I was going to finish my pergola entrance with an angular archway built with some commercial lumber. Then one day when scrounging wood I found this section of curved sycamore branch and wondered if this might be a better solution. I took it home an saved it till I had time to finish the new entrance way which turned out to be a year later haha! Being a sculptor with an interest in re-using and re-purposing I often look at wood for more than just heat. The two hinged left and right side vertical trellis columns with those cast aluminum vine inlays were actually from a scrounge a few years ago. I had them temporarily placed there to join my wisteria pergola walkway I originally built 20 years ago. They sat for 2 years just leaning on the larger structure with the intent to eventually cap off the top and join the two sides for a more completed look. Life got in the way, but I finally got tired of looking at my piece of branch that by this time was saying to me "Hey, you going to use me already, or just leave me here taking up space???" The 6 inch diameter branch actually had a foot and a half longer straight section to it's right side that I cut off to make it fit more visually balanced. The Trellis entry gate as it stood for 2 years simply leaning on pergola. Not bad, but not sturdy and not visually complete. Today with completed natural branch archway.
Any time you are up on a ladder is a good time to take a few whacks! That sycamore should last a good long time.
Yeah, I'm especially creative with sycamore since I'm always looking to avoid splitting the blasted stuff.
