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Another DIY platform

slonstdy

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2018
Messages
1,377
I saw this style of platform on here somewhere and thought what a simple design so I used my free time at work to come up with this. I made it out of 6061 1"x 1/4" aluminum flat stock and 1" square tubing. The platform is roughly 12" at it's widest point and 7" or 8" from center to tree. Best of all it weighs 2.1lbs, not including strap. At first I used a LW strap/buckle and just looped the ends around the legs but I switched to an OCB buckle and strap for a few reasons. The OCB let me really lock it tight to the tree, it doesn't move whereas the LW setup had some give. It wasn't enough to scare me as the platform did slide and shift just a touch as I moved around but it was enough that it had me concerned it would cause an unwanted squeak at the wrong time! The other drawbacks of the LW buckle are noise and weight, both of which I'm trying to reduce.
I've got it set up at 22' on a 14" diameter tree and shooting off it the last few days. Rock solid even with side pressure and able to shoot around tree easily.
Planning on rounding the edges of the tubing where the straps lay, sandblasting, painting and then wrap it in camo tape to prevent the unexpected "TINKKK"!
 

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Looks good. I think those stand offs may give you problems on some trees though. On center post with 2 v-bars will be more adaptable.
 
I make a similar platform and I'll suggest some form of gusset connecting the vertical legs to the standing platform..... I'm 165-175 pound and could bend the vertical legs pretty easily with the design like that
 
Looks good, but I agree with weldabeast it being aluminum I'd add a gusset just for peace of mind at the least. I've built a couple of them out of steel and aluminum both.
 
I'm 165lbs and had my son eyeball the platform as I hopped on the edges trying to get it to flex or bend. It's solid. The square tubing has .125" walls, same as LW sticks and those don't flex when I use them so I THINK the legs should be fine. Famous last words, I know. Probably helps that they're only 6" long... (insert phallic joke here...)
Was on the fence about gussets, but the peace of mind is worth the few extra ounces. Also may add a brace between legs to prevent any spreading.
I'll post updated pics of mods in couple of days.
 
I'm 165lbs and had my son eyeball the platform as I hopped on the edges trying to get it to flex or bend. It's solid. The square tubing has .125" walls, same as LW sticks and those don't flex when I use them so I THINK the legs should be fine. Famous last words, I know. Probably helps that they're only 6" long... (insert phallic joke here...)
Was on the fence about gussets, but the peace of mind is worth the few extra ounces. Also may add a brace between legs to prevent any spreading.
I'll post updated pics of mods in couple of days.
I'm about 150 lbs with hunting gear on, I didnt get much flex out of my aluminum ones either, but for a couple ounces I decided to add the gussets just as a peace of mind.
 
Here is what the stand looks like with the gussets and leg bracing added and a trip thru the media blaster. Will put it on a few different trees this evening and see if the leg bracing interferes with mounting. If all good then a quick camo paint job and silencing wrap.
I posted an initial weight of 2.1lbs which was wrong, It weighed 1.88lbs. I'll throw it back on the scale tonight to see how much the mods bumped it up.
 

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Here is what the stand looks like with the gussets and leg bracing added and a trip thru the media blaster. Will put it on a few different trees this evening and see if the leg bracing interferes with mounting. If all good then a quick camo paint job and silencing wrap.
I posted an initial weight of 2.1lbs which was wrong, It weighed 1.88lbs. I'll throw it back on the scale tonight to see how much the mods bumped it up.
I'll guess it added 5-6 ounces, looks great! Are you gonna cut some traction teeth on top for grip? I didnt do that on any of my previous platforms but plan to on the new one I'm currently working on.
 
And it weighs in at . . . . . . . . .2.28lbs!! or in simpler terms 2lbs 4ozs. I can live with that for a platform. I'm not planning on adding anything to help with gripping the tree because so far I haven't had any movement once locked on a tree but if I find it does move on certain types of tree barks I will mod it further.
Next week I will start version 2.0, trim a little here and there and see if I can get the weight closer to that of a ring of steps...
 

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And it weighs in at . . . . . . . . .2.28lbs!! or in simpler terms 2lbs 4ozs. I can live with that for a platform. I'm not planning on adding anything to help with gripping the tree because so far I haven't had any movement once locked on a tree but if I find it does move on certain types of tree barks I will mod it further.
Next week I will start version 2.0, trim a little here and there and see if I can get the weight closer to that of a ring of steps...
I meant grip for your feet, not the tree lol but looks great! Good job dude!
 
Good work! Simple, lightweight, and practical!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I meant grip for your feet, not the tree lol but looks great! Good job dude!

Didn't think of it like that, haha! I didn't have any slips with those bald nikes I had on and I'm a leaner for the majority of my time in the tree so my feet are pretty much always on the edges or corners. I am going to wrap it with camo bandage tape I ordered from DanO which will add some "grippyness" while primarily keeping it silent.
 
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