[patrickwebb]

I am trying to wrap up the construction of my HT. All trim is painted and ready for installation, just needed to come up with the decorative columns. I called Home Depot and they wanted around $36 for a 6" wide 3/4" thick fluted column, plus, they were special order and would take 14 days. I would had to buy 9, so it wasn't going to be cheap if I went that route. I have a couple sheets of 3/4" MDF left over, so I decided to make my own. All I needed was a $20 3/4" cove router bit and I was ready to start fluting...


I had a good architectual trimwork book that had a section on decorative columns. In it, there was a layout for a 7 1/4" wide column with 7 flutes, but I wanted it with 6 flutes, so I just removed an inch off the layout. I will have crown, chair rail, and base on the wall with the columns, and the crown and base will be wrapped around the columns. Because of this, the flutes needed to stop 1" from the molding pieces.


I made 2 jig stops to accomplish this and just clamped them down for each cut. I also realized that after one pass and flipping the board around to make the mirrored pass, I would need a 2nd set of jig stops, due to the difference in top and bottom of the column...

http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5842.sized.jpg


I also screwed down to scrap pieces to support the columns...

http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5841.sized.jpg


I actually started the cutting the night before in the garage, but it was such a mess that I decided to wait until Sunday to do all the cutting outside on my driveway. First cut...

http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5856.sized.jpg


I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHEN CUTTING MDF. I wore a filtered breathing mask and tight saftey glasses. You can see how much of a mess this made! The fine dust was everywhere, except my lungs...

http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5863.sized.jpg


I forgot to mention that the rear corner columns are actually 2 pieces that are joined with a dado joint...

http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5847.sized.jpg


The hardest part of the job was the planning and setup. After figuring out the jigs and then making quite a few cuts on some scrap, I got the hang of it. I pretty much spent about 16 hours total on the planning and cutting. Here are the finished shots, now I just need to paint them!...

http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5868.sized.jpg
http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5871.sized.jpg
http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5870.sized.jpg

 

[DWhite]

Looks great so far. I am sure you will keep us posted on the progress. Pics like this really help me get an idea for the things I will need to do when I am in the process of moving forward on my room.


Thanks,


DWhite

 

[siropa]

Awesome work. I'm planning on having about the same number of flutted boards as you do and have been dreading the thought of doing them. Did you come up with the jig on your own or was that from some plan?

 

[CptnRandy]

Hey, looking great!


Seems vaguely familiar . . .

 

[skyman00]

Patrick-

I too was working on my columns this weekend (nothing as fancy as yours).

Yours are turning out very nice! -j

 

[Fatman513]

Make sure you use a decent primer before painting the MDF.


One trick I use with MDF is to put a coat of drywall mud on the edges before priming, and in your case also the flutes, let it dry and then give it a light sanding. That will give you a nice smooth finish in the end.

 

[patrickwebb]

Quote:

Originally posted by siropa Awesome work. I'm planning on having about the same number of flutted boards as you do and have been dreading the thought of doing them. Did you come up with the jig on your own or was that from some plan?

Basically, i just measured the distance from the edge of the router bit to the outside of my router and subtracted that number from the distance of the height of the molding pieces plus 1".


Randy, did you do your own columns as well?

 

[patrickwebb]

Quote:

Originally posted by Fatman513 Make sure you use a decent primer before painting the MDF. One trick I use with MDF is to put a coat of drywall mud on the edges before priming, and in your case also the flutes, let it dry and then give it a light sanding. That will give you a nice smooth finish in the end.

Nice tip, i will have to try that, thanks!

 

[CptnRandy]

Quote:

Originally posted by patrickwebb Randy, did you do your own columns as well?

Nope - was planning on purchasing round or half round columns. My contractor and I came up with the idea and the cabinet guys build them to order.


Randy

 

[Gerry S]

Randy:


What material was used for your columns? They don't appear to be MDF.


-Gerry

 

[CptnRandy]

Nope - they're made of poplar, just like the rest of the trim.


Randy

 

[brickie]

Very nice woodworking!!! Actually my second hobby of sorts aside from home theater and AVS.


brickie

 

[patrickwebb]

Quote:

Originally posted by brickie Very nice woodworking!!! Actually my second hobby of sorts aside from home theater and AVS. brickie

Thanks Brickie, well, hopefully when I get this HT done, I can get my planned workshop sorted and do some more woodworking myself.

 

[Gerry S]

Patrick:


Did you build a jig to evenly space the grooves across the column? Or did you just use the edge guide on your router? They look great.


-Gerry

 

[suffolk112000]

Patrick,


Your columns look great. I thought about going your route but I am going to have round columns in my theater.


Craig

 

[patrickwebb]

Quote:

Originally posted by Gerry S Patrick: Did you build a jig to evenly space the grooves across the column? Or did you just use the edge guide on your router? They look great. -Gerry

I used the edge guide on my cuts.

 

[Rutgar]

Looks good.


How many router bits did you go through, on all of that MDF?

 

[patrickwebb]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rutgar Looks good. How many router bits did you go through, on all of that MDF?

One did the job.

 

[patrickwebb]

 http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5923.sized.jpg
http://thewebbspot.com/stl-web/galle...5934.sized.jpg

 

[brickie]

That is reall ylookin gsweet man!!!More inspiration for me!


brickie