DIY Steel Hammock Stand

**oldgringo** · 05-19-2011, 18:44

The inspiration for this design came from Ed Speer's stand made of pipe and pipe fittings. I made one for Deer Camp, and was well pleased with it, but it was heavy and expensive. I decided to make one out of 14g square tubing, and made a few tweaks along the way.

First, a couple of observations...I'm not wild about stands that rely on a frame that runs under my back...can't quit thinking about how much that 2x4 would hurt, in the event of a sudden drop. Also, most existing DIY designs have large footprints, rendering them unusable indoors, in vehicles, and tents. With those considerations in mind, this is what I came up with.

The brace here is offset, so that the hammock can be snugged up all the way to the upright w/o interference. Holes are drilled every three inches in the uprights to allow the height to be adjusted. That's a 60p nail that I'm using.

This piece is 32" long, which will allow the stand to sit close to the wall on my porch.

That's an 11' Smokehouse hammock with a 9' ridgeline. The top bar is 10' long, making the oal of the stand 10' 3". There's room to spare.

The first one of these I built is 8' 5" oal, and is in my van.

The whoopie passes around the upright, and clips into a link of chain welded to the top bar. Doubling the suspension back on itself is what allows the stand to be so short.

Broken down into three pieces. The top bar could easily be made in two pieces, making this stand very portable. The uprights are 67.5" long.

Cost: 21' of 1.5" square tubing $21.63
10' of 1.25" square tubing $8.60
tax & other small costs $5.00

Total $35.23

**lab72** · 05-19-2011, 18:47

Nice work thats cool

**louie** · 05-19-2011, 18:51

great job Dave !
and at a very affordable price too

**Redoleary** · 05-19-2011, 19:22

Very cool! I like the double back move with the suspension... good think'n.

**Terry_Dodson** · 05-19-2011, 19:39

I like it.

Where do you get the square tubing from?

**^shane^** · 05-19-2011, 19:49

Very nice Gringo!

Do you worry about the stand tilting over with such short feet on each end?

**oldgringo** · 05-19-2011, 19:55

Originally Posted by Terry_Dodson

I like it.

Where do you get the square tubing from?

I got mine at a big steel supplier near here. Most of their customers are commercial, but they also sell to farmers, ranchers, and goofballs like me.

What you absolutely don't want to do is buy steel in short pieces from Home Depot, etc...crazy expensive.

**oldgringo** · 05-19-2011, 19:57

Originally Posted by ^shane^

Very nice Gringo!

Do you worry about the stand tilting over with such short feet on each end?

I would if there were kids involved, but adults, no.

Edited to add: For use outdoors, where space is no problem, I would extend the legs to at least 48", maybe even 60". The stand isn't very heavy, and when the wind gets hold of an empty hammock...

**Soupy** · 05-19-2011, 20:07

I like that.

Ingenious stuff.

**Detail Man** · 05-19-2011, 20:31

Great design, oldgringo.

Have you thought about how to cover it with a tarp? It would be great for car camping when park rules prohibit hanging from trees. One could make it a bit more portable by having 1.25" posts that fit into a socket on the base, just like the top bar. And make the top bar in two sections that join with a 1.5" socket.

Good work. I like it a lot. Now you just need to have it powder coated.