Is this safe? LW stick mod

[justlooking]

I’m pretty embarrassed to post this, but going to swallow my pride in the name of safety. Please don’t rake me over the coals too bad, I made a mistake while trying to cut down LW sticks and I’m beating myself up enough. I’m hoping some guys who have more experience with metal working can weigh in on the safety.

If you’re familiar with lone wolf sticks you know how the single steps require two holes in the post, one for the step itself and one for the smaller bolt which stops the step from rotating any further. Well, despite my best efforts to be exact, I messed up the spacing between the two holes. To compensate, I drilled a bigger hole for the step bolt. Now that bolt has a bit of play in it. When stepping on it (1’ off the ground) I can feel it kind of settle. I pulled it back out and no plastic deformation, But I’m concerned about the long term affects. Any thoughts? Go easy on me guys... haha thanks for any inputs.

 

[GBlevins92]

Personally I don’t like the idea of the hole size being bigger at all...How much play?....pics?


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[Weldabeast]

Sloppy holes lead to material fatigue and failure over time

 

[Bigterp]

Doesn’t sound good at all, any chance you can save it with a double step?? Or just replace the tube on that one stick?

 

[enkriss]

I would suck it up buy double steps or catalyst steps and call it a day.

 

[Flee]

As mentioned I think you could just put a double step on there and do away with the stopper bolt. Or if need be cut it off at the bolt hole and put on a double step. So one stick will be a few inches shorter.

 

[justlooking]

Agree with everything you guys have said. Trying to figure out how I can salvage this stick or if I need to buy a new post. Or if I should just buy beast sticks or shikars haha. Any tips for drilling clean holes without a drill press?

 

[ThereWillBeSpuds]

Agree with everything you guys have said. Trying to figure out how I can salvage this stick or if I need to buy a new post. Or if I should just buy beast sticks or shikars haha. Any tips for drilling clean holes without a drill press?

Go slow, sharp bit. Use a punch to make a divot in the exact spot where the center of the hole should be.

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[Flee]

I just used a hand drill. A chamfer would make the holes pretty but not really needed. If it gives you an excuse to buy sticks then I’m all for that. Haha. But your worse case is you lose a few inches off that stick. Don’t throw that post away. Someone will mod it.

 

[Islandshooter]

Drill press is best, or you can get tubes pre-drilled from DanO at EWO. But...when I cut my lone wolf sticks, I clamped the excess piece over the location and used those holes as a jig. Not perfect, but it worked. I agree with the above. Honestly, once you try double steps, it's hard to go back. Even if you keep the LW single step on the bottom and doublestep the top. Good luck! And always ask the guys on here, because someone has almost always tried what you're about to do!

 

[Loopwing]

Patience and get a brand new, name brand, sharp drill bit, Use a punch exactly where you want to drill. If you don't have a punch, just use a nail and hit it just hard enough to make a small indention. The drill bit will grab the hole. Go buy a new "good" drill bit. $5-7 is a lot cheaper than a new stick. Go slow.

 

[Anobody]

Agree with the above my little drill dress has been a life saver and buying the exact size bits matter.
One thing I’ll say is only cut off the bottom of the stick. This not only saves the stacking spacing but also gives you a jig to drill with. Makes life a lot easier

 

[justlooking]

Yeah I should have done more research and read about the jig idea, and the nail indention too. I have double steps from dano to put on top. You guys think it’s worth having them on the bottom too?

 

[Islandshooter]

Yeah I should have done more research and read about the jig idea, and the nail indention too. I have double steps from dano to put on top. You guys think it’s worth having them on the bottom too?

I do, but my spacing (of the next stick) is measured from my feet on the bottom step. If you space from the top, then you only need a single step. It was that quad burn on the single steps that killed me!!! Lol. If I ordered the shikars, it would be with a single on the bottom and double on top. You've got the parts, try it to see which you like better. And which carries easier for you.

 

[ImThere]

move the step up to where your current top hole can be you bottom hole and redrill the top hole. you'll lose like 1/2 in of stick, I hope that make sense

 

[DanO]

And another option - remove everything, rotate the stick a quarter turn, and start fresh. Would require you to drill all new holes, but if you don't want to lose any stick length it might be an option. Cover the stick with StealthStrips and no one will know you have "weight reducing holes" on the sides.

 

[Islandshooter]

And another option - remove everything, rotate the stick a quarter turn, and start fresh. Would require you to drill all new holes, but if you don't want to lose any stick length it might be an option. Cover the stick with StealthStrips and no one will know you have "weight reducing holes" on the sides.

Duh!!! That should've been our first answer!!! Leave it to DanO!!!!

 

[justlooking]

I used the waste end that I cut off with the factory holes in it as a jig, worked great. Thanks for that tip. I left 1/2” of space between the bottom of the new hole and top of the old hole. The step will sit about 1.5” higher than I originally wanted, but the only downside there is when I stack them, that stick will have to be on the bottom. Not the sexiest setup but it’ll get the job done and I feel way safer. Thanks for the help guys, it’s nice knowing there at least some other hunters out there that are still willing to help each other out on the internet.

 

[Flee]

I weighed the ultralight light double step to compare to the stick LW single step and it’s 2oz heavier per step. So each stick would be 4oz heavier. I think we’ll worth it. Then if you drill holes to lighten up the stick plus the tiny bit of weight saved from the stopper bolt it more than offsets the weight.

 

[DanO]

I weighed the ultralight light double step to compare to the stick LW single step and it’s 2oz heavier per step. So each stick would be 4oz heavier. I think we’ll worth it. Then if you drill holes to lighten up the stick plus the tiny bit of weight saved from the stopper bolt it more than offsets the weight.

Which double step? I had to go do a quick check myself. The EWO ultralight DoubleSteps are only 2.7 oz each and the LW single steps are 2.0 oz. Only .7 oz heavier.