Custom lightweight stick build

[Murph4028]

Wanted to build a strong yet lightweight stick. So I contacted @bowhunter15 to see how his sticks we're holding up with the 1/16th 6061 tubing. He said his are still doing fine so I figured I'd give it a shot. Here's what mine are made of and come out to:

24"x1"x.065", 6061 aluminum tubing
Custom steps designed by myself with 1/8" tread
Lone wolf tree v brackets
1/4" grade 8 bolts
Fender washer for versa button
1/4" amsteel blue
G2 paint job (thanks @g2outdoors )

Measurements:
24" long
22" step to step
Steps are 10" wide
Weighs 1lb 14 ounces with amsteel

One thing to note I don't know if this is known yet or not but I tightened the tree brackets down to where they can't rotate and this thing grabs HARD. Once I set it it don't move. Overall I'm happy with it and I thought I'd share. Definitely using it next season.

 

[g2outdoors]

Love it! We'll Done.

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[Ontariofarmer]

Well done


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[pilgrimhunter]

Nice!


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[boyne bowhunter]

Very nice!

 

[Cript2014]

Awesome looks great I’m looking at doing some like this!

 

[ckossuth]

Those look awesome bro!!


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[skyjacker]

Very nice. That's DIY inspiration.

 

[Murph4028]

Thanks everyone. It was a lot of fun. I think next I am going to design another set of steps that aren't 5 ounces a piece and 10" long and see how light but functional of a stick I can build. Maybe around the 8" mark.

 

[BRAVEHEART]

Nice job!

 

[Squirrels]

Good stuff man.

 

[Sandor27]

How thick are your steps? I have found that 1/4" 6061 is plenty thick (sure you can bend it, but you'd have to go out of your way to do so). If you are using 3/8" you can cut the weight by 33% without changing your profile. Since you are using two bolts per step you don't need the recess for alignment and can run with the flat stock.

Nice job and I really like the paint. That would disappear here with our moss and lichen covered oaks.

 

[huntmore]

Wanted to build a strong yet lightweight stick. So I contacted @bowhunter15 to see how his sticks we're holding up with the 1/16th 6061 tubing. He said his are still doing fine so I figured I'd give it a shot. Here's what mine are made of and come out to:

24"x1"x.065", 6061 aluminum tubing
Custom steps designed by myself with 1/8" tread
Lone wolf tree v brackets
1/4" grade 8 bolts
Fender washer for versa button
1/4" amsteel blue
G2 paint job (thanks @g2outdoors )

Measurements:
24" long
22" step to step
Steps are 10" wide
Weighs 1lb 14 ounces with amsteel

One thing to note I don't know if this is known yet or not but I tightened the tree brackets down to where they can't rotate and this thing grabs HARD. Once I set it it don't move. Overall I'm happy with it and I thought I'd share. Definitely using it next season.

overall what do you think each stick cost you?

 

[Murph4028]

How thick are your steps? I have found that 1/4" 6061 is plenty thick (sure you can bend it, but you'd have to go out of your way to do so). If you are using 3/8" you can cut the weight by 33% without changing your profile. Since you are using two bolts per step you don't need the recess for alignment and can run with the flat stock.

Nice job and I really like the paint. That would disappear here with our moss and lichen covered oaks.

Yeah my steps are 3/8 thick. I wanted this one to be stout but lightweight. I purposely made the steps oversized both on width and length knowing I would sacrifice a few ounces. On the next build I'll go a little smaller. But it's definitely not heavy at all to carry around. Pretty happy with it.

overall what do you think each stick cost you?

As far as costs it was expensive because I designed the steps myself and had them machined and with it being a small order of only 2 they ran me 65 bucks a piece. Then the LW brackets we're 10 a piece and the tubing was like 5 bucks. I already had the amsteel and bolt hardware. So somewhere around 155 bucks. I only built one because that's all I use.

 

[Sandor27]

You might want to check out Big Blue Saw. They are an online waterjet machining provider. You upload your cut files to them and they mail you your parts. For a comparison, I had them quote the steps that I used on my stick prototypes. (The last two version in this thread...) They quoted 10 pieces at only $15.62ea. That's in 1/4" material, so figure a few dollars more in 3/8".

 

[Murph4028]

You might want to check out Big Blue Saw. They are an online waterjet machining provider. You upload your cut files to them and they mail you your parts. For a comparison, I had them quote the steps that I used on my stick prototypes. (The last two version in this thread...) They quoted 10 pieces at only $15.62ea. That's in 1/4" material, so figure a few dollars more in 3/8".

Wow good to know thank you!