For architects, joiners & heritage contractors
The turned parts of an interior, matched to what is already there.
Newel caps, finials, terminals, corbels, bosses, domes and mounting blocks — turned to your drawing, or copied from the one that broke. Send a photograph with a rule in it and we can work from that.
Send a photo or drawing → Sizes we can turn- Minimum orderOne piece. A single missing cap is a real order.
- From a photographNo drawing needed — a rule or a coin in frame is enough.
- Every sizeFrom a small turned cap to full-length spindles and complete newel posts.
- Made inBirmingham, England, at 9 Milk Street.
What this workshop is for
One part is missing and nothing off the shelf fits it.
That is almost always how these jobs start. A newel post cap has gone, a run of wooden stair spindles is three short, a wooden corbel under a mantel has split, a boss or a finial has been knocked off — and the profile was turned by somebody in 1890 who was not working to a catalogue.
Farwinger turns replacements. We work from your original, from a profile rubbing, or from a photograph with a rule or a coin in shot, and we reproduce the shape in the species you need. That is why the workshop exists: it is a turning and machining shop that works to other people's drawings, and for architectural interiors that means the caps, terminals, finials, corbels, bosses, domes and short turned members that a joiner or a heritage contractor cannot buy.
We make the one part a staircase is missing, and we make whole staircases.
For a whole new staircase, see Staircases: we draw it, make it in our workshop and fit it on site, in the UK or abroad. If you want the one part that makes the existing flight whole again — or a run of oak stair spindles turned to a profile you have drawn rather than one somebody else chose — that is this page. Work goes to architects' practices, joinery contractors, heritage and listed-building contractors, and to homeowners with a Victorian staircase and a bag of broken pieces.
Specification
What we turn, and the sizes each piece is delivered in.
This is the table nobody in this trade publishes, and it is the one that saves everybody a fortnight. It covers everything from a small turned dome to a full 900 mm stair spindle and a complete newel post, with the size and the species for each, so you know exactly what you are ordering before you commit.
| Component | Typical size | In house? | Species | Route if it is over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newel caps, ball caps, post terminals | Up to 450 mm diameter; square internal sockets to 42–44 mm supplied as standard | Yes | Oak, walnut, pine from stock; other species to order | — |
| Finials — acorn, ball, spire, ogee, reeded | Up to 450 mm diameter, 70 mm deep from a single board; bored or spigoted | Yes | Oak, walnut, tulipwood, paintable softwood | — |
| Turned bosses, rosettes, dome caps, paterae | 32 mm to 450 mm diameter; runs of a hundred or more are normal | Yes | As above | — |
| Corbels and brackets | Bench size; turned elements to 450 mm diameter, carved or CNC-routed detail | Yes | Oak, softwood, any hardwood to order | — |
| Mounting blocks and sleeves | To ~700 mm long × 250 mm diameter, through-bored to your void size | Yes | Softwood or hardwood | — |
| Stair spindles and balusters — short | Up to 700 mm long, ⌀50–80 mm minimum over length | Yes | Oak, ash, pine, walnut | — |
| Stair spindles — full length (900 mm / 1,100 mm landing) | 900 mm, or 1,100 mm at a landing | No | As specified | Full length, or as a matched run with a concealed joint where the design allows |
| Newel posts, full height | Typically 90 × 90 mm × 1,200 mm and up | No | As specified | Square section made up and dressed with a turned cap, or turned in one piece |
| Columns and large plain cylinders | Over 700 mm long or over 250 mm diameter | Partly | Ply core with real-wood veneer, or solid hardwood to order | Cored and veneered — usually the better build at large section: stable, lighter, and it will not check the way solid hardwood does |
Two more numbers worth knowing before you draw. Blank thickness comes in multiples of 70 mm, so ⌀66 is the practical ceiling from a single board and a fatter section needs a same-species glue-up, which is a real extra operation. And a slender member over a long run chatters: under about ⌀50–80 mm over length it can be turned, but not easily — so keep slender details short and near a centre, or expect the difficulty in the price. Dimensions here are given in millimetres; imperial equivalents are on every quotation, and inches are the default on US enquiries.
Actual orders, not a wish list
Architectural work that has left this bench.
Described by what was made rather than by who bought it — we do not publish a client's name without asking them first.
- A London joinery contractor — bored oak finial spheres 97 mm diameter × 95 mm high in European oak, with a 12 mm through bore and a 25 mm × 15 mm counterbore, sanded and supplied unfinished, to a controlled drawing revision.
- The same contractor — reeded cover finials, turned cross-grain 75 mm diameter × 30 mm deep with a 4 mm reeded profile and a 55 mm × 10 mm recess to the reverse. Turned cross-grain so the reeding runs true and concentric across the face rather than wandering with the grain — the sort of decision that separates a part that fits from a part that is nearly right.
