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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/scout-shear-lashing

Which lashing joins two parallel poles so they open like scissors into an A-frame?

Shear lashing.

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  1. Square lashing
  2. Diagonal lashing
  3. Shear lashing ✔

Why: A shear lashing ties two poles side by side at the tips. The bottoms spread apart to make shear legs, often used as an A-frame.

Huh, didn't know that: The tripod, made with a tripod lashing, is the simplest self-standing pioneering structure.

The dad joke
Why did the two poles get lashed together? They were inseparable.
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References

Answer: Shear lashing. A shear lashing ties two poles side by side at the tips. The bottoms spread apart to make shear legs, often used as an A-frame.

  1. Pioneering merit badge pamphlet filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Merit_Badge_ReqandRes/Pamphlets/Pioneering.pdf
    Use a shear lashing when two parallel poles are to be opened out like scissors to make a pair of shear legs.
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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Outdoors & CampingWhen finishing a lashing, what are the turns wrapped between the poles, around the wraps, called?Outdoors & CampingWhat is a square lashing used for?Outdoors & CampingTwo cross-brace poles have a gap between them and must be pulled together. Which lashing?

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