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Gothic Posts

24K views 28 replies 18 participants last post by  Mississippi 
#1 ·
Anyone know how to cut the gothic points or do any other type of nice fence posts tops? I own a fence company here in central Indiana and would like to be able to do this myself as the company I get my material from will only let me purchase these posts 12 at a time....usually 3 of them are so warped you cant use them. Besides I know it would save me money. Plus if I could do it myself I could reduce prices to get a job if I have to.
I know there is a machine out there to do this just cant find it...any ideas?
 
#8 ·
I dont see the challenge, I must be missing something. I would use a router for the concave neck and the band saw with some simple jig for mass production. Im sure the company you buy them from has a cnc machine and based on your time it might not be cost effective... but im not seeing something. I could see gothic post with gargoyles carved on top being something to scratch your head about. What am I not seeing explain?
 
#9 ·
there is some sort of machine out there that is made for cutting this shape....quickly. Of course I could cut it with a router and a band saw but it would take awhile. The machine out there will cut the notch and the point at the same time. I understand that you put the post in and pull the cutter down and it shapes it. You have to do it for all four sides but can do a post in about a minute or so...have searched and searched and cant find it out there...
 
#10 ·
Buy a cnc machine or maybe a carvewright its really sort of a simple desighn but if you want to spend the money to mass produce that post it wouldnt be difficult. You could have cutter knives made specifically for that shape. Or you could make a good jig and by a router bit. And tell a apprentice to spend the day makeing spear shaped fence post heads.
 
#11 ·
A topping machine is what you're looking for. Not sure of the correct name, but you can top one post, or 5 pickets at a time. Pull the cutter handle to make your top gothic, and push to form your concave part. Last time I researched them they went for close around $8-$10K, run on 3 phase, and you need an air source to clamp the material down.

Expensive, but if you're company is big enough, you can save big bucks on materials, plus you can cut custom pickets. The company I used to work for had one, and they had jigs set up for 6-8 different designs.

If you use Master Halco, I believe they may sell one.
 
#15 ·
I'd rough cut them on the bandsaw & then make a precise template outta mdf & use a router with a guide bushing for final cleanup. I've got a spiral bit for the router that's like 3" long so you could clean up at least 2 at a time & possibly 3. Wouldn't take but an hour to make the jig.

If you've got a 23 guage pinner that shoots long nails, you could pin 2-3 together & batch cut them on the bandsaw.
 
#16 ·
Gothic Fence Post (4"X4")

Hello, I am a home improvement company and I neded to move an existing fence to accomadate a new Garage. I re-used the fence sections, but like you I needed to make two different jigs. Keep in mind this was done after the posts were inslalled.I made the first jig out of three 2"X4" 's that went around the post in a "u" shape. (and used a hole saw to make the scallops. (Note: I used a longer pilot drill bit to keep it straight. For the point I simply used a similar setup, only this jig used 3/4" for the paralell parts of the "u" and a 4" 2"X6" between them. Using this jig, I just used a jig saw with a long blade to cut the semi-arch point on the top. Then I sanded it smooth. Now obviosly this would have been much easier had I done this in my shop on a drill press and a band saw, but I was out of town and needed to complete before returning home. Hope this helps someone. (Please note that fencing is not what I usually do.
 
#17 ·
you should be able to buy those posts, I took 1100 of them cut the tops off, cut them into 28" pieces and turned them on a lathe.
So i know they are available, should be no more than 20 bucks. Thats pretty seasonal stuff though. guy in california spindles.com or mr.spindle, not sure, he had a booth @ the deck show, should have just the top you could drill, dowel and peg on top.
 
#22 ·
post top

I bought a box of those tops on sale at home depot they were $2.74
a piece, I bought them to bring out the smal victorian porch rail .
The thing that cut my eye was the these were the best quality tops I have ever seen they were sanded perfectly smooth . I painted them and they look great. these were pretty hefty as well about 9" tall.
it was a little over a month ago I purchased them.
Denny Rossi www.sealitgreen.com
 
#24 ·
I recently needed about 30 gothic top 4x4 posts for a fence. I have seen fencing around the area with gothic posts that were installed around 10 or more years ago but unfortunately none of my suppliers can get them now.

My options were to buy post tops and install them or make them myself. I did not like any of the store bought tops so I made them.

I thought for a while what would be the best method. Smaller 4x's would be the easy route but I would rather have them as one piece. I used a fortsner bit and a portable band saw. I can honestly say it sucked bad! If I ever have to do more than a few I will take the drive to the Atlanta area to pick up the pre milled posts from a supplier there.

Here are some pics...
 

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#28 ·
Not hardly an economical purchase for a handful of posts...

I use gothic posts all the time. A 10' P.T. one is 14.00, thats about 4.00 for the top.
I just got 106 for 1475.00 all good. It would cost you twice that if you figure labor, shop space, and equipment. You need a better supplier if they are that bad
I tried every supplier in town, even tried special order through Home Depot. They just aren't available locally. The main mill that supplies the area is Culpepper. The posts are mill specific and they do not mill the posts so we are SOL. The nearest place that I found was about 4 hours away from me. I do not disagree that they cost too much make by hand but I do not blame my supplier for not having access to them.

All in all, it was a learning experience. I learned that I will never do that many posts again...
 
#29 · (Edited)
This is the machine that cuts the Gothic top.

http://www.dyna-products.com/products/picketpointers/MS600.html
It cost about 7 grand.

I have the older Mar Sal style machine. We've had it for about twenty years. I think we paid around $2,500 for it way back then.

The Gothic style post aren't really in demand around here any more, so we mainly use our machine to cut Gothic pickets.
 
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