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How to make your own peace pole

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Choosing Wood

6/30/2017

4 Comments

 
What kind of wood? Treated or untreated? Clear or construction grade?

In lumber, the word "clear" means "without knots." How important this is varies depending on your project and whether you are free to sift through the pile of lumber at the lumber yard looking for the best piece. If you are applying plaques to the pole, knots are okay.

If you are carving your peace pole, you must get wood that is clear, at least in the section to be carved. If you are painting it, a few knots might not be a problem, depending on where they are and how big they are. Knots are the first thing to deteriorate as the pole weathers. Knots expand and contract differently than the surrounding wood and can fall out leaving a hole. If that knot is in the middle of the "a" in peace, it might not be the effect you want.

Cedar is a common choice for peace poles because it resists rot and bugs so well. But you have to be careful of clerks in home improvement stores who sometimes casually refer to their wood as cedar when it only is pine. Real cedar is more expensive. Especially if it is smooth cut and clear.

Most people in construction want cedar that is rough and full of knots because that is the look they are seeking and so that is what lumbar yards mostly stock. It can take some searching to find smooth, clear cedar. 

Depending on your project you might not need smooth cut. Getting it smooth cut can cost 4 or 5 times more because of the nature of cedar. Cedar trees have lots of small branches growing from every area of the trunk, which is why they make good Christmas trees. So cedar naturally has lots of knots.

However, at the time of this writing, a rough cut 6 by 6 that is 10 feet long, which is the size I recommend for peace poles, is $60 most places. If you are painting the text on your peace pole, find someone with a belt sander, or rent one for $5 a day from a tool rental, and belt sand just the area where the text will be. That will make a nice frame for your text.

I recommend getting a 6 by 6 post 10 feet long and burying 2 feet of it. Peace poles should have stature equal to the message. It takes a certain amount of size to achieve that.

* * *

By the way, what is smoother and clearer than cedar, usually less expensive, can last even longer and is more environmentally friendly than cedar? Redwood, a wood that is politically incorrect and could result in my being harassed for mentioning it. Cedar is cut from virgin forests in Canada. Redwood comes from a tree farm in California that is the size of the state of Ohio. That farm was planted in order to raise redwood as a crop to be sold as lumber and then replanted - a sustainable forest. But redwood is a hot button that causes politically correct hackers to damage your website and send nasty emails. So everyone uses cedar. 
4 Comments
Tiffany Locke link
1/17/2018 11:57:10 pm

I like that you mention looking through the timber at the lumber yard in order to find the best piece. In order to do this, you'd probably want to make sure you find one that is local so that you can get there easily from your home and bring the wood back. If you look online, you'd probably be able to find a good lumber yard which can provide you with quality wood and give you the chance to search through the different options so you can find something that will work for the project you're working on.

Reply
Joel
1/18/2018 09:50:30 am

Thanks for your thoughts on that.

Reply
Dale
2/12/2019 05:50:40 am

Should the posts be treated, or is that just a given?

Reply
Joel link
2/12/2019 09:26:35 am

If it is real cedar, it will last a long time without treatment, but you could treat it like an unpainted deck is treated, as I believe it says somewhere on this site.
If it is just construction pine, it actually is difficult to find those that have not been treated because they almost always are used for decks and porches and gazebos that are outdoors.

Reply



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    Author - Joel

    In the beginning I painted text on wood. Eventually I chose the longevity of limestone, stainless steel and copper. But how I painted text on wood I share here.

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  • Home
    • Stainless 4x4 Peace Pole
    • Lattice Cap Peace Pole
    • More about Joel Selmeier's Peace Poles
  • Contact
  • Peace, Dude (Blog)
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  • Other Sculpture