Anyone have any advice for building tapered craftsman style exterior columns for a front porch. I am looking to build the pvc column on a stone base around a 6X6 pt post. I am not exactly sure what would be the best way to cut and build the tapered column. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Andy
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Use a saw guide ( Festool, EZ Smart, DeWalt, etc.) to make the first side. Be very careful and accurate.
Use the first side as a template for the other 3, and, using a router and a template bit, cut the 3 other pieces.
Then assemble.
Or make a template first, and use that as a pattern for all 4 pieces. That might work better, since you can so how the column template looks in place, before you cut any of the finish material.
Are you planning on mitering the corners, or using butt joints? If butt joints, you can go right from the cutting, to assembly. If you want miters, you'll have to mill them either in the first cutting stage, by setting your saw at a 45* bevel. Or, after you've got all your panels cut to size, use a 45* miter bit in your router with a guide, or better yet, in a router table.
Andy, I used Sketchup and did a quick workup of a tapered cladding around a length of 6x6.
You can see in the sketch, which includes "Brian," how it scales. The 3/4 thick boards are tight at the top, and spread 2 inches away at the bottom.
Making pyramidal shapes like this with boards, always will involve some trig to figure the angle of the cut you'll need to make the joints mate well. That is true whether you miter them as shown, or butt them.
In this case, it is near 45, but not 45, and in fact is greater. That means your saw tilt will need to be 44 and something, under 45, and pretty close to it. To make the joint tight at the outside, you'll want to go just a scooch under the 45 stop, if your saw has one.
A test cut on some scrap will tell you if you have just gone a little under 45. For this degree of taper, an exact 45 would be OK, but anything greater is a no-no. The greater your taper, the more you go under 45 for the sawblade tilt and the cuts.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
Biscuit joining the corners is a common technique.
For a craftsman look; I'd do the taper with non mitered corners and have a 1/4-3/8 reveal on the sides parallel to the porch edge.
For the craftsman look, I would buy them from this source.
Lock mitered, just like on all the legs of the QS whiteoak Gustaf Stickley furniture inside.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
i don't trust miters for exterior trim and avoid them when possible
when you look at a lot of craftsman tapered columns you will find a lot are butted... and the taper very exagerated
if my structural column is a 4x4... that becomes the top of the taper... the bottom is everything i can fit on the pedestal / base
i like to make my pattern and glue / nail them up round-robin... so all 4 sides are identicalMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike,
I have to admit that I didn't figure that out until after I published an article on making tapered columns in FHB. I made the sides two different sizes...but then, I was thinking also that it would be easier to hide the butt joints from the front, but is that really a big issue? I don't think it's so important.
Here's a link to the article on my website. http://www.garymkatz.com/TrimTechniques/tapered_columns.htmlGary
Mike, I ain't a builder like you. Just a dabbler.
But my recommendation was for the fiberglass product with the lock miters. I do have some experience with fiberglass and adhesives.
If I had to do columns such as these in wood, I would go your route and use butt joints. Heart redwood, maybe. CVG western red cedar, as a second choice.
But as for my personal choice of material, I am a little partial to fiberglass.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
I bought my long (10') porch columns from Pacific, the source Gene recommended, Pacific Columns. They worked great and are wrapping 6X6's. They have a lock joint and we glued and nailed them. Had them up in no time. Added a 6" piece on the bottom to beef up the visual aspect.
For the shorter newel posted we field made those out of Azek (they wrap 4X4's) with a copper top. In the rear I'm going to come back and string some SS nautical wire.
Runnerguy
If using solid wood for the sides, and by solid I mean boards and not plywood, the butt joint way is likely best, and done so each side is identical. This, per Mr Mike Smith, who knows a thing or two, and builds near the ocean in the harsh climate of New England.
Cuts are done on the tablesaw with the blade at 90. Grain should be oriented as shown in this pic, so that your "show" edges are linear to graining, and not scarfed.
This time, I used a 4" offset at the base, off the 6x6 core post.
A good exterior species as I mention above, and biscuits, the glue being either an epoxy or urethane (Gorilla is a brand-named urethane), and an excellent prime and paint job, and you should be good to go.
