I am pleased to report that it appears to have worked quite nicely. I am currently in my hammock, giving my new 2x4 PHS a test hang. I will take some pics tomorrow, as it's too dark tonight.Originally Posted by TrailH4x
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I wanted to report back with pics on how my disaster-inspired modification turned out.
As previously alluded to, my initial attempt was a bust. I notched the uprights too deeply. Upon testing the fruits of my labors, I was instantly rewarded with the distinctive sound of cracking lumber. Fortunately, my fear of death is more keenly honed than my construction skills, and I did not lay in my hammock to test my construction. Consequently, the resulting sinking feeling I experienced was only emotional!
In discussing the issue with my lovely wife (who is the daughter of an engineer and DIY master), she suggested that rather than notching the uprights I could attach a block to act as a stop for the brace. This would serve the same purpose as the notch, without weakening the uprights. I am pleased to report that her suggestion appears to be working nicely.
IMG_4526.jpg
I went with 7' uprights this time, which left a 1' scrap. I cut one in half to make two 6" blocks. I angled the bottom of each block to match the angle of the brace. I carefully set the upright's angle to 60° (using the Ultimate Hang calculator's clinometer). Then I used the end of the brace to scribe a line along the side of the block. By happy chance the angle turned out to be 22.5°, one of the angles provided by my miter box. I attached the blocks using long galvanized deck screws I found at my local hardware store. It was necessary to pre-drill the screw holes, both to ensure that everything lined up, and because without pre-drilling there was no power on heaven nor earth that could have tightened the screws all the way. I also pre-drilled countersink holes deep enough to ensure that roughly 1/2 of the screw was in upright.
IMG_4525.jpg
With the block in place, the brace now butts up against the block rather than into a notch. The stabbing guide fits snugly around the block and upright. The block protrudes farther from the upright than the brace, and could be cut off. In fact, the size of the block prevents the stand from folding down as compactly as without it. It may be better to rip the block in half lengthwise before attaching.
IMG_4527.jpg
A look down the end of the brace and block. I'm not sure how my block came out slanted when I had it clamped in a miter box, but the angle is a good match for the end of the brace. (I'm also not sure why this photo turned on me)
IMG_4522.jpg
Here is my (nearly) finished stand. On my first attempt I used 6' uprights, and my hammock rode too low. This one uses 7'. The hammock height is much better. However, the longer uprights mean more flex side-to-side when the stand isn't exactly level, or when the hammock swings side to side. I'll need more hammock time to determine if this is a problem (No Dear, I'm not relaxing, I'm researching!). In the mean time, I have lowered the eye bolts a few inches.
Some reflections on this project that may be of use to anybody wishing to build one for themselves:
- If you want to try this, you'll want to measure, cut, and attach the block after the uprights and braces are attached to the base, but before adding the stabbing guides.
- I built this using only a hand drill, a miter box and hand saw, a 3 lb. hammer, various wrenches and sockets, and a hack saw. It is totally possible to do it this way, and it was fun. That said, a power saw of any kind would have made this go quicker. A drill press would have made drilling perpendicular holes much easier.
- I used carriage bolts and lock nuts. I am happy with the result. But starting and tightening the lock nuts was challenging. The idea, as I understand it, with a carriage bolts is to pound the square shoulder into the wood, which holds the bolt in place, allowing you to tighten the nut. With a lock nut (the kind with the nylon insert), no amount of pounding would hold the bolt in place. So, I used an open end wrench on the square shoulder to hold the bolt while I started and tightened the nut with a ratchet. When I finally had to remove the wrench, I then used a 3 lb. hammer to pound the shoulder into the wood, and finished tightening. A few of the bolts were exceptionally foul tempered, however, and to finish them I used vice grips on the threaded end to hold the bolt while I tightened with an open end wrench. Next time I will probably still use carriage bolts, but try regular nuts with lock washers.
- Splash out the $5-10 for drill bits long enough to drill through all of the layers of wood in one go. It will make your life much easier.
- I bought a pair of cheap plastic sawhorses for this project. They saved me untold kneeling and crawling on the concrete floor. Totally worth the $24.99!
