Fnnrdv
New Member
I ran across [B]Adrena123[/B]'s bolt modification and I really liked the idea of being able to climb with minimal gear and utilizing equipment I already had. One concern I had was modifying the platform. I did not want to drill or remove any material from the platform and possibly create any weak spots. Several years ago my seat top began to fold under my weight as I descended the tree. The seat platforms are not made strong enough to withstand alot of force pulling the outside arms toward the middle. Climbing small trees is what really creates this "folding" force. I was lucky enough to have received great customer service from lone wolf when this happened so they sent me a new seat platform and arms. That left me with a couple of arms to mess around with. I want to accomplish two things with my modification. 1) reinforce the arms of the hand climber similar to the base where there is a cross piece to help with withstand the folding force created on smaller trees. The modification of raising the arms removes the arms from their groove which offers that side support. The cross piece should help make up for that. 2) raise the arms some to help create that band gap when tilting the stand. This has always been an issue with the hand climber even when using it with the base. But as a user I always adjusted the angle of the arms by hand anyway.
Here's my first iteration of my modifications. I am going to the store tonight to get a different piece of angle with 1/8 inch thickness. I used #10-24 1 - 1/2 SS cap screw and two locking nuts. My goal is to make 3 points of contact on the stand to create the greatest load distribution possible. The 3 points are the nuts, then the two edges of the aluminum angle. The holes in the arms are drilled about 4 and 7/8 from the top of the arm. The aluminum angle may seem like an inconvenience but so far it doesnt seem like it will really get in the way. It might even make it easier to control the platform with my feet as i climb to get around limbs, knots, and bulges in the tree.
Let me know what you think or if you have any better ideas.
Here's my first iteration of my modifications. I am going to the store tonight to get a different piece of angle with 1/8 inch thickness. I used #10-24 1 - 1/2 SS cap screw and two locking nuts. My goal is to make 3 points of contact on the stand to create the greatest load distribution possible. The 3 points are the nuts, then the two edges of the aluminum angle. The holes in the arms are drilled about 4 and 7/8 from the top of the arm. The aluminum angle may seem like an inconvenience but so far it doesnt seem like it will really get in the way. It might even make it easier to control the platform with my feet as i climb to get around limbs, knots, and bulges in the tree.
Let me know what you think or if you have any better ideas.