[First post ever!]
This is a hybrid of the X Tensegrity stand and the Tensahedron. I started with the X Tensegrity, but I was struggling to get clearance above the cross pole. Not having all the various lines hooked up yet, I noticed that when I pushed down on the hammock, the cross pole would rise up almost to vertical. Then I realized that it can it can always stay *above* the hammock, so there's no issue. When nobody is there, it just rests on the ridgeline or a separate line I use to tension the X part across its top. Once significant weight is in the hammock, the crossbar rises up a bit and seems to float in a sort of counterintuitive way.
Anyway, all I needed was 3 x 10' long douglas fir 2x2" guys (about $16 each in my area) and maybe 70' of Amsteel. I did have to do a fair amount of splicing for the various lines, but I enjoy practicing the McDonald Brummel and making whoopie slings. I used two of those to connect the upper end of the cross bar so I could adjust how much the X part leans over, but actually having whoopies on one or more of the lines which secure the ends of the X to each other could save a lot of fiddling to get the lengths right.
I just drilled 1/2" holes near the ends and friction fit 1/2" diameter Aluminum rods which are 3" long. Those nicely hold all the loops and are crazy strong. I used Evo loops as a sort of soft shackle, but connecting the hammock end can be done many ways.
This design doesn't work well with a tarp, but it's fun and I just wanted to see if I could make a freestanding stand using tensegrity. As far as I can tell, this is a novel design, at least for hammocking.
One obvious next step would be to replace the weird floating cross bar with two running up to the upper corners of the X. Then it's just the tensahedron where one side has longer poles so it's not a "V" shape anymore, but rather an "X". That is the smallest possible change from the Tensahedron which allows it to be freestanding. Instead of a single line running across the ground, you now have a triangle because one side has two points of contact at the bottom of the X. Like the Tensahedron, you can now easily put a tarp on.
Either way, you will have to play with the various line lengths to get the height of the top of the X right and to make the distance between the ends at the top of the X also long enough. Pulling the bottom of the X closer together lengthens the span on the top. But it was a fun exercise and pretty cheap. Not sure how to make it where you could break it into smaller pieces while remaining strong enough, but food for thought and I hope it'll spark some creativity here. Please forgive the messy garage; I don't have much space to work in during the colder months...
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