Spreader Bar broken

[MGtraildog]

One of my spreader bars snapped in half on my first test of bridge hammock I used 3/4 inch wood dowel from Home Depot. Any suggestions on making new spreader bars?

[hangnout]

You may need to check your suspension triangle to make sure the sides are long enough.

.625 Easton tent poles (http://Questoutfitters.com/tent_poles.htm#TENT%20POLES) from Questoutfitters.com work well

[MGtraildog]

Hangnout. Good point The triangle was very short. I put a lot of stress on the spreader bar.

[ceiliazul]

One of my spreader bars snapped in half on my first test of bridge hammock I used 3/4 inch wood dowel from Home Depot. Any suggestions on making new spreader bars?

I've had issues with HD dowels sheering off before. It seems the grain of the wood is not parallel to the center of the dowel. When it does sheer it can make some wicked looking spikes. My first bridge had a webbing cup to hold the end, and it launched the broken spike about 15 feet away. You're talking about a lot of force too, it could have pretty easily skewered someone if they were in the wrong place.

[BrianWillan]

I've had issues with HD dowels sheering off before. It seems the grain of the wood is not parallel to the center of the dowel. When it does sheer it can make some wicked looking spikes. My first bridge had a webbing cup to hold the end, and it launched the broken spike about 15 feet away. You're talking about a lot of force too, it could have pretty easily skewered someone if they were in the wrong place.

I am using Home Depot dowels (1") for the spreader bars for my bridge hammock. I also have a long suspension triangle so compression forces are reduced somewhat. One thing I did on my dowels when I bought them was to go through the bin and find the straightest ones. When I cut my notches in the end, I made sure the notch was cut across the grain in order to minimize the chances of them splitting. So far it seems to have worked quite well.

I believe the rule of thumb for suspension triangle side length is to be at least 75% of spreader bar length.

Cheers

Brian

[streamline]

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but would the .625 poles work for a spreader bar between two hammocks?