I’ve done a ton of pole bases up here in Toledo this summer. I made my own stencil out of a sheet of panelling. Took a little bit of time doing the measuring of the pole, but it works perfectly. I used a 4 x 8′ piece of panelling. On the top part of the base, I measured it from left to right and the up and down to get the dimensions and basically find the center point. Once found, I tied a pencil on the end of a short string. Finding the center of the paneling, I put one end of the string in the middle and drew a circle the size of the pole base using the pencl while still attached to the string. (kinda like using a protrator). It helps if two people do this part. Now; you can either cut the panelling in haf now, or wait until you cut out the center and then cut it in half. It’s much easier and sturdier to cut it in half BEFORE you cut the center out though. You’ll end up with two pieces of panelling that should wrap around the pole base. This method id good for the standard large pole bases. I came upon one lot that a few poles that had a different size base and my stencil was too big. I had to roll those. Like i say, it takes time to make the stencil but once made, i can spray a pole base in 1-2 minutes.