I would want some kind of detail at the base so as to keep the end grain elevated a little, so as not to wick water.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
Edited 7/12/2009 12:29 pm ET by Gene_Davis
You said that you are mounting your column on a stone base. I presume then that the stone base is something like 4 feet high with the column extending to the porch roof beam?
If that's the case, you will want to make a cap atop the stone, a square frame sloped 5° or more to shed water like a window sill, on top of which your column will rest.
I made mine at a Habitat for Humanity project out of Azek corner trim with one side ripped to 2". I cut the miters with the pieces shimmed to the proper slope angle so the surfaces would match well when glued together.
Since the framing was not perfect, the posts were not quite aligned with the beams and not plumb either, so I made the tops of the columns a little oversized to allow some gap around the posts for adjustment.
most of the time .... especially with craftsman style, the columns get painted to match the trim... so we wouldn't use Azek......we'd use Miratec.. so the max base would be cut out of a 1x12
here's a job from 2000
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Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 7/12/2009 1:36 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 7/12/2009 1:37 pm ET by MikeSmith
Quick question- Is there a "traditional" proportion for the taper
in the craftsman style? As in the formal Greek proportions...
Yes. Perhaps something involving the Golden Mean or Golden Ratio. ?????The Woodshed Tavern Backroom
The Topics Too Hot For Taunton's Breaktime Forum Tavern
Well, I wasn't reading that much into it... To be honest many of the columns posted already need tweaking
(to my eye anyhow).
Whether or not it's esoteric or tradition there is a "proper" or
at least esthetically pleasing ratio to these things. I'm not learned in these matters but but have had to lay many
stone column bases on the fly because no one else took the time
or had the wherewithal to spec it before hand. Just trying to learn something here.
most times i use a 4x4 PT post and make my sleeve around that, using a 16x16 chimney block and limestone cap that the post rests on and cultured stone around the chimney blocks finishes the columns. 5 courses of block so the hand rail is tall enough and dives in underneath the cap.
all you need is one "pattern" piece, and overlap the one corner each piece all the way around, using a flush trim router bit and recutting each piece with the pattern laying on top.
then use 1x around the top,bottoms and sides to cover the corners, a very attractive column when all is said and done. sounds somewhat drawn out but now its cake and pie doing many.
Woods favorite carpenter
No. Craftsman style columns defy the neat formulas of the Greek and Roman orders. If you need anymore convincing check out:
http://www.amazon.com/500-Bungalows-Douglas-Keister/dp/1561588423/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242908990&sr=1-1
You'll see while all different, they all look great! Like the song says:
"There were short one's, tall one's, thin one's, round one's,....."
Runnerguy
"There were short one's, tall one's, thin one's, round one's,....."That bit of trivia was easy, and I didn't have to Google.Eric Burdon- "Spill The Wine"From Google:"There was black ones, round ones, big ones, crazy ones... "The Woodshed Tavern Backroom
The Topics Too Hot For Taunton's Breaktime Forum Tavern
We are in the process of restoring a 98-year old Ranger's House in preparation for it's 100th birthday. We are actually restoring it to what the CCCs remodeled it into in 1933, but that was the archeologists, and historians decision.
The tapered porch columns were all done with butt joints and finish nails. I'm not sure that was universal, but has been the method used on all three original craftsman style buildings I've been involved with.
An interesting feature I hadn't seen before was that the bottoms have a back bevel, to make a drip edge on the bottom.
Edited 7/13/2009 2:48 pm ET by Jigs-n-fixtures
Thanks for the advice. It looks like butt joints will be the better option but I think I will stick with making them from pvc trim. I noticed that on Gary Katz website he trimed the columns before the base. Is that the better way to go or just a matter of the porch not being poured yet?
Just a heads up but I have found BuildersFirstSource has pvc trim that is about half the price of Azek.
Another option: 6x6 posts wrapped w/ tapered Advantech covered with RC shingles, Azek bases, Miratec tops, concrete caps, on stone columns
View Imagehttp://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
are you the proud papa ?
looks nice and distinctiveMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I put it up for adoption... the child support was killing me LOLhttp://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
Sounds like you goy a plan. Mine are framed out using MDX exterior fibre board with concrete board for the interior panel. I built the bottoms then poured in place the concrete caps around a 4 x 4 post then framed in the rest.
All outside corners are done using a lock mitre router bit. It's been 5 years and nothing has opened up.