The wife decided she wanted a flagpole up in the front yard by July 4, so I have been working at getting one made.  I found a DIY materials list on a flagpole products web site & used it as a basis for ours.

I am building a "tip up" version, so it can be lowered if needed for repairs (or whatever), built from 3 ten foot lengths of schedule 40 pipe - 2", 1.5" & 1.25".  The base is another 10' piece of 2" that is cut in half & will be set into a concrete base, one leg on each side of the 2" base piece & pinned with a couple of long 1/2" bolts.  About 2.5' of the base will be in concrete & the other 2.5' above ground.  Rebar will be welded to the lower portion of the base to help anchor things in the concrete.

The 3038e was out at the acreage, so I gave the 1025R a try with the PHD and a 12" auger.  It was a bit much for the little guy, but I ended up getting a roughly 4' hole sunk for the base.







I am working out in the tractor storage building & it is kind of a "make do" setting.  Power comes from the generator out there.  The following is from the last couple of days - the heat & humidity make me disinclined to push too much on any one day.  

The best way to work with the pipe was a couple of old folding chairs as saw horse stand-ins.   First step was cutting a 2" pipe into 2 pieces.  The angle grinder was the easiest way to work as the pipe wasn't secured enough for a sawzall.  The circumference for the cut was marked using a length of flat ribbon cable from an old disk drive interface as a guide for the marker.







Lines were marked using a piece of angle iron as a self aligning guide & a circumference drawn to mark ground level.



Locations for holes were marked at 6" & 28" up from ground level.



A step drill was used for the first holes



The ribbon cable was used to find the opposite side locations by marking circumference length & marking the halfway point.  With the overlap at the original line, the halfway mark set the points for drawing the line on the opposite side.



With the lines drawn, the same measurements from ground level set the punch point for the next holes



With holes drilled, the bolts were used to pin the pieces and verify alignment.  A little tweaking of the holes was needed, but not much.  The parts were marked to show proper orientation.



The same steps were used to mark corresponding locations on the base of the uncut 2" pipe.



Once the holes were drilled, the long pipe was mated with the base pieces & a small amount of additional tweaking to let the bolts go through easily.



With the pieces in alignment, it was time for adding the plates that will keep the base components in alignment and keep the upright from passing vertical when tipped up.  I got out the old Lincoln AC225 & hooked it up to the 7K Champion.  I don't claim any skill with the stick welder, this is the second or third project so far & I am learning as I go.





(looking at this last pic, I need to double check that bottom plate to see if there is interference with the vertical when it gets horizontal ...)

I had a couple of short pieces of 1/2" rebar for the bottom of the base.  I need to add a couple of "legs" to extend down to the hole bottom so I can stabilize  things at the desired level before adding the concrete.



This is where I stopped today.  More posts as things continue.  

The plan is to set the base & concrete it in with the bottom portion (2") of the vertical in place.  After the concrete sets, the 2" gets removed & the whole pole assembled. Each joint gets about a 12" overlap.   The 1.5" nests easily in the 2" (I may add some beads to tighten the fit some).  The 1.25" will need to get a line relieved to clear a ridge on the inside of the 1.5" - it will also need a bit of "whittling" to slide easily (less than 0.1" overall).  Joints will get welded & a cleat and top pulley will get added.  A bit of zinc bearing paint & then assembly followed by tip up is the plan.

Nick

Getting there ...

I  found the lower plate did indeed interfere with the center tube going to horizontal.  I had already planned to cut off the visible threaded portions for a cleaner look, so I marked the point where the tube bottom would clear the plate, removed the center tube & cut there as well as the opposite end.





I added a rebar "foot" that should help with getting the base at the proper height & reinforce the concrete plug.



I then reassembled the vertical segment with the base & verified proper range of motion and the ability to re-insert both bolts.

I ordered a dial type level indicator that came in Tuesday.  I want to get it right & think the degree marked dial indicator will make me more confident in the results than a bubble level.

If I can't find appropriate caps for the base tube tops (& maybe even then), I am thinking to fill them with expanding foam to keep out water & insects.  The base of the vertical will probably get some brass scrubber pads stuffed in to keep nest builders out.

I finished mating the top two sections & adding the pulley to the top.

According to nominal specs, it should only have been a matter of about 0.06" removed from the 1-1/4"  and relieving a line to get it to nest within the 1-1/2".  I was using the angle grinder like a spoke shave to reduce the diameter of about 12" worth of the 1-1/4", starting with a grinding disk & finishing with a flapper.
 


