My sister in law *had* a Russian vine issue in her garden. Unfortunately, as it has taken me more than five months to finish these, she has since gotten professional help to sort them all out.

I had free rein to make these and as these were meant to last a very, very long time, I felt that store-bought ones (normally flat-packed) were not up for the task nor were they aesthetically pleasing hence here we are. Wood glue and screws were used to make these and all connecting wood is made seamless so that no gaps are visible. Painted with 5 coats pletely sealed and waterproof. They are approximately 163cm tall and 45cm wide at the base. Very solidly made and can be picked up by holding onto any single piece of the obelisk.

plete breakdown of making these:

The wood used has been stored indoors for the last 7 years. It is stable and dry.

Cutting the wood took about 4 hours, jigs had to be made for the angled pieces and this was my plicated project I have undertaken.

Building the actual obelisks took about 3 hours as it was fiddly with the angles, clamping them down. Only 2 legs could be attached before waiting for the glue to dry before attaching the 2nd set of legs so that strength and rigidity can be achieved. The bracing pieces were cut via trial and error as I am terrible with angles. Glue drying time for each obelisk in total was about 48 hours.

Sanding and filling by hand took about 9 hours, 2+ per obelisk. I think next time, I would prefer to use dowels to fill the screw holes rather than filler. It took a lot more time and effort due to shrinkage and reapplying filler and they are still not perfect. All pieces of wood were sanded smooth prior to painting. I really wish I had an orbital sander... The column, although sanded, is still rough as it was cut against the grain. This is even more apparent after paint was applied.

As these were all painted (Sadolin Superdec Satin Opaque) after they were assembled, it took a lot longer to do so. Over 15 hours to paint, with 12 hours drying time in-between coats. This doesn't even include the touch ups I had to do as the inside angles were very hard to get a good coat on and had to be laid on its side. The time used to wash brushes, setting them up, moving them about due to lack of space is also not calculated.

Lastly, the feet were treated by soaking them for 10 minutes (Ronseal Wood Preserver) before letting them dry, I used an oil-based undercoat (Leyland) on them before the 5 coats of paint applied.

So, just the material costs were about £40 per obelisk. Wood was £30. 1 litre of Sadolin SuperDec Opaque paint was £20, enough to paint all 4 and about 100ml left. Glue, screws, filler, jigs used and this is before the hours spent to make these, over 8 hours per.

My sister in law's garden is rather large due to a corner plot. A pair would be excellent for doors or entryway. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and thank you for looking.

Disclaimer, I am a hobbyist so these are not perfectly balanced. 3 legs sit straight whilst the 4th leg is about 3mm off the ground. They were intended to be placed into the ground for stability as my sister-in-law's garden is grass and soil and due to it being a corner plot, gets more wind than others. However, as the design is based on triangles, it is very solid. I intended these to last 15+ years hence why so much time and effort was taken to make them with low maintenance.

Collection only as it is always best to view them first. Located in EH15. I am willing to deliver if a deposit is placed, thank you for reading.