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Primal Platform DIY 2 lbs 7 oz

bj139

bj139

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2019
Messages
5,377
Location
SE PA
I stood on a Primal step for 6 hours on Saturday. Not much fun with all the bulges. I had the wooden platform I made but the step pulled away from the tree because of the leverage of a large platform. This morning, I put a lightweight aluminum piece on a Primal step similar to what I did with my Helium climbing stick. It is all the room I need while standing in a tree. Anyway here it is. Eight 1/4 inch bolts should be strong enough. I tried it on a tree this morning and it was stable. Having to handle a wooden platform and step while climbing was no fun either. One piece is better.
The bad thing about this is I have to carry a buckle. If you have ever tried to throw a lightweight strap around a tree, the good thing is I have to use the buckle. :grinning: With buckle, 2 pounds 7 ounces. Cost, Primal step $5, aluminum $1, Total $6.






 
RB, They are just a link to Flickr where they are public. Not sure why you can't see them.

CMB, Yes, I still cam it over to tighten.
 
Looks good, a little paint and maybe some anti-slip and you should be golden. I find it interesting that you plywood insert pulls away, not getting personal but how big of a guy are you? Before I lost weight I was 225 without pull away on my step
 
fbwguy said:
Looks good, a little paint and maybe some anti-slip and you should be golden. I find it interesting that you plywood insert pulls away, not getting personal but how big of a guy are you? Before I lost weight I was 225 without pull away on my step
Click to expand...
I'm 174 pounds this morning. I could live with the slight pull away at the top but I am hanging from my tether / SRT and have to climb over the wooden platform if I install it at shoulder height and then climb up. Sticking out far makes it harder. Even though I cut it to 12-3/8 inches, the platform is loose from side to side. It will eventually fall out, I know it. This is my solution to the problems as well as being lighter. This was my first prototype so has excess holes, holes not spaced precisely, etc. but it seems fully functional to me. I did have a bit of trouble swinging the strap around the tree on Saturday and was thinking a buckle would have been nice.
 
bj139 said:
I'm 174 pounds this morning. I could live with the slight pull away at the top but I am hanging from my tether / SRT and have to climb over the wooden platform if I install it at shoulder height and then climb up. Sticking out far makes it harder. Even though I cut it to 12-3/8 inches, the platform is loose from side to side. It will eventually fall out, I know it. This is my solution to the problems as well as being lighter. This was my first prototype so has excess holes, holes not spaced precisely, etc. but it seems fully functional to me. I did have a bit of trouble swinging the strap around the tree on Saturday and was thinking a buckle would have been nice.
Click to expand...
Understand that! Are you using the factory strap and buckle, or have you replaced it with a rope?
 
fbwguy said:
Understand that! Are you using the factory strap and buckle, or have you replaced it with a rope?
Click to expand...
Can't you see the pictures either? I don't know what could be wrong?
Edit: I just checked and my photostream is set to public viewing.
 
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fbwguy said:
Looks good, a little paint and maybe some anti-slip and you should be golden. I find it interesting that you plywood insert pulls away, not getting personal but how big of a guy are you? Before I lost weight I was 225 without pull away on my step
Click to expand...

I think it has as much to do with the type of tree as it does how much you weigh. My WEI Perch wants to pull away on softer trees like poplar.
 
mtsrunner said:
I think it has as much to do with the type of tree as it does how much you weigh. My WEI Perch wants to pull away on softer trees like poplar.
Click to expand...
That could be true! Although I’ve strapped mine to pines, oaks, maples, even persimmon trees with out an issue. I had 2 loose cam overs a couple times, but tightening of the buckle and it solved the problem.
 
When I first got the steps I tried them on a dead tree and they would sink in and not get tight. Live oaks seem to work best.
 
bj139 said:
When I first got the steps I tried them on a dead tree and they would sink in and not get tight. Live oaks seem to work best.
Click to expand...
Just a suggestion, but I find I get a better cam over and a tighter step when I removed the girth hitches on the straps. The straps seem to ride better without the girth and allows the step to SNAP down and seat tighter
 
fbwguy said:
Just a suggestion, but I find I get a better cam over and a tighter step when I removed the girth hitches on the straps. The straps seem to ride better without the girth and allows the step to SNAP down and seat tighter
Click to expand...
Second that! undo the girth hitch on the one side so the loop is "free" on the cross bar! It seriously made camming the steps over night and day!
 
fbwguy said:
Just a suggestion, but I find I get a better cam over and a tighter step when I removed the girth hitches on the straps. The straps seem to ride better without the girth and allows the step to SNAP down and seat tighter
Click to expand...
I tried them like that but did not seem to make a difference. I will try it again as you suggest with my platform. I may not have noticed correctly the first time. :grinning:
 
I've made two plywood platforms out of different thickness plywoods. Tried them on several different hardwood trees and can't get it solid enough to trust it. It's OK if most my weight is in saddle but of I load the platform with all 250lbs it wants to pull away from tree. Steps are solid. I'm thinking I'm too heavy for this system to work.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
I used my platform today and shot a doe. Standing on the side of the aluminm piece, the whole step tilted a bit but was then stable. I wish they had 4 points of contact with the tree. One point at the bottom seems too finicky.
 
Congrats on the doe bj139. Fellow SE PA hunter - do you hunt public land? I like your aluminum platform, great ideas. New to this, just made a wooden platform after standing on Primals for 6 hours last Saturday.
 
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