- A joinery and shopfitting contractor — post terminals A solid paintable softwood sphere at 270 mm and a hemisphere at 350 mm, each with a 42–44 mm internal square bore and flat ends, so they seat straight onto a square post.
- An architects' practice — sloped-ceiling mounting blocks A pair of turned softwood blocks, 200 mm long × 150 mm diameter with a 70 mm through-void, for a 45-degree ceiling. Turned deliberately over length so the 45-degree seating cut could be made on site against the real ceiling rather than against a drawing of it.
- A furniture and cabinet workshop — 180 domes at 32 mm African walnut, two batches of ninety, to the client's drawing. Small repeated turned elements at volume are ordinary work here, not a special.
Recent work
Architectural components, in place.
Photographs of caps, finials, corbels and turned members made for interiors.
Matching
Send the broken one. It comes back with the new ones.
Copying an existing profile is the commonest job on this page, and the least complicated. Three things make it accurate, in order of usefulness:
| What you send | How good it is | What we still need from you |
|---|---|---|
| The original piece | Best. Nothing is inferred. | Nothing — it is returned with the new parts. |
| A profile rubbing plus a photograph | Very good. A pencil rubbing of the section gives the curve directly. | Overall length and the largest diameter. |
| A photograph with a rule or coin in frame | Good. The scale object is what makes it usable. | Take it square-on, not at an angle; one detail shot of the crispest bead. |
| A drawing or CAD file | Good for new work. Exact by definition. | Species, finish, quantity, and any bore or fitting. |
| A photograph with nothing for scale | Workable but slow — we will come back asking for a dimension. | One measurement, anywhere on the piece. |
For heritage and listed work we reproduce from samples, rubbings or photographs, and we will tell you where a modern species will not behave like the original one. Where a run has to look consistent rather than identical — a stair with four replacement spindles among twenty originals — say so, because it changes how the new ones are finished.
Send a photo and get a fixed price →Related
Where to go next.
Straight answers
What people ask before they send the broken one.
Can you make a replacement newel cap from a photograph?
Yes, and it is one of the commonest jobs here. Photograph it square-on with a rule or a coin in frame so the scale is unambiguous, and add one measured dimension if you can. Caps, ball caps and post terminals are well inside the workshop's capacity — up to 450 mm in diameter, with a square internal socket bored to suit your post.
Can you turn full-length stair spindles?
Yes. Standard 900 mm spindles and 1,100 mm landing spindles, full length, or with a concealed joint on the longest runs where the design allows. The price and the finish are on the quotation before you commit.
Do you make newel posts?
Yes, and the caps and terminals. A full-height newel post at 90 × 90 mm and 1,200 mm or more is made up in square section and dressed with a turned cap, or turned in one piece. Newel cladding to box in an existing post is straightforward bench work. Tell us which of the three you want and we will price that one. For a whole new staircase, see Staircases.
Will four new spindles match twenty old ones?
They will match the profile. Whether they match the colour depends on what you want — a new oak spindle will always start lighter than a century of wax and daylight. Say at quote stage whether you want them supplied bare for your own finisher to blend, or finished here to a sample you send. Blending on site against the real staircase usually gives the better result.
Do you work on listed buildings?
We make components for them. Reproducing balusters, newel caps, glazing bars and decorative mouldings from samples, rubbings or photographs is normal work here, and precision on the profile is the whole job. We can fit what we make on site; consents stay with you and your conservation officer, and we work to their specification.
What is the minimum order?
One piece. A single missing finial is a real order. There is a minimum bespoke order charge on very small items, which covers setting up for a shape that has not been turned here before, and several pieces can usually be supplied within it — so ask before you reduce the quantity.
Which timbers can I have?
Oak, walnut and pine are held in stock at the workshop. Ash, tulipwood, sapele, beech, mahogany and most other commercial species are bought in for the job — which is a real lead time and, for an unusual species, a real minimum purchase, so we quote the actual buy rather than a notional rate per cubic metre. We will not substitute a species without telling you.
Do I get to see it before it is made?
Yes, where the shape is not obvious from the drawing. You get a rendered visualisation of the part with a familiar object in frame for scale, free and with no obligation, before anything is cut. A physical prototype is a separate priced stage and is generally only worth it on a long run or a detail nobody has made before.
How long does it take?
Turned components typically run two to three weeks from approval. A batch or a matched run is quoted with its own date, agreed before you commit. If a date is going to slip you are told before the date, not after it.
Send the broken one.
Or a photograph of it with a rule in frame. Either is enough to price from, and neither costs anything.
- Fixed written price, normally within two working days
- A free visualisation before you commit — no charge, no obligation
- Minimum order one piece
- Full length or full height, with the price and what you get on the quotation
Farwinger Limited, 123-131 Bradford Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B12 0NS. Registered in England and Wales, company 16047814.