| Imagine this: You’re about to build yourself a nice | | | | sheet. But it’s your choice. |
| fence that’s about twenty-five posts long and | | | | Once you have your cutout, you can anneal the |
| you decide to both decorate and protect it from | | | | copper sheet to make it more pliable. However, the |
| natural rotting with some copper post caps. | | | | annealing is completely optional and not entirely |
| However, when you go to the store, you realize that | | | | necessary due to the copper sheet already being |
| at five bucks a cap, this project suddenly skyrockets | | | | quite soft. Nevertheless, annealing is simply heating |
| in expense! Why not save yourself some money and | | | | the copper sheet for an extended period of time, |
| create these easy-to-make copper sheet caps on | | | | usually until it is glowing, and then allowing it to cool |
| your own? | | | | slowly. This heating can be performed with a |
| To start, you'll need a scrap piece of 4x4 fence post | | | | common blowtorch. |
| (or 6x6) about three feet long, a circular saw to | | | | Next, no matter if you choose to anneal or not, use |
| create the form on the top of the scrap post, a | | | | the mallet to bend the copper around the form. A |
| wooden mallet (preferably hardwood with a 3 inch | | | | good technique for working the copper sheet is to |
| diameter) to hammer the copper sheet around the | | | | pound the mallet in the way you want the metal to |
| form, the copper sheet itself and a pair of metal | | | | bend. This will work best if you can draw the mallet |
| cutters. The recommended copper sheet is a soft | | | | directly towards yourself while hammering. |
| temper, .021 inch thick copper sheet (also known as | | | | Finally, to add a nice shine to the copper sheet cap, |
| 24 gauge or 16oz copper sheet). | | | | apply some sealant to keep the it bright and |
| First, you will want to figure out what shape you | | | | corrosion free. |
| want the post cap to be. A basic triangular tip is a | | | | And…Viola! You now have a beautiful copper sheet |
| good choice. So, using the circular saw, cut the form | | | | post cap! On a final note, be sure to wear eye |
| (your piece of scrap post) to the desired shape. | | | | protection and all the necessary safety equipment |
| Second, you might have to experiment, but cut the | | | | while operating any potentially dangerous tools. Hope |
| copper to the correct size for your particular post | | | | you enjoy your new post caps! |
| cap design. I might recommend using some scrap | | | | For more information on choosing copper sheet to |
| metal to experiment instead of valuable copper | | | | make your own fence post caps, visit our website. |