I have created several videos showcasing my architectural turnings. In this particular video I am turning large columns in poplar. These 8 inch columns were ordered by a customer in South Florida. He went on to make a large four poster bed for a customer of his.

These columns are hollow as you may notice. I first glued up eight pieces into an octagon and then put plywood caps on the ends. After the hollow octagon is turned, I then set the machine up for milling. This particular milling pattern is called a rope twist. It looks like rope, yes? The diameter of the rope cutter is 3 inches. On this particular column we are making three starts. That means, that the milling unit has to make three passes to complete the column.

There were other parts that I made for this bed but I thought I would make a video of the most interesting part of the project.

The young man in the image below is my youngest son. Yes he got a call when I was snapping the picture.

The poplar was going to be stained for the finished bed. The green tint in poplar is neutralized by the red color in the stain. Poplar is used extensively by the large furniture manufacturers. They are able to make it look like the more expensive woods such as cherry.

I never got to see the final bed that these were turned for. The cabinet guy in Florida had quite a lot to do as well with the head and foot boards, crown mouldings and caps for these columns.

The image below is another fluted column crafted for as interior house column. It is about 7 inches at the squares and about 8 feet long.

My rope twsited 8 inch columns

The two images above are 7-8 ft fluted poplar columns made for interior use in a home.