This has been some interesting reading, and eloquent solutions have been put forth. We stand on the shoulders of those who come before us.
With that being said, I am not much of a wood worker nor have a work shop in the garage. After musing over this for some time I decided on using some Easton Nano 10-inch tent stakes that I have on hand, but quickly realized that they would certainly fail due to the forces applied.
My thoughts were to use a titanium rod to strengthen the mini spreader bar, and see if 8 to 10 inches might work out well on a Tablecloth crinkle taffeta 135”x90” that I had channels sewn in.
I chose a small channel of about ½” thinking that the 90” width would bunch up nicely and prevent the cloth from shifting on the smooth surface of the anodized aluminum stake.
Galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals (7075 Easton T-6 Aluminum) and (Titanium Grade 5 round rod, unpolished (Mill) finish, annealed Mil T-9047/AMS 4928, of 0.25-inch diameter) can be a problem even if the aluminum stake is anodized.
Home Depot had the Rust-Oleum Self Etching Primer to solve this with a bit of light sanding of the titanium rod, and they also have the Loctite Metal/Concrete 2-part epoxy (rated at 3200 lbs).
Here is an image before treating the titanium rod that shows how the 90-inch width of the Taffeta material bunches up in the ½” channel to prevent fabric walk on the aluminum stake.
Double click image to zoom in on the stitching and the beveled holes in the tent stake heads. Also note that if the Easton 11-inch stakes are used the head design will nicely assist the fabric from walking if some heat shrink is applied to hold the end of the channels.
Mini Spreader Bar.jpg.jpg
Here is how the aluminum and titanium compare in terms of design characteristics...
http://www.makeitfrom.com/compare-ma...56400-Titanium
I will probably upgrade the stake to the 11-inch Easton Aluminum due to head design and I can always cut it to size.
http://www.eastonpoles.com/img/camp-anchor-stake.jpg
I like using 1/8-inch Dyneema Gray and will do long bury loops to attach to the end points with two Petzl Ange S lightweight (28g) carabiners rated at 20kN.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...tart=0&ndsp=19
Check out the Outdoor Gear Lab review of the Petzl...
http://youtu.be/Dv4jhNTrxgU
Almost forgot, a butane torch lighter was used to heat the tent stake heads, with a nail inserted to twist once heated, comes off very easily.
I am 205 lbs and there is no appreciable flexing that I can determine.
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