This past weekend I undertook a project motivated by my lack of immediate places to hang. I saw the fence rail stand and the ultimate hang's pipe stand, but wanted something I could source easily locally and (at least I initially thought) wasn't as expensive as buying thick galvanized steel pipes.
I had some other criteria in mind:
No mounting to walls. I live in an apartment and didn't want to have to deal with trying in anchor into flimsy metal "studs."
As little floor space taken as possible. I don't want to be moving stuff around to clean or deal with awkward tripods.
Tall. I'm 6ft 1 in and don't want to duck under anything, so anything that goes up needs to be at least 6 ft 2.
Adjustable length. Since most of the rooms are different sizes I wanted to be able to fit the stand in various spots.
Able to fit in my car. This means disassembly, which means removable fasteners, aka nuts and bolts.
I'm not much of a DIY guy, but I do like to tear things apart and understand how things work so assumed I could figure something out. Also, I know a guy with a garage and a tool or two, thanks dad! After a little searching I found someone had made something that looked workable on youtube, however they never really explained anything about the process, "hey guys I made this, like and subscribe." I then found another design that was very similar and purportedly only cost 35$ to make out of wood and screws. With ~50$ budget in mind, I set to work.
The end result was an unwieldy monstrosity of a stand that blew through the budget instantly.
Having never engaged in a DIY project like this, I had no idea what things would cost or what was efficient or safe. I ended up purchasing:
x8 8 ft long pressure treated 2x4s ~10$ each (I only ended up using 6 of them -_-)
x2 8 ft long pressure treated 4x4 posts ~25$ each
x2 "Heavy Duty" 600 lbs metal shelf brackets ~10$ each
x?? Nuts and Bolts and Washers ~15$ total
Total: About 170$... it hurts typing this.
In hindsight, the galvanized pipe stand may have worked out to be cheaper and would have been much more portable. This thing technically fits in my car when broken down but I don't think it's ever going to leave the room now.
DID IT SUCCESS?
BUDGET: ~50$
FAILURE. Coming in at almost 3 times the budget at 170$ is rough. I could have easily saved money with non-pressure treated wood. That and buying the correct amount of materials alone would have dropped the cost to ~80$
Goal 1:No wall mounting.
SUCCESS. Free standing with no (well.. almost no..) damage to walls!
Goal 2: Preserve floor space.
SUCCESS. It really only takes up a couple of inches of space next to the walls.
Goal 3:Tall.
SUCCESS. With 6 foot 4 inches of clearance the only trouble spots are the braces which are so close to the wall they don't matter. As an added bonus I can make sweet pillow forts and use it as a pull-up bar.
Goal 4: Adjustable length.
SUCCESS... TECHNICALLY. It isn't fun to do and the bolts are getting stripped and full of pulp, but technically speaking you can knock out the bolts to extend the length of the stand.
Goal 5: Fit in Car.
SUCCESS... TECHNICALLY. Taking this thing apart and moving it is a real SOB, but it can be done. I wouldn't want to take it camping but setting up elsewhere is doable without TOO much trouble.
It was a fun project that achieved most of my goals but I can't say I would recommend it to anyone. There appear to be either better or more affordable options out there. Ultimately, this beast allows me to enjoy hanging where I couldn't before. I hope you enjoyed seeing my project and if you have any suggestions for improvements or questions I welcome them!
-Promo
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