DIY: Column Caps

Square Columns or Pillars

• 1

  Measure the column from side to side. Mark and cut a piece of pine lumber ¾-inches thick and 3 inches wider and deeper than the dimensions of the column, using a miter saw for a good, square cut.

• 2

  Install a ¾-inch cove or ogee detail bit with a bearing in your router and set the depth so that the bottom of the bearing will ride 7/8-inch below the base plate. This will place the center of the bearing on the bottom edge of the lumber as it is cut.

• 3

  Clamp the lumber in place and cut a detail around the four edges of the piece, working from right to left. Release the clamp and turn the piece for each of the four edges, re-clamping the board in place. Lay the board on your work space with the cut face up.

• 4

  Mark a line ¾ inches in from the edges of the board to form a square. Measure and cut four pieces of ¾-by-¾-inch cove molding to length to fit the square. Cut one 45-degree miter on each end of each piece, one right and one left to form a trapezoid shape. Fit the pieces together to form a square, and glue and nail it with the outside edge of the molding on the line of the square you drew.

• 5

  Screw or nail this cap to the top of your column.

Round Columns or Pillars

• 6

  Cut two circles out of ¾-inch thick pine, one 3 inches wider and one 1½ inches wider than your column, using a band saw to make the cut. Use a compass to mark the circles.

• 7

  Draw a second circle centered on the face of each circle, 1½ inches smaller in diameter, so that the line is ¾ inches from the edge of the circle all the way around.

• 8

  Set up a router bit as outlined previously and route the edges of both circles, with the boards clamped in place. Draw a line through the center mark left by the compass on the smaller circle. Cut the circle in half using a band saw. Cut each half along the smaller circle line you drew to form two half-circle, ¾-inch wide moldings.

• 9

  Glue and nail these two pieces to the cut face of the larger circle so that the outside edge of the smaller circle is on the line. Fit this cap on top of your column or pillar and screw or nail into place.