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DIY sub-1lb climbing stick adventure!

kenn1320 said:
Mig requires an expensive gun/lead but would probably be fairly easy to learn if you are good at mig. Tig is how most guys weld aluminum and that's not so easy. Lol
Click to expand...

I own a mig but no tig I am a farmer welder no pro


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Ontariofarmer said:
I own a mig but no tig I am a farmer welder no pro


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Click to expand...

If you can mig you could weld aluminum with a spool gun. It’s really not that complicated I spend more time cleaning the aluminum than welding it.


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I been welding since 10th grade in high school. I do it for a living and for your first time welding not bad not bad at all. Just tighten up your bead a little.
 
Apex7 said:
I been welding since 10th grade in high school. I do it for a living and for your first time welding not bad not bad at all. Just tighten up your bead a little.
Click to expand...

Ya I competed in vocational welding in high school. Placed third in Michigan on mig. Would of liked to learned other disciplines, but teacher kept me focused on mig.
 
More progress.... V1.1 is alive! Well, as much as a chunk of aluminum could be...

I took the day off today. Spent the first 2 hours of light in a tree and the next 3 in a layout blind. No deer. No geese. Oh well....but I did get to work on the new stick.

Not a failure this time, not a 100% success either. I set it up on a tree in the backyard and stepped on it. Held fine. Then I started to bounce on it. Still held fine. Feeling cocky, I started REALLY bouncing on it. Like way more than you might ever in the field. Only the lower step slightly bent. You can see this in the pic. I will address this before committing to the design. My design does not have the best triangulation. This is intentional since I want them to nest tightly. I may have to compensate with thicker sections and save weight elsewhere...

Total weight was right at 482grams which is 1lb 1oz or 1.063lbs. I did not drill the lightening holes in the feet brackets. I calculate I can save an additional 58grams and get below 1 lb!!!!! (three 3/4" holes in each 1/8" thick foot piece x 8 pieces is like a 3" long 3/4" dia bar!)

I used Amsteel 3/16 rope this time. A 6' piece of 1/4" weighs 45.6g, while a 6' piece of 3/16" only weighs 26.9g. That's a 18.7g savings! Wow :rolleyes:, but every bit counts. Well it's .66oz FWIW. The sticks will stack nicely as can be seen.

V1.1 ISO all.png
V1.1 ISO Side.jpg
V1.1 Side.jpgV1.1 fail.jpg
V1.1 grams.jpg
v1.1 Stack Test.jpg
 
Sandor27 said:
More progress.... V1.1 is alive! Well, as much as a chunk of aluminum could be...

I took the day off today. Spent the first 2 hours of light in a tree and the next 3 in a layout blind. No deer. No geese. Oh well....but I did get to work on the new stick.

Not a failure this time, not a 100% success either. I set it up on a tree in the backyard and stepped on it. Held fine. Then I started to bounce on it. Still held fine. Feeling cocky, I started REALLY bouncing on it. Like way more than you might ever in the field. Only the lower step slightly bent. You can see this in the pic. I will address this before committing to the design. My design does not have the best triangulation. This is intentional since I want them to nest tightly. I may have to compensate with thicker sections and save weight elsewhere...

Total weight was right at 482grams which is 1lb 1oz or 1.063lbs. I did not drill the lightening holes in the feet brackets. I calculate I can save an additional 58grams and get below 1 lb!!!!! (three 3/4" holes in each 1/8" thick foot piece x 8 pieces is like a 3" long 3/4" dia bar!)

I used Amsteel 3/16 rope this time. A 6' piece of 1/4" weighs 45.6g, while a 6' piece of 3/16" only weighs 26.9g. That's a 18.7g savings! Wow :rolleyes:, but every bit counts. Well it's .66oz FWIW. The sticks will stack nicely as can be seen.

View attachment 7905
View attachment 7906
View attachment 7907View attachment 7908
View attachment 7909
View attachment 7910
Click to expand...
Me reading this = ok that's cool....ooo that's nice....super light...nice design.... OMG THE WAY THEY STACK IS INGENIOUS, THEY WILL BE ROCK SOLID STACKED TOGETHER!!!!



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Sandor27 said:
More progress.... V1.1 is alive! Well, as much as a chunk of aluminum could be...

I took the day off today. Spent the first 2 hours of light in a tree and the next 3 in a layout blind. No deer. No geese. Oh well....but I did get to work on the new stick.

Not a failure this time, not a 100% success either. I set it up on a tree in the backyard and stepped on it. Held fine. Then I started to bounce on it. Still held fine. Feeling cocky, I started REALLY bouncing on it. Like way more than you might ever in the field. Only the lower step slightly bent. You can see this in the pic. I will address this before committing to the design. My design does not have the best triangulation. This is intentional since I want them to nest tightly. I may have to compensate with thicker sections and save weight elsewhere...

Total weight was right at 482grams which is 1lb 1oz or 1.063lbs. I did not drill the lightening holes in the feet brackets. I calculate I can save an additional 58grams and get below 1 lb!!!!! (three 3/4" holes in each 1/8" thick foot piece x 8 pieces is like a 3" long 3/4" dia bar!)

I used Amsteel 3/16 rope this time. A 6' piece of 1/4" weighs 45.6g, while a 6' piece of 3/16" only weighs 26.9g. That's a 18.7g savings! Wow :rolleyes:, but every bit counts. Well it's .66oz FWIW. The sticks will stack nicely as can be seen.

View attachment 7905
View attachment 7906
View attachment 7907View attachment 7908
View attachment 7909
View attachment 7910
Click to expand...
Step spacing of V1.1?
 
I TIG welded these. Taught myself to TIG aluminum by watching YouTube. I bought the Harbor Freight VULCAN ProTIG200. Nice machine. Really does nice welds. I am way better at steel than aluminum. I dont think these could be successfully spoolgun welded.
 
Sandor27 said:
I TIG welded these. Taught myself to TIG aluminum by watching YouTube. I bought the Harbor Freight VULCAN ProTIG200. Nice machine. Really does nice welds. I am way better at steel than aluminum. I dont think these could be successfully spoolgun welded.
Click to expand...

That's cool, those are some pretty good looking welds. Im mostly self taught too. my Dad j just bought a Lincoln precision 185. I have never tigged alum, spool guns always gave me fits.

Watching your progress makes me want to try making an aluminum set. I hobby weld mostly steel.
 
Your aluminum set looks pretty similar to a set of poly sticks I have seen before. I like the design, yours are also lighter if I'm not mistaken
 
Can u give specs on material thickness and dimensions

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Reviving this thread....

I finally got around to making the V1.2 Carbon step. Features a 25mm round carbon tube instead of the square aluminum. I was able to get the weight down to below 1 lb! I could probably reduce it further, but 15oz is good for me.

Here is a shot of welding up the components
V1.2 Carbon Welding.jpg

And how the ends will stack....
V1.2 Carbon Stacking.jpg

Total weight with 7' of Amsteel 3/16 rope is 15.25oz....
V1.2 Carbon Weight 15oz.jpg
 
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