Had some free time today and fabricated a tree step wrench I have about 200 Ameristep screw-ins and figured I'd use them up for platforms pre-setting tree in places I have scouted out. It will save time and keep things quiet.
I took an 8" peice of flat stock and cut it about 1.5" wide. I torched some ears in to catch the step for either screwing in or taking out. I heated and bent a 90 about 1.5" from the tip. Drilled a few hole to slide the step through and spaced them out. You can get a little more leverage on the upper hole but need to use the lower to get the step tight against the tree. I then took some 7/16" rod, cut it about 7" and threaded both end so I could secure it to the flat stock and be able to put a rotating handle on it using conduit. pretty simple and works like a charm. Should last forever. About 1/2 hr. worth of work and less than $5 in material. You could make it longer for additional leverage but I wan't to make make small enough to be be practical.I know there are steps out there that are a breeze to put in but there is no denying that Ameristeps suck and pretty rough putting in by hand so had to make something to utilize what was on hand.
I took an 8" peice of flat stock and cut it about 1.5" wide. I torched some ears in to catch the step for either screwing in or taking out. I heated and bent a 90 about 1.5" from the tip. Drilled a few hole to slide the step through and spaced them out. You can get a little more leverage on the upper hole but need to use the lower to get the step tight against the tree. I then took some 7/16" rod, cut it about 7" and threaded both end so I could secure it to the flat stock and be able to put a rotating handle on it using conduit. pretty simple and works like a charm. Should last forever. About 1/2 hr. worth of work and less than $5 in material. You could make it longer for additional leverage but I wan't to make make small enough to be be practical.I know there are steps out there that are a breeze to put in but there is no denying that Ameristeps suck and pretty rough putting in by hand so had to make something to utilize what was on hand.