Turning project: Architectural columns

I recently accepted a project to turn 3 columns for a house in Seattle that was more than 100-years old.  The surviving column was of red cedar, and measured 5.5” by 5.5” by 60 inches long.  Fortunately, my lathe can turn 24-inches by 66-inches long.

I contacted a local lumber dealer that specializes in red cedar and they agreed to cut some logs to the dimensions I needed…for $175.00. 

 

columns-project

 

I set the timber up on the lathe, located the exact center on both ends and marked the centers.  On one end I screwed on a 4-inch diameter face plate using 8 screws, and used a center punch to mark the other end for a live center. 

Silvia and I mounted the timber on the lathe between the spindle and the tailstock, adjusted the speed to 800 RPM (no vibration) and adjusted the tool rest.

 

columns-project-2

 

Accuracy is critical because I am making a reproduction…so I transferred dimensions (distance and diameters) from the sample (old) column to the timber in increments .  I go for one feature at a time, turning a band,  bead or on ovulo as we go. 

Because Cedar is a soft wood, I had to be very careful not to tear away any of the wood with an aggressive or uncontrolled cut.  Even a sharp gouge left a very rough surface….arrgh!!  So what to do?  The best tool for this occasion was my 1 3/8” Alan Lacer skew.

Red Cedar is a very abrasive wood, which demanded frequent sharpening.  Many many many checks with tape measure, 6-“ rule and calipers allowed me to create 3 reproduction columns in 9-hours. 

Putting them side-by-side, any slight differences are negligible, and when installed 8-feet apart they look identical !!!

 

columns-project-1

 

A demanding, and very satisfying project. 

The customer was happy and I was happy for a difficult job that turned out well, keeping in mind that only one mistake means that the valuable wood was useless….we can’t put the wood back!!!

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Capt. Jack Wayne 

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501 comments

David Clover

I always believed cold wallets were the safest way to store crypto. That belief was shattered when I mistakenly reset my device and lost access to over $179,000 worth of Bitcoin and USDC. I had backed up the seed phrase, or so I thought, but during the reset, I realised the backup was incomplete. I couldn’t access my funds, and panic set in.
After days of trying to recover access on my own, I turned to forums and online resources. That’s when someone recommended Morphohack, a cyber recovery service specialising in blockchain forensics and crypto recovery. The team at Morphohack was calm and professional. They analysed my case and used specialised tools to trace my transactions and reconstruct the wallet environment. To my disbelief, they managed to recover access to my assets and $179,000 returned safe and secure.
It was a huge relief like getting a second chance. I’ve since doubled down on secure backups and proper key management. But if you ever face a loss like mine, don’t assume it’s permanent. Morphohack gave me hope when I had none, and they delivered results when no one else could. Their email. Morphohack@cyberservices. com

David Clover

I always believed cold wallets were the safest way to store crypto. That belief was shattered when I mistakenly reset my device and lost access to over $179,000 worth of Bitcoin and USDC. I had backed up the seed phrase, or so I thought, but during the reset, I realised the backup was incomplete. I couldn’t access my funds, and panic set in.
After days of trying to recover access on my own, I turned to forums and online resources. That’s when someone recommended Morphohack, a cyber recovery service specialising in blockchain forensics and crypto recovery. The team at Morphohack was calm and professional. They analysed my case and used specialised tools to trace my transactions and reconstruct the wallet environment. To my disbelief, they managed to recover access to my assets and $179,000 returned safe and secure.
It was a huge relief like getting a second chance. I’ve since doubled down on secure backups and proper key management. But if you ever face a loss like mine, don’t assume it’s permanent. Morphohack gave me hope when I had none, and they delivered results when no one else could. Their email. Morphohack@cyberservices. com

David Clover

I always believed cold wallets were the safest way to store crypto. That belief was shattered when I mistakenly reset my device and lost access to over $179,000 worth of Bitcoin and USDC. I had backed up the seed phrase, or so I thought, but during the reset, I realised the backup was incomplete. I couldn’t access my funds, and panic set in.
After days of trying to recover access on my own, I turned to forums and online resources. That’s when someone recommended Morphohack, a cyber recovery service specialising in blockchain forensics and crypto recovery. The team at Morphohack was calm and professional. They analysed my case and used specialised tools to trace my transactions and reconstruct the wallet environment. To my disbelief, they managed to recover access to my assets and $179,000 returned safe and secure.
It was a huge relief like getting a second chance. I’ve since doubled down on secure backups and proper key management. But if you ever face a loss like mine, don’t assume it’s permanent. Morphohack gave me hope when I had none, and they delivered results when no one else could. Their email. Morphohack@cyberservices. com

David Clover

I always believed cold wallets were the safest way to store crypto. That belief was shattered when I mistakenly reset my device and lost access to over $179,000 worth of Bitcoin and USDC. I had backed up the seed phrase, or so I thought, but during the reset, I realised the backup was incomplete. I couldn’t access my funds, and panic set in.
After days of trying to recover access on my own, I turned to forums and online resources. That’s when someone recommended Morphohack, a cyber recovery service specialising in blockchain forensics and crypto recovery. The team at Morphohack was calm and professional. They analysed my case and used specialised tools to trace my transactions and reconstruct the wallet environment. To my disbelief, they managed to recover access to my assets and $179,000 returned safe and secure.
It was a huge relief like getting a second chance. I’ve since doubled down on secure backups and proper key management. But if you ever face a loss like mine, don’t assume it’s permanent. Morphohack gave me hope when I had none, and they delivered results when no one else could. Their email. Morphohack@cyberservices. com

David Clover

I always believed cold wallets were the safest way to store crypto. That belief was shattered when I mistakenly reset my device and lost access to over $179,000 worth of Bitcoin and USDC. I had backed up the seed phrase, or so I thought, but during the reset, I realised the backup was incomplete. I couldn’t access my funds, and panic set in.
After days of trying to recover access on my own, I turned to forums and online resources. That’s when someone recommended Morphohack, a cyber recovery service specialising in blockchain forensics and crypto recovery. The team at Morphohack was calm and professional. They analysed my case and used specialised tools to trace my transactions and reconstruct the wallet environment. To my disbelief, they managed to recover access to my assets and $179,000 returned safe and secure.
It was a huge relief like getting a second chance. I’ve since doubled down on secure backups and proper key management. But if you ever face a loss like mine, don’t assume it’s permanent. Morphohack gave me hope when I had none, and they delivered results when no one else could. Their email. Morphohack@cyberservices. com

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