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.
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.
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 !!!
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!!!
Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive special member offers directly to your email.
Related Posts
How to fix a wood crack into a feature
How to choose the right lathe
1506 comments
https://github.com/henryjeff/portfolio-website/issues/16
https://github.com/Programming-from-A-to-Z/A2Z-F15/issues/30
https://github.com/defunkt/ambitious_activeldap/issues/14
https://github.com/openai/sparse_attention/issues/13
https://github.com/dashpradeep99/https-github.com-miguellgt-books/issues/6
https://github.com/HoyDiamond/DiamondSeo01/issues/1
https://github.com/cy4nguy/PythonSimpleKeylogger/issues/3
https://github.com/gzc/isystem/issues/1
https://herbertlawson034.raindrop.page/osdjosjdf-69090125
https://papaly.com/categories/share?id=0d084eedb53a4a2983abe670fb9fffdc
https://x.com/paticianita/status/2038495138495046096
https://x.com/paticianita/status/2038693752748003567
https://superprofile.bio/thelastduelep6
https://zyo.se/thelastduelep6
https://mlink.cc/bairitidengep8
https://superprofile.bio/bairitidengep8
https://zyo.se/bairitidengep10
https://mlink.cc/bairitidengep9
https://superprofile.bio/bairitidengeps10
https://superprofile.bio/rakhaklangeps1
https://mlink.cc/rakhaklangep1
https://superprofile.bio/korakmanpakjaiep17
https://mlink.cc/korakmanpakjaiep17
https://superprofile.bio/korakmanpakjaiep18
https://mlink.cc/korakmanpakjaiep18
https://gohan.readme.io/
https://mlink.cc/gohan
https://superprofile.bio/gohan2026
https://yai-speed-215.readme.io/
https://start.me/w/x5M6BD
https://contra.com/community/9Fk5AKO2
https://www.ths.ac.th/question/jasdnbasdjsd/
https://forum.phuongnamedu.vn/threads/iasjdioasd.307100/
https://www.tipga.com/e/69cb71ae3286fe2961353f0f
https://connect.usama.dev/posts/72362
https://multy.me/sDwOi
https://multy.me/cV8XJ
https://ok.ru/profile/910136721401/statuses/157340762177785
https://diendannhansu.com/threads/asdaoidadasd.916759/
https://prasatnas.com/posts/269435
https://www.twosapp.com/69cb74da2b6b41b7af377f3c
https://forums.siliconera.com/threads/aoishdoasdsa.156374/
https://community.wongcw.com/posts/1225814
https://tooter.in/herbertlawson034/posts/116322584637664579
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:dn5oxdqg3pvgevepoopsaf57/post/3midn7xvcsc2g
https://lebanonhub.app/posts/913099
https://chobaolam.vn/threads/akhdsniasdasd.867207/
https://hub.vroid.com/en/characters/6136789293045098989/models/7088966881562372148
https://tempel.in/view/LXp7vO
https://scrapbox.io/akskdnasdklasdasd/aosidiasdasd
https://chouseisan.com/s?h=adc9cd7d74b5483eb75549a2574285cd
https://nichey.net/post/349160_https-superprofile-bio-thelastduelep6-https-zyo-se-thelastduelep6-https-mlink-cc.html
https://matters.town/a/m9uymlft0ua3
https://businessboostier.mn.co/posts/100044824
https://medium.com/@herbertlawson034/sdfoijsdfosdf-ed845abdfd02
https://wokwi.com/projects/459993152709603329
https://github.com/henryjeff/portfolio-website/issues/16
https://github.com/Programming-from-A-to-Z/A2Z-F15/issues/30
https://github.com/defunkt/ambitious_activeldap/issues/14
https://github.com/openai/sparse_attention/issues/13
https://github.com/dashpradeep99/https-github.com-miguellgt-books/issues/6
https://github.com/HoyDiamond/DiamondSeo01/issues/1
https://github.com/cy4nguy/PythonSimpleKeylogger/issues/3
https://github.com/gzc/isystem/issues/1
https://github.com/henryjeff/portfolio-website/issues/16
https://github.com/Programming-from-A-to-Z/A2Z-F15/issues/30
https://github.com/defunkt/ambitious_activeldap/issues/14
https://github.com/openai/sparse_attention/issues/13
https://github.com/dashpradeep99/https-github.com-miguellgt-books/issues/6
https://github.com/HoyDiamond/DiamondSeo01/issues/1
https://github.com/cy4nguy/PythonSimpleKeylogger/issues/3
https://github.com/gzc/isystem/issues/1
https://github.com/henryjeff/portfolio-website/issues/16
https://github.com/Programming-from-A-to-Z/A2Z-F15/issues/30
https://github.com/defunkt/ambitious_activeldap/issues/14
https://github.com/openai/sparse_attention/issues/13
https://github.com/dashpradeep99/https-github.com-miguellgt-books/issues/6
https://github.com/HoyDiamond/DiamondSeo01/issues/1
https://github.com/cy4nguy/PythonSimpleKeylogger/issues/3
https://github.com/gzc/isystem/issues/1