“Passy the Picket Fence Builder” is building a
fence around Grand Dad’s Vegetable Garden.
Passy needs to put some Pointy Tops on the Fence
Posts, but Grand Dad does not have enough money
to buy fancy wood turned fence post tops like the
ones shown on the right.
The post in the picture on the right has actually not
been built 100% properly.
(It is certainly not “Passy-Built”).
The post is not actually pointy enough to stop birds
from landing on it and using it as their messy
Number 2’s Toilet Stop.
It is also not pointy enough for rainwater to run off
the top properly. Eg. Water could pile up on the
flat part of the post. Over time this water could
cause possible severe rotting of the wood.
To solve his problems, Passy is going to
use his mathematical knowledge of
ANGLES and GEOMETRIC SHAPES.
He will be cutting angles onto the fence
posts using the protractor on his circular
saw.
This protractor enables the saw blade to
be tilted at different angles.
The circular saw can then be used to
make pyramid type shapes on top of the
posts.
Pointy Top Fence Posts
© 2005 Paul Pascoe at Berwick
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As will be shown in the photos and explanation that follow, “Passy” will be able to make some nice
pointy posts. These pointy fence posts will do three things:
1) Make Rainwater drain off the tops and away down the sides of the posts
2) Make it difficult for birds to sit on top of the posts and use them for toilet stops.
3) Make the fence look fancy, but at no extra dollar cost to the customer.
The pointy posts can be made by setting the circular saw at an angle of 30 degrees.
Four cuts are then made one after each other along each of the four sides of the post.
To mark the four sides all the
way around each fence post
we first use a “set square” .
This is also called a
“Builder’s Square” or a
“Carpenter’s Square”.
This “Square” is not actually a
normal four sided square.
It is is an L-shaped steel tool
that is set at a permanent 90
degree right angle. It is used
as a ruler for marking the
wood before we cut it.
Passy Tip: If working
alone,you can use the other
pieces of wood to hold your
work piece steady.
The first cut is made part way
through the post at an angle of 30
degrees as shown here.
The post is then rolled through
180 degrees so we can cut the
opposite side next.
The other two sides are done the
same way as these first two sides.
Four cuts and we are finished.
Pointy Top Fence Posts
© 2005 Paul Pascoe at Berwick
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These four pictures show each shape
cut off, as we do each of the
remaining three cuts to the post.
We keep rolling the post around, and
doing the cuts, until we have formed
the final pointy pyramid top.
Geometric Name of Post Top is
Square Base Pyramid
.
Each cut was made with the saw set
at a fixed 30 degree angle.
Shown on the left is
part of the finished
fence.
Passy Tip:
To use a turned
post top, make
sure the top is
big enough for
the post.
The pointy post
pyramid tops
look quite good.
The points will
provide for water runoff, as well as making
it difficult for birds to
perch on top of them.
1) Why should we put pointy tops onto Fence Posts, instead of leaving them cut off flat ?
2) What is the angle measuring device on the front of the circular saw called ?
3) What angle value in degrees did we put the saw at to make our Pointy Posts ?
4) a) What is a Builder’s Square ?
b) What angle is a “Builder’s Square” permanently set at ?
5) What was the Mathematical name of the Pointy Shape we made on top of our fence post ?
Pointy Top Fence Posts
© 2005 Paul Pascoe at Berwick
Page 3of 3