Cutting off in the ground fence posts squarely

[Chris Wilson]

I have a need to cut from one to three inches off 4 inch machined round softwood fence posts that are already in the ground. There are over 200 of the things...I want the ends factory cut square and neat, any ideas on the easiest way to do this? Hand sawing them will be very time consuming, but I have power available that can reach all of them (petrol generator). I was thinking of a big circular saw? Depth of cut is the issue with those however. Thanks for any replies

[Jim Willemin]

Chris Wilson wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I have no idea if this would work, but: maybe make a cutting jig using something like 4inch PVC pipe to form a shoulder against which the edge of your circular saw footplate would ride, then cut by dancing around the pole. Or get one of those PVC flanges for 4 inch pipe, for a wider shoulder (better stability). You could use a couple of clamps to hold the jig in place. Even better, see if there are fixtures to put a flange in the middle of a section of pipe (a disk with a tube through it), then on the first cut the pipe will be cut so all you need to do is put the end of the pipe on your cutting mark, clamp it, and just go zoop zoop.

[Chuck]

innews: [e-mail]:

Maybe instead of a circular saw, you could make a jig as mentioned above, but use a hand held portable band saw. As long as your jig has enough surface area to slide the saw along, you should be able to get a straight cut.

Chuck

[Chuck]

innews: [e-mail]:

Maybe instead of a circular saw, you could make a jig as mentioned above, but use a hand held portable band saw. As long as your jig has enough surface area to slide the saw along, you should be able to get a straight cut.

Chuck

[Swingman]

Have any idea why they're rounded off to begin with? Seems like in the UK, with all that sunshine, you would want just the opposite of "factory cut square and neat" to put off the inevitable rot due to standing water. :)

Short something where the depth of cut is sufficient to do it in one pass, a jigged up circle saw should do the trick, cheaply and easily.

One method would be to devise a U shaped, with a fourth side hinged, jig that can be easily clamped around the post, with the top four edges of the clamped jig providing the guide "fence" for the base plate of the circle saw, allowing you to cut 'round the post ... no pun intended.

Strictly FWIW ...

[Stoutman]

Chainsaw.

[Mike O.]

If you have a rental company in your area you might see what size circular saw might be available. A 10" might do but there are 12" and I think Makita even makes a 16" circular saw.

Mike O.

[Andy]

My first thought was to use a sawzall, but if you're going for the cleanest cut rather than the quickest, I think I prefer the idea of a "hinged U" jig with a circular saw. The base plate of the circular saw could be set at an angle if you wanted pyramidal tapered tips. Good luck, Andy

[pumis]

I had 10 round posts I had to cut 3-4 inches off. I used a 90* post level as a guide for my circular saw and it worked great. After I made the first cut I left the blade in the wood and used that to set the post level on the other side and finished. Worked great for me. Nice square and neat cuts.

Pumis

[The Other Funk]

Finding the keyboard operational Chris Wilson entered:

You can make a rather precise cut with a Sawzall if you are in a posistion that you can hold it with both hands without straining. You probably won't be able to do 200 in a day without your arms getting tired. My first thought was a bow saw but 200 is going to build a lot of muscle. Bob

--

-- Coffee worth staying up for - NY Times

[Greg O]

12" DeWalt compound miter saw and a couple large "C" clamps. Clamp the saw to the lower part of the post, below the cut line and let 'r rip. Nice square cuts. If any problems, it was not my idea! Greg

[Rod & Betty Jo]

My son was working for a guy who tried that very thing except without the C-clamps and he was cutting some sort of aluminum window trim on the side of a building from a ladder.... nonetheless it didn't work that well and the miter saw took a dive off the ladder......I guess the saw missed him and he stayed on the ladder barely.....fortunately my son isn't working for the guy anymore......I guess it makes a lot of the sense that the guy eventually got thrown in jail for repeated drunk driving. Rod

[J T]

Tue, May 22, 2007, 11:42pm (EDT+5) [e-mail] (Chris=A0Wilson) doth posteth: I have a need to cut from one to three inches off 4 inch machined round softwood fence posts that are already in the ground.

I'm just wondering "why" the "need" to cut them. Espeially if they're already in the ground. I mean, it's doubtful many people are going to be beating a path to the door bitching about it.

JOAT What is life without challenge and a constant stream of new humiliations?

- Peter Egan

[Pat Barber]

Easy... make a "saddle" out of 1x4 or 1x6 that is basically a three sided box that "wraps" around the post in question. Clamp the "saddle" in place.

Use your circular saw and the saddle as the guide.

A smaller circular saw will be easier to handle.