carved fittings have you made for curved stairs?
• When are hand carved fittings needed in curved rails?

If they have never a hand carved a fitting and can't tell you when rails need to be hand carved, there is a fair chance you will end up with an odd looking railing. Hand carved fittings are in about 50% of the curved stairs we design and build. Some curved stairs have as many 3 in one curved railing section.