My company, Red Gate software, has given me a 6 week sabbatical. I’m documenting the time with all the posts under a tag if you want to follow along.
Today is day 30, really giving me just 3 days (plus the weekend) to complete things. Actually only 2.5 days as I fly out Monday to the UK.
I started today by uncovering things and marking out lines to taper the edges. My router bit should arrive tomorrow, and I’ll continue tapering, but for now I can get started by removing some wood.
The pole isn’t perfect and has a touch of warp in it, but I guess it’s no worse than a single pole I might have bought.
The plan doesn’t talk about this part, and the video says that a 3/4” line is what was removed, but with the top being 3” wide, I didn’t want to remove 3/4” from each side. I’d like to have 2” when I’m done, so I started with 1/2” at the top, moving to 3/4” at the end of the tapered part. The bottom 49” is straight, so I marked that and then chalked my lines.
I made two lines on top, but I wasn’t thinking. The saw only tilts one way, so I used just the left one to cut a 45” angle from that side. I flipped the flagpole 90 degrees and repeated this four times. Here’s after the first cut
At the end, I had a semi-tapered pole.
As I completed each side, I also did some sanding, trying to smooth out the pole. I had mixed luck with my Harbor Freight, cheap belt sander. I’m considering buying another one tomorrow.
With all that done, I inspected my work. I found a few spots that had space in them, which bothered me.
I hemmed and hawed a bit, but decided to use some of the epoxy and fill them. I mixed some up, thinner than before and spread it. I sprinkled some filler on top and then blended it in with a brush to get it to fill gaps.
I checked it after a few hours and it wasn’t perfect, but it looked much better. Tomorrow I’ll sand again and then taper with the router.
No class tonight with other commitments for my daughter, so I’ll be pressed to work on my project when I get home from the UK.
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