1. Cut The Timber Post to Length

First, a timber wright will cut the post to length and carve out the required dovetails. Each post is cut by an experienced Western Timber Frame™ timber wright using large beam saws or oversized chop saws.

2. Carve Out Electrical Boxes

The placement of each electrical box is then marked out by hand. After the boxes are marked by the timber wright, each electrical box is carved out by hand using a special tool called a chain mortiser. Cutting out each electrical box takes between 7-45 minutes. The time varies widely depending on how many knots are present in each post, although the average time to carve out each electrical cavity is about 30 minutes.

3. Drilling the Power Core

Now that the boxes are in place, the timber wright is ready to drill the power hole through the core of the timber post.

The timber wright then measures and marks a center mark at the bottom and the top of the post in the center of the post. Then, using a set of proprietary guide jigs that are sized to either 6″, 8″, 10″, or 12″, the post is secured in place. Then, starting from the bottom, the heavy timber post is then drilled with a custom-made high strength horizontal bore drill. The drill bit itself is hollowed out to allow pressurized air to be fed down the length of the shaft to blow out wood chips and sawdust that is created as the core of post is bored out to make way for the electrical wiring.

The heavy, hollow-core drill has to be drilled and drawn out between 20 to 40 times to keep the drill bit from becoming lodged inside the post. However, on longer posts, or when knots are encountered, it can easily surpass 100 separate drill strokes to complete the process. This is a time-consuming process that is aggravated each time the bit encounters a knot in the post. Each of these hard knots can take 15-30 minutes for the bit to drill through.

Many times the timber wright is only able to progress 1/2″ with each pass into the post, and even less when knots are encountered. Compressed air is continually forced down the shaft of the bit to remove sawdust and wood chips with each stroke of the drill. Care must be taken to ensure that all sawdust and chips are removed or else the long drill bit can get stuck inside of the post. If the bit does become stuck in the post, then attempting to extract it can render the post unusable.

The natural grain and knots that are in each post effect the path of the drill bit as the hole for the electrical wire is bored out. As the post is bored out, the long drill bit tends to want to follow the natural grain. This causes the shaft of the long drill bit to drift off the center of the post. If the grain in the post has a sharp drift, there is a danger that the hole would drift from the center of the post and exit through the side of the post instead of boring out the middle.

The timber wright must take great care to not allow the bit to bore out the side of the post. As the bit gradually bores out the access hole it eventually encounters the electrical box cavities that were first carved into the post. The timber wright carefully guides the bit through each of these electrical box cavities. These cavities are a good visual aid for the timber wright to assess if the drill is staying in the center of the post.

Once the post has been drilled approximately halfway through, the timber wright carefully backs the boring drill bit back out of the post. He then removes the post from the guide jigs. On the Firefly upper and lower model, the access hole is now complete as they only require drilling an electrical chase halfway through this intense process. For these models, the post is then removed from the guide jigs. It is now ready to install electrical boxes and access covers.

The posts on the Phoenix, Dragon, and Inferno models have only half of the electrical power access holes they need. Therefore, the timber wright will then need to turn the post around to drill the other side and secure it back into the guide jigs. The process is then started again to complete the process of boring a hole in the timber post. Drilling the post’s electrical hole from both directions helps decrease the chances of the bit drifting off center.

NOTE: Despite the care taken by the timber wright, sometimes the drill will still end up breaking through the side of the post rendering the post unusable. The timber wright is then forced to start the process over and an expensive post is now discarded.

Once the timber wright has completed this process, the post is then removed from the guide jigs and is now ready for wiring. Each half of the post takes between 30-45 minutes to drill but can take more time if hard knots are encountered in the process of drilling the post. Thus, each post takes an average of 90 minutes to drill the hole the entire length of an eight-foot-long post. Every foot over eight feet adds approximately 15 minutes per foot and greatly increases the risk of the hole blowing out the side of the post. The post is then sent through the staining process and stained.

4. Installing the Electrical Boxes & Wiring Protection Sleeve

Electrical boxes are secured into each electrical box cavity in the timber post.

Each box is constructed from thermoplastic to resist rust and will not conduct electricity. Each box also meets NEMA OS-2 and is fire rated and UL listed for safety (classified for 2-hour fire wall and/or fire ceiling box). The Dragon model has a horizontally mounted outdoor rated electrical box secured to the top of the post.

Then, a 12″ steel protection sleeve is installed in the core just prior to the wiring process. The protection sleeve is put in place to ensure the wire is protected when lags or screws are used in the post during installation.

5. Installing Electrical Wire, Switches, and Electrical Receptacles & Covers

The post is then wired with a UL listed proprietary main wire that is designed and rated for outdoor use. Each wire is individually insulated and a double layer of protection is provided by an all-weather vinyl jacket that is chemical, oil, and moisture resistant. Each of the electrical blades is reinforced to help prevent accidental bending or breaking.

The fish tape is fed through the post and attached to the wire, which is then carefully drawn through the core of the post to each corresponding electrical box. Once the wire is in place, the finish wiring is then completed on each electrical receptacle and switch, as well as the male plug when applicable.

Outdoor rated electrical covers are then secured over each plug and switch. Each cover is sealed with a synthetic gasket to protect it from the elements.

We use a Hubbell ML450Z Weatherproof, Expandable, Flat, In-Use Plastic Device Cover on the Dragon model. It is an extremely flexible outdoor rated cover that features 16-in-1 configurations. Revolutionary patented design expands from 1″ to 3.5″ to meet your while-in-use needs. Each of these covers is made from an ultra-rugged polycarbonate and synthetic neoprene rubber. It is sealed with a synthetic gasket.