About 15 years ago I received a couple 4×10 cedar posts that were the result of a deck demolition, the deck was several years old. The posts were cut in half length-wise and used to surround a bush area to keep mulch in place. No longer needed, the wood was removed, cleaned up and set out the dry. With a 3/4″ resaw blade installed in the bandsaw, the cedar had about 1/4″ of material removed from all four sides leaving what looks like new wood exposed.
The finished posts were approximately 4″x4″, two posts in total. Next the post and cross member were chiseled out for a half-lap joint.
The top of the post was tapered off.
A couple decorative corbels were then cut out using the bandsaw. Both were glued and screwed into place.
Sealed with Varathane exterior satin spar urethane. The post was installed by digging a 24″ deep hole and filling with river rock and sand.
Short video of the resaw and wood chiseling: