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Has anyone done this?

Coathanger15

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
438
Location
Massachusetts
Drill out holes in store bought climbing sticks for weight savings? I searched a couple threads and got sucked into a couple stick build thresds as well, but couldn't find what I was looking for. Would love to just buy Dan Infault's sticks and call it done but money is forever tight, especially for something I already have that works. I have a set of muddy aerolights that work very well for me. But they weigh in at 3lbs each not including the buckle strap. I'm looking for ways to cut weight for next season and I will take it where I can get it. Would love to hear your thoughts on what size hole, how many sides,etc....and still stay safe of course. If it makes a difference I'm 5'9" 160lbs

Thanks in advance
 
Many have done it. Typically people drill holes that are half the diameter of the overall tubing dimension. Space them 1.5-2" apart from center to center. If you have a drill press I would definitely use that. If you don't I'd use a friend's if possible. It's a lot of work with a hand drill. No way I would've done it with a regular hand drill.
 
Drill out holes in store bought climbing sticks for weight savings? I searched a couple threads and got sucked into a couple stick build thresds as well, but couldn't find what I was looking for. Would love to just buy Dan Infault's sticks and call it done but money is forever tight, especially for something I already have that works. I have a set of muddy aerolights that work very well for me. But they weigh in at 3lbs each not including the buckle strap. I'm looking for ways to cut weight for next season and I will take it where I can get it. Would love to hear your thoughts on what size hole, how many sides,etc....and still stay safe of course. If it makes a difference I'm 5'9" 160lbs

Thanks in advance

a drill press is almost necessary so you can do 2 holes at once. even then you should say goodbye to a couple hours of your time and a drill bit. The weight savings is negligible... you'll save way more weight by buying 1/16th wall tubing. Then you can get some beers and drill away.

In my experience, it would be way cheaper to buy beast sticks, a mantis, and predator and never come on this forum ever again.
 
throw away the sticks and use the hardware on some 1/16 wall tubing, seriously


Wow, 1/16th? Has anyone else tried that? My mind just cant accept that it would have the strength not to seriously flex.... I personally love the DIY aspect of this type of hunting but I understand the sentiment from @BCHunter. Fact is I can not justify buying more of what I already have and I like to tinker.... I have a ballsy old Walker Turner drill press that should get me going but I will probably price out the 1/16 tubing first and build one to test. Thanks for the tip @ImThere and @BCHunter and @Murph4028
 
Wow, 1/16th? Has anyone else tried that? My mind just cant accept that it would have the strength not to seriously flex.... I personally love the DIY aspect of this type of hunting but I understand the sentiment from @BCHunter. Fact is I can not justify buying more of what I already have and I like to tinker.... I have a ballsy old Walker Turner drill press that should get me going but I will probably price out the 1/16 tubing first and build one to test. Thanks for the tip @ImThere and @BCHunter and @Murph4028
Go to my custom climbing stick build thread I just posted a few days ago. I built that stick with 1/16 as did @bowhunter15 with his. I notice no flex on the tree even with the holes I drilled. I weigh 200. Holds me fine.
 
Al
Wow, 1/16th? Has anyone else tried that? My mind just cant accept that it would have the strength not to seriously flex.... I personally love the DIY aspect of this type of hunting but I understand the sentiment from @BCHunter. Fact is I can not justify buying more of what I already have and I like to tinker.... I have a ballsy old Walker Turner drill press that should get me going but I will probably price out the 1/16 tubing first and build one to test. Thanks for the tip @ImThere and @BCHunter and @Murph4028
So, go to onlinemetals.com. you can get 2 feet of it pretty cheap. Like 7 bucks or so
 
a drill press is almost necessary so you can do 2 holes at once. even then you should say goodbye to a couple hours of your time and a drill bit. The weight savings is negligible... you'll save way more weight by buying 1/16th wall tubing. Then you can get some beers and drill away.

In my experience, it would be way cheaper to buy beast sticks, a mantis, and predator and never come on this forum ever again.

LOL


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In my experience, it would be way cheaper to buy beast sticks, a mantis, and predator and never come on this forum ever again.
undoubtedly.

Tubing rigidity against bending is pretty much just based on the diameter. Walls just need to be thick enough to not buckle/dent
 
This is what I used.
 

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I realize this post is a little old but doing a search for this topic brought me here so thought I'd provide my feedback here in case someone else was looking for info.
This is a step by step transition based on my full length LW sticks which I believe are 1/8th inch walls.

Step 1: Changed out top and bottom steps with double steps from DanO and replaced LW straps with rope mod. Weight impact was pretty much a wash at around 3lbs per stick.

Step 2: Cut down to 24" 2 doublestep sticks with a 1 step aider and changed rope mod to daisy chain from DanO. Huge weight savings at 2lbs 1oz per stick. Plus the shorter sticks are easier to manage carrying in and they seem to attach to crooked trees better.

Step 3: Drilled slightly smaller than 1/2" (maybe 7/16th?) down all 4 sides at 1" intervals, staggering top/bottom with sides. Also keeping atleast an inch away from the thru bolt mounting points for steps and versa button. I'm at about 1lb 14oz. now so this saved about 3oz. Definitely can be done with a hand drill but there is the greater potential for error. This was done using a cheap $70 drill press from Harbor freight. Really easy and cosmetically came out pretty nice. Took almost 1 hr though from setup to finish for 1 stick, but also includes some breaks in between to let the tub cool when it started to get hot. Only did 1 stick so I can test some before committing to the rest. Laying it horizontal on the standoffs, I stood on the middle of the stick and saw zero flex. I'm 5'11" and 175lbs. Have not tested it on a tree yet.

Step 4 maybe 7/64 amstel daisy chain??? TBD but probably not. I don't see enough ROI for this vs the daisy chain on it now.

I don't know if my results are "typical" and I cannot guarantee my drill holes and spacing are "safe", time will tell, but hopefully this helps someone looking to do these mods make a more informed decision.




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A couple of pictures to share
68d99862d609a0d61853953260b00eb1.jpg
ccbbd140f6288239289e8fb3878b3a56.jpg


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I appreciate everyones goal of cutting weight but going from a stand, steps, and harness and gear weighing almost 30# to a 1# saddle, I cant wait until Sept to get back at it again. This is a great site but awefully expensive.
 
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