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Thread: Mark 6 stand

  1. #1
    Senior Member rmcrow2's Avatar
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    Mar 2021
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    US
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    El Dorado
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    Whoopie
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    Mark 6 stand

    Hello all,I am a fiddler. (not the instrument, but tweaker has connotations now). I am constantly wanting to change this or adjust that. Lengthen or shorten my ridgeline. Slide my feet just a hair higher or lower vs my head. Almost everyday I am making a small change to either my hammock or my under-quilt to try to get things just perfect for today.And yet I also like what I like and know what that is quite well.
    I like things the way I like them and want it easy to have that way every time.
    I have many flaws, consistency does not number among them.

    Being a person that moves to a hammock when the time for sleep comes every night I have spent awhile trying to build just the right stand that has all the qualities I need.
    1. Adjustability. I want to be able to be able to change my hang by a large amount. Both the slope of my ridgeline and its length.
    2. Springy. I toss and turn. I prefer to have a little spring either with my spider straps or something besides just my hammock fabric to give me a little bounce and absorb the forces.
    3. Swingy. I like to rock and my kids will climb in with me or be rocked on their own sometimes. I want to make sure that the swinging can’t get too violent.
    4. Adaptable. I use an El Dorado for my bed, I don’t like being locked in though. Being able to use it for multiple sizes and types of hammocks without anything more than standard suspension is important.
    5. Size. This needs to fit into a bedroom in no more space than a night table and a walkway.

    About six months ago I managed to build a stand that I am happy enough with I am willing to call it a finished prototype. I was going to wait until I built a final pretty version to take pictures and do a write up. I will still do so if and when.
    I have been putting off doing one at all until I could do a good one. Then I looked at how much time I have and realized if I don’t do something now I won’t get to writing anything about this for a long time. This isn’t gong to be pretty, lower your expectations.

    So here you go. One man, one hammock stand, no camera crew. Alone with a messy room and no time to stage pics. Here is SurvivorStand.

    The basic design is 48” wide and 132” long. The length and vertical height will vary based on your build. I do not recommend going much narrower than 40” wide even if you lay very still in a low bridge hammock.
    bridgeside.jpg HYOH and be happy though.


    Let me wow you with the fancy cad program I have handy.
    diagram.jpgPaint. Envy of AutoCad for years.
    Very simple design. Two upright supports braced against inline and side to side movement.
    I used things I had on hand for some things so I can’t give you a precise estimate. For a finished version I would guess at under $50.

    Recommended parts are • 3 x 2*6*8• 1 x 1*2*8• 2 x 350# rated screw in hooks• Handle full of wood screws and some 12 and 8 inch bolts.• 8 inches of 4” wide brass strap
    On the diagram above I have marked the height I placed the j hooks on the vertical plane. The height you use will affect the length of your ridgeline. I set mine so that with my hammock as loose as I could hang it I would be sitting just slightly lower than I prefer in my hammock.
    When at the highest and tightest I would be just a little too high.

    I am 5’8 and I like my hammock a little high compared to most people, the right height for me for the foot end hook is 65” off the ground with the head at 47”.This design bows inward as it is loaded.

    This is adjustable with both preload and damping. To make the forces act equally on the length of the beam used as a spring accounting for the off center location of the center of mass and the greater leverage allowed by the higher foot end I found that having the head angle outward at 30 degrees and the foot end at 20.
    Short braces on the inside angle at an acute angle anchor against the upright moving while allowing the proper amount of flex in. The same for the side to side braces. They must be angled to allow for your brace the upright posts beyond the end of the foot they are anchored on requiring an angled miter cut.

    If you put miter in line with the board you will have your support hanging inches in front of the beam unless you make it too short to be of use.
    I recommend an initial build with all screws and bolts predrilled and counter sunk. All joints test fitted and then build in place as it will not pass through my hallway and doorways.

    Start by planning out your cuts if you want to get this out of three boards. I used 2 2*6’s and few pieces of scrap including a piece of 2*12 that was 48” for one of the feet. I can’t give you the proper height for You should always plan all your cuts before you begin a project to avoid wasting wood.
    All screws and bolts should be countersunk to avoid damaging your hammock or the floor.
    You should always watch the Yankee wood wright’s shop for the right way to do it after listening to me.

    Start with your base. Cut your feet to the proper width and mark your center line. Pre drill from the bottom for a two bolts to anchor your upright post that will pass from the feet and through the spine of the stand to anchor them vertically.

    Place one hole on the center line at 2” in and the other at 4.
    Your going to want to line up your spine on top of your feet and mark and predrill it as well. The spine is horizontal in this build making it easy. Just square the edges and match your center lines. (I assume you own and use squares, protractors, clamps, and assistants as appropriate.)

    These will be screwed together for the final product. Temporarily putting them into place now will make your life easier. Final assembly use four 3 ½ screws to attach the spine to the feet.

    Cut the length on your head and foot upright supports as appropriate for the hang height you wish and at least two inches of board length beyond the hook you intend to install. This will prevent your weight from levering the threaded part of the hook through the end of the board.
    The support for the head should be angled at 20 degrees outward and set so that the outer edge of the spine is even with the outer edge of the support. The foot end is 30 degrees.Noob tip. Flipping your boards around on the chop saw after cutting the bottom will allow you to cut them so that the top surface is horizontal when assembled. Toe the front and rear of your uprights into place from the top and then stand the structure on end to screw the long bolts into place. Center them along the center of the spine, leaning outward, outermost edge of the upright aligned with the end of the spine.
    Use the 2*4 for your braces.
    Attach the bracing for the interior angle.

