Hawk Helium Stick Cutdown Question

[Boomah21]

You did an awesome job on those

 

[Boomah21]

Let me know if you ever decide to sell any of those aiders

 

[ImThere]

You did a fantastic job.
You aren’t hooking the aider like that on the tree are you?


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[PJC]

That looks like a sweet set.


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[Squirrels]

Let me know if you ever decide to sell any of those aiders

Thanks. I tested and mocked up some different aider designs. 3 step side looped with 15”ish loops was my initial plan but my final design was just safer and easier to use for me.


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[Squirrels]

You did a fantastic job.
You aren’t hooking the aider like that on the tree are you?


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You mean over the standoff bracket? I assume you are concerned with it sliding between the bracket and tree. I can loop it over the steps easily.


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[ImThere]

Yes I had to slide down the tree to the next stick one time because I did it like in your picture. My old app sticks and home made aiders. I had a large single loop and set it on the tree stand off.


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[Squirrels]

I really rather it be there and have some ideas to keep it from being able to slip back and do that. Thanks for pointing that out Incase others may be doing that.


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[elk yinzer]

Is a drill press necessary for the new step placement? I am going to do this but can't think of how I would have access to one. Concerned my weak lithium hand drill might not get through aluminum well, or that I might not line up the two holes in the beam correctly. If I can do it, what size carbide bits do I need?

 

[Jefferson10940]

Is a drill press necessary for the new step placement? I am going to do this but can't think of how I would have access to one. Concerned my weak lithium hand drill might not get through aluminum well, or that I might not line up the two holes in the beam correctly. If I can do it, what size carbide bits do I need?

I am not sure what size bit you would need, but a screw gun with lithium battery will definitely do the trick. Make sure the bit is for metal, I usually always start out with a very small bit and step up the size until I get the desired size. This is much easier than using a large bit from the start.

 

[MCDM]

X2 what @Jefferson10940 said. Take your time and if you need to know the size Buy a set of bits and just slide one in that is the size of the hole. When drilling go slow and start small then work up to the actual bit size needed. I will also say that if you can get a punch to make a small dent/hole basically just to mark the drill spot that will prove beneficial as it puts a small groove which will eliminate the drill bit rolling or sliding out of the intended spot.

 

[elk yinzer]

X2 what @Jefferson10940 said. Take your time and if you need to know the size Buy a set of bits and just slide one in that is the size of the hole. When drilling go slow and start small then work up to the actual bit size needed. I will also say that if you can get a punch to make a small dent/hole basically just to mark the drill spot that will prove beneficial as it puts a small groove which will eliminate the drill bit rolling or sliding out of the intended spot.

Did the mod this weekend and it went fairly well. ^^^^This was the key advice here which I didn't see until this morning.

Another bit of prudent advice would be to practice drilling the holes on the piece of I-beam you are going to cut off/discard. I didn't do that, so I messed up my first hole by fractions of an inch and the step doesn't quite sit flush. I think there is still plenty of material to hold the bolt, but I am going to use that as my bottom step just in case. After screwing up once I figured to start with a very small bit and work up and was golden.

Also climbed a tree out back using the movable aider inspired by DaveT, wow what a smart way to use an aider. I haven't experienced any issues with deer seeing aiders, for me the huge benefit is how much it improves the packability. I kept my 2 step aider on the bottom stick for now and got to 19 feet using the movable aider on the other two.

Finally one last very very minor thing I did which I don't think I've seen mentioned with the heliums, the top of the I beam I just took a file to it and rounded the edges off. Mine were surprisingly sharp out of the box and prone to snag on things.

 

[MCDM]

Did the mod this weekend and it went fairly well. ^^^^This was the key advice here which I didn't see until this morning.

Another bit of prudent advice would be to practice drilling the holes on the piece of I-beam you are going to cut off/discard. I didn't do that, so I messed up my first hole by fractions of an inch and the step doesn't quite sit flush. I think there is still plenty of material to hold the bolt, but I am going to use that as my bottom step just in case. After screwing up once I figured to start with a very small bit and work up and was golden.

Also climbed a tree out back using the movable aider inspired by DaveT, wow what a smart way to use an aider. I haven't experienced any issues with deer seeing aiders, for me the huge benefit is how much it improves the packability. I kept my 2 step aider on the bottom stick for now and got to 19 feet using the movable aider on the other two.

Finally one last very very minor thing I did which I don't think I've seen mentioned with the heliums, the top of the I beam I just took a file to it and rounded the edges off. Mine were surprisingly sharp out of the box and prone to snag on things.

What do you mean by your step not being flush? Unless you are talking about even with the other step!! Im glad the advice worked out for you.

 

[elk yinzer]

What do you mean by your step not being flush? Unless you are talking about even with the other step!! Im glad the advice worked out for you.

The first hole I drilled ended up being maybe 1/16" farther from the center of the I beam than it should have been. Small mistake but when you fold the step out, there is a flat surface about 1/2" long that should rest flush on the inside center of the beam. That isn't quite perfectly flush with my mistake. I don't think it's going to be a problem just pointing out the wisdom of getting the holes perfectly where they need to be.

 

[MCDM]

Ok now i see what you mean!! I should have said that when i did mine i used a tape to align the holes along the length of the stick and across. That made it easier to get the right fit. Either way i think you worked it out which is good!!

 

[PJC60]

What's the DaveT inspired aider?


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[DaveT1963]

Folks just some info that may come in handy.... While I have never dropped a foot aider while using them on sticks in over 3 years of constant use. I will tell you this you can easily use your tree tether as a long foot loop if you do. Its one of the solutions i came up with and practiced when I asked myself that very question.... what if I drop my one and only aider. Very simple solution provided you have a separate LB and tether.

 

[Ontariofarmer]

A rope on a grapple would pick it up too.

 

[lavazhole]

Has anyone collected up the cut off pieces and welded them back together?

 

[Matki15]

Has anyone collected up the cut off pieces and welded them back together?

Not that I know of, no point in risking your life just to reuse the old pieces in that way. Some people have made mini sticks out of them though. I bought someone else’s cutoffs and made some strap on steps and a ring of steps that work well