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Hicks Sticks

@Weldabeast does this illustration make sense?
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A. Is the magnet puck which is locked into B.

B. Is a retaining channel to keep the magnet where it should be

C. Is the steel pin driven into the undersized hole in aluminum with an arbor press.

Only the first stick on the stack would have the magnet (top stick on the tree.) It would be on the top side of the bottom standoff to allow access when stacking.

None of this is to scale.
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I like the design. 1/4 or 3/16 by 3/4” or 1” for the the side pieces. Then two pieces of 3/16 for each step and a small piece in the middle would probably be easier to weld up than machine. I get that you don’t have a way to weld aluminum but you’ll nearly save enough on material to have it welded for you. I really like idea of one piece but working with the flat plate you have to add a lot of mass in the wrong direction to get the strength where you need it.
 
EricS said:
I like the design. 1/4 or 3/16 by 3/4” or 1” for the the side pieces. Then two pieces of 3/16 for each step and a small piece in the middle would probably be easier to weld up than machine. I get that you don’t have a way to weld aluminum but you’ll nearly save enough on material to have it welded for you. I really like idea of one piece but working with the flat plate you have to add a lot of mass in the wrong direction to get the strength where you need it.
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Are you talking about hollow tube? Welding aluminum always weakens it unless you heat treat it after welding. Getting something the size of these sticks heat treated would be prohibitively expensive.

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ThereWillBeSpuds said:
Are you talking about hollow tube? Welding aluminum always weakens it unless you heat treat it after welding. Getting something the size of these sticks heat treated would be prohibitively expensive.

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I was talking about flat bar. Making each side a separate Ben piece then using the steps and button location to connect them. You would have to be cautious of where you put your welds where the versa button would go but where you weld the steps on would be much stronger than necessary if it’s going to not fold in the middle.
 
EricS said:
I was talking about flat bar. Making each side a separate Ben piece then using the steps and button location to connect them. You would have to be cautious of where you put your welds where the versa button would go but where you weld the steps on would be much stronger than necessary if it’s going to not fold in the middle.
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I have definitely explored making the sticks in 2 or 3 pieces, but I favor mechanical connections due to my skillset.

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I am researching aluminum brazing, which I appear to actually have the tools for. That may be the right course, a combo of mechanical fastening and brazing. Would save a lot of machine time and stock. @Weldabeast as our resident welder does that sound like a bad idea for some reason I am unaware of?

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ThereWillBeSpuds said:
I am researching aluminum brazing, which I appear to actually have the tools for. That may be the right course, a combo of mechanical fastening and brazing. Would save a lot of machine time and stock. @Weldabeast as our resident welder does that sound like a bad idea for some reason I am unaware of?

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Chemical weld................
 
I could machine everything but the steps and standoffs from one piece about 2in wide then bend the legs outward and attach them to the step/standoff part. Bending aluminum is also a bit dicey from what I understand but I'm still researching
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I have a bunch of ideas now that all have advantages and disadvantages. I really like the idea of brazing them, I also still like making them from one piece of metal.

100 bucks for professional welding doesn't seem that bad until you see that for about 100 bucks a piece I can have the whole main piece laser cut from 7075 aluminum and then just have to make standoffs and mill some weight saving channels.

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five said:
They sold both when they were on the market. Steel was cheaper.

Muddy stagger are steel, occasionally they go crazy cheap on gander. I've picked them up below $10 bucks per stick before. I will sometimes put them out preseason on private.
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My in-laws gave me his aluminum rapid rails to use the first year I was hunting. They are super light, even more so then some of the newer sticks out there. I'm seriously considering using one for 1 sticking.
 
HuumanCreed said:
My in-laws gave me his aluminum rapid rails to use the first year I was hunting. They are super light, even more so then some of the newer sticks out there. I'm seriously considering using one for 1 sticking.
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Would love to know the actual weight of one because they claim the set is 14lb which doesn't seem light to me.

BTW upon further researching aluminum brazing, it apparently has a good yield strength but a poor fatigue strength, making it a poor choice for this application.

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