I’m planning on recreating some porch posts on a house I’m revitalizing.
Plan is to do a glue up and turn to match. I plan on using 3″x4″ Eastern White pine (available locally) for material. Four pieces glued to form a hollow box configuration. The 3×4 is rough dimension before planing. Planed to final dimension after glue up.
I will be constructing a lathe setup for a slow turn while the actual material removal will be done with a router. I saw this process somewhere but I’ll be darned if I can remember where.
Most important question I can think of is choice of glue. TB III, PL 400, or some sort of epoxy?
-Paul
Replies
I've been pretty impressed with TB3, and the new not poly Gorilla glue. Either should do. I'd also prime the insides of the box before you glue it up, just because you can.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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Thanks for the glue recommend. As for the paint, I've always had reservations about the back priming/ painting. I once saw a picnic table selfdistruct that had been painted all around. The moisture never had a way to get out. I do value your answer and will certainly keep it in mind.-PaulI've used the original Gorilla glue but not seen the "non poly" version.
Edited 11/13/2008 7:08 pm ET by OldGuy
Well, I've repaired a slew of porch posts/columns that had rot from the inside out, I attribute that to both lack of primer and no venting. Do as you wish, but white pine is pretty vulnerable.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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Yeah, I think the venting is the main cause of the rot. Posts on a job I did a few years ago had rotted at the bottoms. Old posts with hollow interiors. The porch deck had been replaced 40 years before and I'm guessing bottom venting had been eliminated.-Paul
Dwayne:
Can we talk about venting of posts? How much venting is necessary? I have a project I'm working on right now and I was wondering about that. I provided a little ventilation at the bottom but was wondering if I might want to bore a hole near the tops and install some kind of round vent like maybe something like this. These are the columns I'm using - they happen to be the 8x8s, and I'm trimming them out with PVC. Thoughts?
BTW - just so this post won't be a total hijack, the laminated posts I linked to are clued with a dark reddish brown glue. I forget what it is called but it has been around for decades.
Just curious why you are using hollow posts to begin with? Why not start w/PT 6x6 and pack out with 3/4 or 5/4 PT. Then skin with PVC. No one sees the insides anyway and you don't EVER need to worry about venting (or rot).
You ever see a 6x6 stay straight? I'd rather a cylinder or lam. for a post.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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The last ones I rebuilt, were Doric columns with the funny base, stacked cove and torus atop a sq. I set the SQ. atop 4 corners of azek (3/4") and the tops were open thru the capitals on the inside, and lead flashed outside.
Them puck vents are cool, if you can make them hidden as best as you can, I hate seeing them.
The glue you are thinking of is resorcinal, nasty hard and brittle, bad on tools, and just a PITA compared to the newer resins.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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titebond 3 is fine for this. Epoxy is tough on the tool edges. Even carbide.
Consider knocking off the corners at a 45 deg. on a table saw, making an octagonal post, before you start turning. It'll go much faster.
Looks like TB 3 gets the nod.-Paul
This doesn't answer your question but I thought I'd share some information when I had to turn some very large columns.
I made a "lathe" by using an aluminum ladder in a horizontal position supported by saw horses. I built a "headstock" and a "tailstock" out of plywood. They were free to slide on the rails of the ladder to adjust to the length of the log. The tailstock had a side-to-side adjustment so I could taper the columns. In between the head and tail I built a plywood sliding carriage that held my router.
I turned a 12' and a 9' column so the pine logs I started with were pretty big. Since these weren't intended to be fancy finished-looking columns I was not concerned with the inevitable checks and cracks that developed. Since the logs were so heavy to begin with I did not try to build a system for rotating them for lathe work. Instead, I screwed a plywood disk centered on one end of the log with the circle divided up by lines every 5 degrees.
In use, I clamped the disk to the headstock, set the tailstock taper, then ran the router carriage down the length of the ladder with a 1" diameter router bit, then rotated the disk 5 degrees and repeated. The logs came out faceted but that was ok because they were supposed to look like a large ship's mast. I cleaned up the swirl marks from the router bit on each facet with a hand plane and put a spar varnish finish on them while they were still on the lathe. When the logs dried out and checked, I filled the cracks with a dark brown caulk and made brass hoops to go around the masts. They ended up looking quite convincing.
Obviously, you'll have to engineer some way to turn your stock but in my case the router turned out to make quick work of the stock removal.
Good luck.
Good post.
I'd add that I have had excellent results with a simple spring pole lathe, if a proper shade tree and over head branch is not available, a springy stick clamped to an overhead joist is quick and dirty.
I worked on a Great Wheel lathe at Col. Will'msbugh...now that was fun..I also made a treadle lathe that about shook it self apart..spring pole and rope is actually fast, and I never liked the router as a cutter..due to the inherent 'Production" aspect, for me, turning is a quiet , contemplative time, away from screaming noise.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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They kill Prophets, for Profits.
BRING BACK SPLINTY.
Spring pole lathe?-Paul
http://www.historicgames.com/lathes/springpole.html
Thanks Jer, neat site!-Paul
Sounds pretty interesting. Did you happen to take any pictures? -Paul