Work on the towers started today. It's amazing how many operations go into making just the stiles:

1. Run material thru thickness plane to get from 1.75 inches to 1.50 inches.
2. Rip a straight edge on one roughsawn side so material can be ripped to proper width.
3. Rip stiles oversize to 1.30 inches.
4. Run stiles thru thickness plane to get smooth edges and proper 1.25 inch thickness.
5. Trim one end on all pieces.
6. Crosscut stiles to proper length.
7. Crosscut feet to proper length.

Then, clean up the mess. This photo shows a point just before step #3 on the second piece of stock.
I cut the larger board for ease of handling and accuracy. Note how easily cherry "burns". Tricky stuff.