Part sculpture and part engineering, making a custom staircase demands a special combination of talents. A custom stairmaker's tools include infinite patience and uncanny precision as much as chisels and saws; imagination and vision as much as clamps and drafting pencils. These are the tools with which Tom Dahlke works. At North Fork Woodworks, all stairs are one of a kind and made to order.

Here is a small sample of Dahlke's stair work.

An all red-oak staircase off the kitchen in a contemporary home.