Hi Roger

I don't know about all the trouble to turn hollow posts. We have an old
farmhouse in eastern PA, built ca. 1800-1830. There are square posts on the
ground level and on a second floor porch that look to be original to the
house. On the front porch we took down last fall due to the roof falling
apart, the posts looked to have been installed ca. 1900, judging by their
style (Victorian) and by the house being purchased by a family which owned
it from 1901 to 1999. All the posts were solid, and all were in good shape
except for the half posts against the stone wall. There were a few mushy
sections, but they were small and easily fixed if I had wanted on the
Victorian posts. But, SWMBO wants square posts that are more in keeping
with the original style of the house. For the new front porch I am planning
on using Spanish cedar, which is available locally in 8/4, laminated to 16/4
and (gasp!) painted to match the rest of the trim on the house.

So, I guess my question is, how old are you now, and how long do you expect
to live after turning these posts? I am closing in on 50 years old, and if
I can turn some posts that I can reasonably expect to last the next 50
years, that is good enough for me. I figure I will either have enough money
to have someone else worry about it then, or I will be too feeble to care
(if indeed I live that long).

Also, if you are interested in some techniques for turning a long post, I
have a page on my personal site (URL below) with pictures detailing the
turning of a 14' sailboat mast between two lathes.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

--
Bill

Bill Grumbine
www.wonderfulwood.com
www.enter.net/~ultradad

"Roger" wrote in message
...
After six years the posts on our front porch need to go. Several are
rotting and the rest are coming apart where the sundry tiny scraps of wood
were finger jointed together to create something that mimicked a board.

Hollow or solid? I've read that columns should be hollow and vented top
and bottom to allow moisture to escape. These will be 5" x 5" X 96",
replacing the somewhat skimpy looking solid 4x4's. Is a hollow center a
good idea on posts of this size?

What wood? White pine seems to be the long time favorite around here
(Massachusetts). I've got a call in to a local sawmill for information on
their material. Any better choices? I don't much fancy turning knotty
wood--knots in softwood are like turning rocks. I priced western red cedar
this afternoon and while it was very nice, and I bought some to make some
garden ornaments for SWMBO it ran from $4.50-$6.50 a board foot for the OK
to really nice material. (It was even worse at the Despot, where the
"1X's" were barely a half inch thick and they don't stock 2X material. At
that price Teak or mahogany start to look competitive! --but painting them
would be painful. I'm *really* not anxious to turn treated SYP from the
Despot, but would like something more rot resistant the junk the cheapo
builder installed.

Thanks,
Roger