    This is a deliberately acute angle to transfer the strain to the spine in the proper place. By trial and error I found that having the foot end with the bottom center of the brace at 14” from the center of the upright and meeting it at 12” being the center of the top of the brace things worked well. The measurement for the head end is 13 out for the bottom and 12 for the center of the top.
    I am measuring from center to allow you to use 2*6 or 2*4. A 2*8 will provide too much stiffness and I ended up trimming part of a 2*6 to get the feel I wanted. HYOH.
    verticalbrace.jpg
    You need to account for the outward sweep of the upright when you are adding the braces against side-to-side sway. If you do not remember to angle them outward, you will end up with them in front of the upright rather than bracing it. Back edge of the foot to the front of the upright.
    headbraces.jpg
    Now here is the only tricky bit in the whole assembly. Once you have those braces marked cut them 1/4 inch shorter than they should be and attach them with the top of the brace at 18” FIRST then attaching the bottom, this will pull the feet into a gentle curve that is flat along center. All of this is the same for the head and foot ends.
    Footraised.jpg
    Mark and predrill your locations for the hooks so that they are level when installed.
    IF you know where you will want the suspension for your bridge to be located cut, bend and predrill for it, Flat head screws counter sunk for a smooth surface. Install the brass sheeting where your suspension will touch the uprights.
    Now that its all together take it all apart, sand, stain, and varnish. Varnishing over the brass will add corrosion resistance and a bit of protection from the edges of the screws.
    Assemble in desired location and your ready to go.

    gatheredside.jpgThat was pretty easy and straight forward. So where is all the fancy adjustability and springiness I wanted.
    The amount that the spine will bow down towards the ground can be adjusted by sliding blocks into place underneath it.spine.jpg
    By starting with one in the center and adding two or more evenly spaced towards the head and foot, sliding them closer to or farther from the middle. You can tune the spines flex to your taste.
    You can adjust the height of your foot or head end relative to the hook by letting it hang from the continuous loop full length, or wrapping it tighter to pull in closer.
    headhook.jpg
    You can see on the head of my hammock I have it wrapped so that the end of my hammock is almost touching the hook. I have it pulled tightly on the foot end as well.
    You can see that it has pulled this until it is almost level with the center of the hook.

    On the foot end I have it wrapped looser so that it is hanging lower than the hook. However I pulled the continuous loop back towards the upright by cinching it in with a soft shackle. The weight is still supported vertically from the hook.

    foothook.jpg

    The loop is pulled towards the upright stretching the ridgeline of my hammock and preloading the spine so that there is just the right amount of flex and resistance. It also prevents my ridgeline from slacking as the stand bows inward under weight without preload.
    And finally I can use this method to hang my foot end a full eight inches lower than the height of the hook without changing the length of my ridgeline. Y
    ou can get several degrees of adjustment on your head foot level. I have taken my El Dorado from full 110 length taut ridgeline to almost 96 inches and lots of sag. All from how tightly you pull your hammock to the hooks, how close to the upright you pull the end of your hammock along the hook. And how long you have your ridgeline. A wrap or two of your ridgeline around a carbiner is all you need if you do not have an adjustable ridgeline and your ridgeline is a bit too long. I personally like mine at 107” on the El dorado.

    carbinerlaight.jpg
    That’s points one and two for adjustability and springiness. How about swinging?
    That was the point of making a gentle curve on your feet. IF you rock too far off center, as you swing the stand will rock with you and the two motions will dampen each other out. Smart folks hang a pendulum in the top of skyscrapers to absorb the energy of the wind. Same thing.
    You can use this with a bridge hammock by extending the dog bones behind the upright and crossing them then pulling them to the front and sliding them over the hook. On my ridgerunner I ignored the loops and put the end of the dogbones directly over the hook.
    suspensionraisedbridge1.jpgI raised the height of the head end by using a soft shackle to hold the lines up either in front of or behind the upright. ( I like to be pretty high). suspensionraisedbridge2.jpgThe foot end was fine for me to stretch things further or to bring the foot end down lower.
    A whoopie looped around the upright below the braces can be used to pull the place the dog bones cross behind the upright out and down. By pulling down you lower the foot, if you have the crossing point anchored in height and shorten the dogbones by taking a wrap or two around the hook you lengthen your effective hang taking sag out of the bridge.

    Sorry I didn’t take any pictures of that when I was using the ridgerunner on it, and no staging photos by having the crew swap out hammocks.

    The places that the ropes cross behind the uprights and the corners are what that brass sheeting is to cover. A few inches above and below where you think you will want it to allow for adjustments and other users would be a good idea.
    The foot print is a little big, however you can slide the feet under other furniture for part of their length without restricting your hang on the foot nicely. And I lay head right with the stand close enough to the bed I can reach out to my wife without knocking my head into the side rocking myself to sleep. This went into the space I had a large side table and my walkway beside the bed.

    It looks larger than the space it takes up in your room.

    I have used my 9 ½ foot hammock on this with no trouble, I larks headed a long continuous loop onto the foot end and it got me hanging nicely after pulling the head end up against the hook body.

    Hope this helps someone figure out a better way for their situation. This hits most of the boxes for me. And one of these days I will make a pretty one with walnut stain and brass to make my wife happier too.
    Last edited by rmcrow2; 01-17-2022 at 09:50.

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