How to Build a Grape Arbor With a Cedar Pole

Grape arbors are fun to erect and even more fun to enjoy when the grape vines start growing and spreading over it. A cedar pole makes a sturdy center support pole for a dowel trellis--large enough for one grapevine. It will not take up much space and does not require any hardware to hold it together when you are finished.

Things You'll Need

• 9-foot cedar post
• 1-inch drill bit
• Electric drill
• 1-inch thick scrap wood
• Hardwood doweling 1-inch thick, 12 feet
• Wood glue
• Wood saw

Instructions

1. Drill a hole with the 1-inch drill bit into the section of scrap wood, holding the drill straight to get a level hole. Hold the scrap wood against the cedar pole as a guide and drill straight through the pole starting 4 inches from the top. Continue making holes down the pole at 10-inch intervals using the scrap wood to make sure you keep the right angle when drilling.

2. Cut sections of the doweling with a wood saw. Make the lowest dowel the shortest, perhaps 12 inches long; add 2 inches in length to each dowel as you move up the poll.

3. Squeeze some wood glue into the hole in the pole and tap the dowel into place, positioning it evenly. Slide each of the dowels in place, using a small wooden hammer to get them through the pole.

4. Dig a 3-foot-deep hole for the pole using a pole digger. Set the soil aside to use again when filling the hole.

5. Lower the pole into the hole, holding it straight, using a level to make it plumb. Add the soil back in around the pole, packing it down hard with a tamping pole as you go until the hole is filled.

6. Plant the grapevine at the base of the pole and train it to grow up the pole.

References

• Tell Me How: How To Drill Accurate Holes For Dowels.
• Redwood Bridges: Cedar Dowel Trellis