- The added width of the stabbing guide makes folding and unfolding the stand a little awkward. It has also resulted in the wood of the stabbing guides getting a little dinged up. Next time I will add a second spacer, the width of the stabbing guide, to each 2" spacer along the base. This should fix the problem.
- I agree with an earlier poster that attaching the outriggers at the end was awkward. They could probably be attached much earlier in the process by using "dummy" spacers in place of the uprights and braces to ensure the proper base width. Then swap out the dummy spacers for the actual uprights and spacers as they are built. This would allow you to turn the base over and assemble it upside down (once the holes are drilled through the base and outriggers), which wasn't really possible before because the braces and uprights would not allow it to lay flat when turned this way.
- The stabbing guides fit very snugly. Very snugly. I may plane some material off the insides of the guides to make set up and take down easier.
- The spacer blocks rotate when I lift and lower the uprights and braces. While it does not degrade function, it bugs me. Some galvanized deck screws through the side of the base would probably lock them into place.
- I built an 8' base. Moving it requires two people. To make it portable, in any practical sense, I will need to add wheels to one end. Previous poster's have addressed already this.
- I am not a diminutive man. This causes some interesting stresses on the uprights during use. If the stand is not level, the weight is not centered over the base and the uprights flex to one side very noticeably. This does not make me feel warm and fuzzy. Left over scraps can be used to level the stand. I also wonder if there is a way to guy this to the outriggers, so as not to require guy lines and stakes that will inevitably trip me up and cause me to say bad words.
- Viewing my finished product, I appears that I could easily have gone with a 7' base (maybe even 6'). A shorter base would
- Achieve the same hammock height with shorter uprights
- Shorter uprights would reduce side-to-side flexing forces
- Make the stand more portable
While I still prefer to err on the side of building too big and being able to cut down to size, bigger is just not always better.
I have really enjoyed this project. Please do not allow my detail-oriented/overthinking rambling to convince you otherwise. I spent last evening stretched out in my hammock on my brand new stand listening to an audio book and loving every single minute of it. And I intend to spend many more
Last edited by Heber Hammock; 10-16-2016 at 14:22.
ErinBurge and I built a PHS. Thanks to TrailH4x for the design and Heber Hammock for the mod! Total cost $53
IMG_20200101_160837872_HDR.jpg
Good looking group! Enjoy.
H4x
SM TR49, SR-875 "A boy learns integrity through his eyes, ears and hands."
"You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to." Bilbo Baggins, as quoted by Frodo The Fellowship of the Ring
Yesterday I went to Lowes and picked up the materials. Today I spent some time with the build. Wish I had gone all the way through the posts and seen Heber's stop block improvement. A quick fix for next weekend. My fist hang I had a little scissoring action and added some wood screws to the guides. I still need to cut off the excess on the bolts, and add an eyelet for a tarp. 7' uprights to accommodate an 11' hammock. It definitely turned out better than my TurtleDog stand. I could see making a few of these. Thanks to everyone who worked on the design and updates.
My first PHS Med.jpg
Lucky me, lucky mud. - Kurt Vonnegut.
Keep us posted. Great job with this one!
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H4x
SM TR49, SR-875 "A boy learns integrity through his eyes, ears and hands."
"You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to." Bilbo Baggins, as quoted by Frodo The Fellowship of the Ring
I spent some time after work this week doing some of the finishing touches. Trimmed the bolts. Added stopper blocks. Added small stabilizing feet. So other than stain or paint the Job is complete.
Here it is with my new to me Chameleon:
PHS w chameleon small.jpg
And here it is collapsed.:
Folded PHS small.jpg
Lucky me, lucky mud. - Kurt Vonnegut.
I finally had time and energy to build one of these.
First, many thanks to "TrailH4x" for the idea and "SinisterMinister" for the drafting.
Unpainted and folded:
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Painted and hanging:
20200608_164202.jpg
(Apologies for the sideways pictures)
Here is my version of the stand. Great design guys. Thanks much.IMG_20200808_192338907_HDR.jpgIMG_20200808_133854226.jpgIMG_20200808_133906921.jpgIMG_20200816_145040829_HDR.jpg
Nice work!
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
H4x
SM TR49, SR-875 "A boy learns integrity through his eyes, ears and hands."
"You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to." Bilbo Baggins, as quoted by Frodo The Fellowship of the Ring
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