Show me an easy way to find angles

[Uncle Buck]

Hi All,

Is there an easy way to find angles? Looking for an easier way to splay legs on deer tower stand. I am not sure what the angle is to cut tubing for the legs on platform? Thanks

UB

[steve45]

I really have no idea what you're asking. Are you trying to figure out what angle to use, or how to measure it?

I would probably use an angle of about 10°.

To determine the angle, you can use a protractor. There are a lot of new electronic angle finders on the market now.

[Uncle Buck]

Hi Steve,

Sorry for the confusion. Thx thats is what i meant because the platform cant have legs that have a 90 degree angle, or coming straight down from the platform. About ten degrees sounds about right so as to give the platform a wider base. Thx UB

[DSW]

I use several things to get the angle. I'm not quite sure just what you are looking for.

Heres just a few. It all depends on just what you are trying to do. I also take advantage of my compound bevel chop saw to cut wooden templates that I can use to set my saw or block metal so I get the angle I want.

[transit]

This is way off beet, wood working books have many tricks that can be used for metal work.

[Coyote]

Hi All,

Is there an easy way to find angles? Looking for an easier way to splay legs on deer tower stand. I am not sure what the angle is to cut tubing for the legs on platform? Thanks

UB

I have built several deerstand towers over the years, and normally I just make the bottom two feet bigger than the top. For example if the top was 4' x 4' the bottom (where the legs touch dirt) would be 6' x 6'. This has worked well for me. The angle is around 10 or 12 degrees. I built some for a guy who specified 15 degrees, and it was somewhat wider at the bottom. I posted the 12 footer I hunt out of, and a 8 footer I built for someone else. They are both at about 10-11 degrees.

[Bob]

For a feeder tri pod it should be 22 degrees and is the same for hunting tri pods with the single seat.

[dabbler]

Splayed legs like that require a compound angle cut, to make the leg ends mate up with a flat top and bottom.

Rather than calculating the compound cut and futzing with machine setup, you can make a jig, rotating the stock (if square or angle iron) by 45 degrees. Then use the native desired splay angle for the jig angle.

Diagram assumes the 10 degrees the poster desired.

[William McCormick Jr]

Hi Steve,

Sorry for the confusion. Thx thats is what i meant because the platform cant have legs that have a 90 degree angle, or coming straight down from the platform. About ten degrees sounds about right so as to give the platform a wider base. Thx UB

You can also think about the legs like one roof rafter going from the wall to the ridge.

It moves off perpendicular, or ninety, so many inches per foot.

Lets say you get a protractor and lay out a line drawn next to a 12" straight line, at 10 degrees difference to the straight line. Touching the straight line on one side, and moving away from the straight line "X' number of inches, on the other end of the straight line.

Now lets say your 10 degree line moves off the straight line about 2 1/8" at 10 degrees.

You can round off the 2 1/8" call it 2" that will give you about 9.5 degrees. Now you know that every foot higher your platform is, that the legs will move out 2 more inches.

The legs themselves will be just slightly longer then the platform is high.

That is another way to lay out angles. Like carpenters or stair makers do.

If your platform is four feet high each leg will move out eight inches from perpendicular at 9.5 degrees. But you do not even have to know the degrees.


Sincerely,


William McCormick