[4seasons]

anyone ever build a curved arbor out of wood before?
If yes could you explain how w/out adding a bunch of posts.

[4seasons]

that's wooden posts!

[Stonehenge]

Would it be worth a Gold Oak article? The last one we did I took lots of photos for that purpose.

[4seasons]

I think so

[Greensmith]

Stone had a nice one recently, almost inspired me to run out and sell it in a design.

[papercutter]

Depends what type of wood; you can use pt or cedar 1x's, create a jig, and bend them one at a time and laminate them together (loads of adhesive and mechanical fasteners). I've had success with built-up 3/8" Azek as well. If you have the room and can shop build the beam, transport it to site and fasten it in place, you'll be in great shape.

[4seasons]

then what do you do to cover where they all meet? That's the part I'm having trouble figuring. Would you use flashing?

[papercutter]

Boxing out the top of the post creates a nicer look than just a straight 4x4 or 6x6, and lets you hide attachments.

[4seasons]

Sorry should of clarified....
where the lines are when you glue everything together

[Stonehenge]

The one I'll write the article about, I filled any tiny gaps with an outdoor wood putty, then sealed the top several times. I didn't like the way the wood putty came out and am not certain of it's longevity. The next one we build, once the curved lintels are constructed, we're going to turn them over and trace the curve onto a piece of wood that we'll cut with a jig saw, then use as a cap. Purlins will then go atop that.

[papercutter]

Once everything's together, you can sand the hell out of the beam to ensure that everything's flush, and then paint it. Or, if you're using a nice redwood or something, the visible laminations can be beautiful themselves- check out this guy's work in this photo:Moon Gate