Five-pointed wooden star: measurements, angles and a table from 5 to 50 cm
The plywood is ready, and so is the fretsaw. Only the star on paper just won't come out right. Sometimes the points are too thick, sometimes too thin, sometimes one sits crooked.
That's rarely down to the sawing. It's down to the drawing: a five-pointed star follows fixed measurements. If you don't know them, you'll be trying for a long time.
Here you'll find exactly those measurements: two angles, one ratio and a table. From the table you can read off how big the outer and inner circles need to be for any star size.
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The measurements of a five-pointed star
A regular five-pointed star fits into two circles. The five points sit on the outer circle. The five notches between them sit on the inner circle. These three figures are all you need:
- 72° lie between two neighbouring points. A full circle has 360°, divided by five.
- 36° is the angle at each point. The notches are also offset from the points by 36°.
- The inner radius is 0.382 times the outer radius. With an outer radius of 10 cm, the notches are 3.8 cm from the centre.
Size table: stars from 5 to 50 cm
Here the star size means the width. That's the distance between two opposite points, the longest measurement of the star.
| Width of the star | Outer radius | Inner radius | Length of one point edge | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 cm | 2.6 cm | 1.0 cm | 1.9 cm | 4.8 cm |
| 10 cm | 5.3 cm | 2.0 cm | 3.8 cm | 9.5 cm |
| 15 cm | 7.9 cm | 3.0 cm | 5.7 cm | 14.3 cm |
| 20 cm | 10.5 cm | 4.0 cm | 7.6 cm | 19.0 cm |
| 25 cm | 13.1 cm | 5.0 cm | 9.5 cm | 23.8 cm |
| 30 cm | 15.8 cm | 6.0 cm | 11.5 cm | 28.5 cm |
| 40 cm | 21.0 cm | 8.0 cm | 15.3 cm | 38.0 cm |
| 50 cm | 26.3 cm | 10.0 cm | 19.1 cm | 47.6 cm |
Regular star: outer radius = width ÷ 1.902 · inner radius = outer radius × 0.382 · point edge = outer radius × 0.727 · height = outer radius × 1.809. Rounded to the nearest millimetre.
How to draw the star
You'll need a pair of compasses, a set square with protractor and a sharp pencil.
- 1. Draw a circle around the centre point using the outer radius from the table.
- 2. Mark the first point at the top. From there, mark another one every 72°. That gives you five points.
- 3. Draw the inner circle around the same centre point.
- 4. Mark five points on the inner circle. Each one sits exactly halfway between two points, so offset by 36°.
- 5. Join the marks in turn: point, notch, point, notch. Keep going until the star is closed.
You can do it without the inner circle too
Join each point to the two opposite points. The five lines cross exactly where the notches are. Then rub out whatever is left inside.
Sawing out and sanding the edges
For stars you want to paint, poplar plywood works well. It's soft with a fine grain and easy to cut with a fretsaw.
Birch plywood is denser and sturdier. Use a fine-toothed blade for it, or put masking tape over the cutting line. That stops the fibres from splintering.
- Saw each point edge from the tip to the notch. That way you don't have to turn the blade in the tight notch.
- Finally, sand the edges with fine sandpaper.
- The wood should be clean and free of dust before you paint it.
Or have it lasered: the star as a ready-made cutout
Would you rather start decorating straight away instead of sawing? We offer the five-pointed star as a cutout made from 3 mm plywood. It's laser-cut with the typical brown edge and left untreated. So you can paint it, stick things on it or oil it.
- Width from 3 to 50 cm, selectable in 1 cm steps
- individually or in sets of 10, 25, 50 or 100
- more shapes: wooden cutouts for crafting
Summary
A five-pointed star isn't luck, it's geometry. There are 72° between the points and 36° at each point. The inner circle is 0.382 times the outer circle. With the table you can draw any size in a few minutes. Or take the ready-made cutout and start decorating right away.
