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  1. #1
    Member p0key's Avatar
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    Turtledog stand idea, what do you think?

    I'd like to make a colapsable set of turtledog stands. Primarily I want it to be easy for my wife to set up if I'm not around, and I want it to pack down for storage and car travel. Second to those goals is to make them on a budget, and do them in a way that is easily repeatable.

    The legs
    I'm thinking of making the legs out of 1/2" (EMT) conduit; each leg would be two 3' sections of pipe joined by a conduit coupling, which is like a little sleeve with a set screw. Conduit is the absolite cheapest material I could find for building the legs (even cheaper than 2x2 pine when you factor in the couplings), and the load is spread out so much between the two stands, that it's still way overbuilt imo. But what about the couplings? is there a side load on them that I'm not thinking about, or some other reason that this might not work?

    The spreader bar
    I'm not sure what to do about the spreader bar. I have several ideas for this, but what I'd really like to do is make it out of 10' piece of 3/4" (EMT) coundit, cut in half and coupled like the legs. I understand that the spreader bar is under a lot of compression. is any of that compression force transferred latterally, such that it would put a side load on the coupling? Do any of you guys who use a spreader bar see it bow when you're in your hammock?

    If there is any chance of that joint failing, then my next idea was to use a piece of 3/4" rigid conduit (which is much heavier than EMT) cut in half and screwed together at their threaded ends. I'm fairly certain that will work, but it's much heavier, and also costs quite a bit more.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Ratdog's Avatar
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    1" rigid may be the way to go.

    Also, check out the thread on using U.S. Military Surplus Antenna Masts that break down in 4ft sections.
    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...t=antenna+mast


    Purchased from Chad aka deagle1969 on ebay
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-ea-4-ft-R...item1c21ca0402
    Last edited by Ratdog; 07-16-2013 at 15:31.

  3. #3
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    The conduit couplings have proved to be problematic for others attempting what you describe.

    Yes, there will be side loading on the legs and ridge pole.

  4. #4
    Senior Member old4hats's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gmcttr View Post
    The conduit couplings have proved to be problematic for others attempting what you describe.

    Yes, there will be side loading on the legs and ridge pole.
    +1 on this, and the word problematic is the operative one here. They can break under stress.

  5. #5
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    the antenna masts are a good idea. I've yet to find a coupling that will work for these purposes. one other idea is to buy top posts for chain link fences. one post is 10 or 12 feet long, and flanged at one end so that 2 poles will fit into each other. so you can cut a 10' one in half and flip the one end around where it would attach to itself. I don't think they sell any shorter than 10', but you could buy 6 more of them, cut them down to 6' each, then cut those in half for the tripod legs. would be a little pricey.

  6. #6
    Member p0key's Avatar
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    Okay, so no slip in couplings on the legs or the spreader. The legs will just have to be 6" tall. Antenna mast is out (for me) due to the price. I'll probably go with a 3/4" rigid conduit spreader then since it's cheaper than antenna mast, significantly stronger than the fence pole, and lighter and simpler than any wooden two piece spreader. Thanks for the input guys.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Ratdog's Avatar
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    What are you going to use for the legs?
    Same thing?

  8. #8
    Member p0key's Avatar
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    The legs will be 1/2" EMT

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by p0key View Post
    Okay, so no slip in couplings on the legs or the spreader. The legs will just have to be 6" tall. Antenna mast is out (for me) due to the price. I'll probably go with a 3/4" rigid conduit spreader then since it's cheaper than antenna mast, significantly stronger than the fence pole, and lighter and simpler than any wooden two piece spreader. Thanks for the input guys.
    TurtleLady made a version of her stand with collapse-able EMT tripods:
    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...&postcount=564

    She did break one of the connectors and mentioned replacing it with steel:
    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...&postcount=577
    Last edited by Narksos; 07-17-2013 at 12:37. Reason: Added second post (and fixed spelling)

  10. #10
    Member p0key's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Narksos View Post
    TurtleLady made a version of her stand with collapse-able EMT tripods:
    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...&postcount=564

    She did break one of the connectors and mentioned replacing it with steel:
    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...&postcount=577

    This forum needs a "Thanks" button.

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