Step by step woodyworking

Three Quarter Turned Columns

Making a bunch of columns is always fun if youre like me, the one watching ... And, according to Will, if you are turning them too. I think I got burned out on the thousand or so chair legs and stretchers I turned when I was starting out as a furniture maker and thought I wanted to be a Windsor chair maker ... I like to turn still occasionally, but Will is soooo good at it that he just does it ... It helps to have the Vega, which he has tuned to deliver superior results in amazingly short order. Click the pictures to enlarge them ...
We got some excellent .dxf files from the architect/designer which, after deleting the dimensions, went right into our cnc toolpathing program so Trevor could cut the template for the duplicator on the cnc. Slick.
After a little brainstorming and sketching we came up with the jig to remove the quarter section that you see in the top photo.
This picture shows the smooth cut Will gets right off the diamond tool on the duplicator.
He then removes the duplicator and hand turns the final details with traditional chisels, giving them their handturned look.
We thought we could make hollow columns as there is no 12/4 white oak available that I could find, but in the end, we made them solid with core wood added to the inside.
There are 8 columns in white oak, 6" in diameter at the large point ... Its gonna take a lot of wood ...