What to build a Interior Square Column o
I will be building a set of interior square columns that will be non-load bearing, and will consist of a post and lintel. I planned to paint them white but may consider finishing the wood depending on what I use. The span of the lintel will be ~10’ and have one full column in the middle and 2 half columns on the ends. I’m curious about the best material to use for this; Veneered Plywood, MDF, or Hardwood? If I were to use hardwood, what species? Poplar comes to mind because if price and the fact that it would be painted.
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The advantage I saw to sheet goods was price and consistency, the disadvantage being limited to a 8’ seamless section.
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I‘d appreciate any suggestions on materials and construction techniques.
Replies
Poplar takes paint well, and, like you said, has advantage over sheet goods that will have a seam. If using sheet goods, I would go with MDO (medium density overlay), as it takes paint real well. Just a thought, but you could make a frame and cover it with drywall--no visible seems and drywall is cheap.
Somebody else mentioned that with MDF or MDO I could tape the seams, plaster the seam and sand it out. I've never seen MDO at the Borg's; do they sell it there?
I've never seen it at the Lowes/Home Depot type places, if that's what Borg's is. May need to be special ordered. You may try contacting a local sign shop, as they may use it and know of a source.
Seams? My sheet good supplier stocks 5' x 16' mdf from 1/2" to 2" thick.
Any lumber yard can order it in
some plywood suppliers also sell mdf in 5x10' sheets so the seam may not have to be an issue.
Tom
Douglasville, GA
I did a bunch of columns a few years ago out of MDF. they were about 8" x8", but only 5' high. I did a lock miter joint which greatly helped during glue up, as it makes the miters self-aligning.
Time to demonstrate my ignorance...
What is a "lock miter joint" ?" If I were a carpenter"
Its kind of hard to describe, but its made with a router or shaper bit designed just for that purpose. You run 1/2 of the joint with your board flat on the table, and the other 1/2 verticle, against the fence. It makes an interlocking joint, that, if set up right, aligns the miters perfectly and gives a lot of glue surface.
Its kind of a pain to set up, especially the first time, but once you've got it, assembling the posts is a snap. You just need lots of clamps.
Mark
Here is a picture of a Freud locking miter bit.
Other router bit manufactures make them as well. And they are a pain to set up, at least the first time.
Doug
good grief - i bought a locking miter for my shaper- for the same purpose interior posts- i could have hand carved the things out of a log faster than trying to set up that thing- any tips on set up other than buying set-up blocks- is it just me or has anyone else fought to align one of these beasts
It took me over an hour to set it up the first time. Good thing I'm stubborn, or I might have given up. It is pretty finicky, but worth it. Took me forever to figure out which way to move the fence and bit to make things fit.
I made a couple of set-up blocks so I can reduce the set-up time. It still takes a while, but much faster than the first time.