I used the cut off threaded portion of the 1-1/2" to gauge when it was close enough to try.  
 


It fit up pretty tight & I was tempted to just leave it there, but in the end decided to run a weld around it to help make up for the reduced wall thickness at the joint.
 




The pulley was disassembled & the framework positioned at the end of the 1-1/4".  It got tacks at both ends.


 
Here after a bit of zinc paint, reassembly and a cap on the end.



The 1-1/2" fits easily inside the 2", maybe a bit too easily.  I decided to put some beads down to reduce the play & help better center it.  The cut off portion of the 2" bottom was used as a gauge.  



I also ran a bead around the circumference at the joint location, figuring it would be easier to work on the 1-1/2" by itself than juggling it & the 2". The bead stops the 1-1/2" from sliding further into the 2".  This may get left as-is... not sure if further welding is really needed & it will a lot easier working with a 19' that just needs to slide in than welding up a 28' that has to get lined up for bolting into the base.



Today the base got installed in the ground.  The hole was pumped out yesterday & most of the spoils raked out into the surrounding grass.  I dismounted the vertical portion & trial fit the base.  





It is about 6" higher than originally planned, but close enough I am not going to push for deeper.  The vertical got re-mounted and readied for bracing.  I made a couple of stakes for attaching 2x4's that would sit at right angles around the base.  These got C clamped to the vertical.  I used a dial style angle gauge to check vertical.  



I was actually pretty close just eye-balling it.  Dead on for one axis & 1 degree off on the other!



With vertical established & bracing done, the concrete got added.  I ended up using 6 60 lb. bags to get it up to ground level.  
 


I covered it with some old underlayment & plan to keep it damp for a few days for curing.  I will wait a day or two before dropping the vertical to attach the upper portion.



More pics when the flag is first raised...



Nick

That is the plan.  The wife said she wanted a flagpole for the 4th, so that is what I've been aiming for ...

I'll probably put everything together by the end of the week.  The parts are ready now, just wanted to let the concrete set up undisturbed for a day or two.  All the flag components are already here and waiting, rope, clips, cleat & a 4'x6' flag from Annin Flagmakers.

Nick

Looking good OP.

Yes, this is a tag because the wife wants a flag pole also.

... and finally done.  

Lowered the vertical to slide in the top section then threaded the haul up line through the pulley & lifted the whole assembly back to vertical.



Attached the cleat, adjusted the clips & raised the flag!



All that is left is a bit of landscaping around the base.


Nick

Well done Sir.

Nice, but I sat my 25' flagpole inside a piece of 4" pvc and lined the sides with sand.  I can pick it up to work on the top and it stands straight up.

One last update.  We wanted to add lighting to the flagpole installation, so I looked at some different alternatives.  The best compromise on performance & cost was 12v automotive lighting.  I ordered a pair of multi-LED spot beam lamps, claiming 7500 lumen potential output off Amazon for < $30 for the pair.

While waiting for delivery, I made up a length of two 10 AWG wires to run from the porch to the flagpole which got inserted into a slit cut in the lawn.  It got anderson powerpole connectors at either end.  



I had a surplus server power supply I had previously modified for 13.6v output as a backup for my amateur radios.  It is capable of 50+ amp output, so plenty for the 72 watt lamp set.  It isn't weatherproof enough for the porch, so it will live in a plastic shoe box.  I added a previously made fuse mount to sit between feed line & power supply.  The supply is plugged into a dawn/dusk pigtail.



The mount for the lamps is just a piece of angle stock "U" bolted to the flagpole right above the two uprights.



When the lamps came in, I also received a hank of 1/4" white dacron rope to take the place of the black paracord that was originally used.  Pretty much everything done & the wire feed covered.



Seems to be working out OK







Nick

OK - one more ...

I wanted a more finished look for the base tube tops.   I took a chance on some 1 7/8" fence post caps whose description was an actual measurement of 2". They fit over a 1 7/8" metal fence post & Lowes had them for $0.95 each - but only as a special order & they took a while to show up.  This is the critter:



After checking fit against the 2" tube end, I made a half dozen hacksaw cuts around the base to allow the skirt to deform inward more easily, then tapped them into the tube tops with a wood block & hammer.



Pretty much the finishing touch for the hardware.

Nick

nice job.