Turning Porch Posts

A couple of months ago I was commissioned to turn 9 porch posts for a restoration project in
Historic St. Elmo here in Chattanooga,TN.
The first thing I had to do was to lengthen my lathe bed. My shop was designed just for this.
The posts in line with my lathe are embeded in a 5’ x 6’ x 20” deep concrete slab.
The over head trolly system is built onto these posts.
I went to a steel shop and bought 2 – 4×8 x 1/2” angles 66” long ($300)
and had plates welded to the ends and drilled to match the bolt holes of the lathe.
With the 18” extension this gives me 9’ 6” between centers.
The blanks were glued up of popular and planed to just under 4 7/8” square.
First step is to create the pattern for the Vega duplicator. The design was modified from the original post.
Mark the location of the shoulders then align the duplicator and adjust the pattern. Saw inside these lines. Turn to round and cut the shoulders then rough out with the Vega. The duplicator does a good job of profiling the design. To dampen vibration I filled the cavity of the Vega with playsand.
Sharp tools and sandpaper finish the job.
Each post took about 6 hours to complete.
If anyone is interested, I am puting together a book with complete diagrams of my shop and lathe set up. Included will be several articles on millwork for the small shop. Check out my website for pictures of other projects. chattmill.com
Dan Katz
Chattanooga Millworks

-- VillageCarver,Chattanooga