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Ring of steps idea

austin1990

austin1990

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Dec 30, 2018
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AR
Curious as to what you guys would think of this ring of steps idea. These are drop pieces at work that generally get tossed but I’ve thought about purposing a couple towards a ring of steps. They’re 4” x 3/8” angle fiberglass , they’re uv resistant and fire retardant. I haven’t been able to find a weight rating but I do know they’re very strong and I clamped one up and stood on it earlier and didn’t notice any flex. They’re also super light, a 20 foot stick of this weighs 2.2 lbs. thanks for any feedback!IMG_1265.jpgIMG_1266.jpgIMG_1267.jpg


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Looks like they could work just fine. I am guessing that your process would be to put a strap on the tree loosely, place each step behind the strap with the horizontal part on top, and then tighten the strap with either a ratchet or ocb, correct? Since there is nothing hooked onto the strap itself then you'll have to be careful to get the strap super tight so they can't work their way out, I'm thinking. Since the steps are so wide, you may have trouble getting these tight enough on small diameter trees.

So I would say that these could certainly work as a cheap and easy ROS for you as long as you're careful about using them on appropriate trees with the right amount of tension, etc. As always (and especially with a step not attached to the strap), please make sure that you are tethered in before you step up onto these steps!! #redsquirrelsyearofsafety ;)
 
I would try to cut a strap groove in it and do a lot of testing at ground level. It can work as long as it holds fine. Do you do fiberglass work? If so it might be easier to add a tab on the top inside of the L shape than cut a groove. Maybe add some epoxy ridges to the step area for traction. It doesn’t matter how it looks if you wrap it in camo form when your done.
 
drew13 said:
Looks like they could work just fine. I am guessing that your process would be to put a strap on the tree loosely, place each step behind the strap with the horizontal part on top, and then tighten the strap with either a ratchet or ocb, correct? Since there is nothing hooked onto the strap itself then you'll have to be careful to get the strap super tight so they can't work their way out, I'm thinking. Since the steps are so wide, you may have trouble getting these tight enough on small diameter trees.

So I would say that these could certainly work as a cheap and easy ROS for you as long as you're careful about using them on appropriate trees with the right amount of tension, etc. As always (and especially with a step not attached to the strap), please make sure that you are tethered in before you step up onto these steps!! #redsquirrelsyearofsafety ;)
Click to expand...
Actually my thought was to mill some slots in it for the strap, not just stick them behind it each time but I forgot to mention that part, thanks for the insight!

EricS said:
I would try to cut a strap groove in it and do a lot of testing at ground level. It can work as long as it holds fine. Do you do fiberglass work? If so it might be easier to add a tab on the top inside of the L shape than cut a groove. Maybe add some epoxy ridges to the step area for traction. It doesn’t matter how it looks if you wrap it in camo form when your done.
Click to expand...
Yeah I planned to mill a couple slots in it for the strap. I don’t do fiberglass work, I’m a rig welder and vast majority of the time that’s what I’m doing but a good bit of our work is considered custom so I learned years ago to run a lathe, mill, etc. Every now and then we’ll have a customer order a fiberglass platform, catwalk or staircase for their machines and we use an outside source to build them. When it arrives we attach it to our machine, usually we have a few scrap pieces such as those left over when we’re finished. I don’t know how I’d go about adding a tab in the corner but definitely like that idea of the epoxy ridges for grip! My main goal on this is just trying a ring of steps, my thought is to try this see how I like it and if I do a lot then I’m going to look into using our router table at work and make some steps similar to the squirrel steps or just buy some from DanO . This is just kind of a cheap and easy way to explore that idea.

Thanks for the feedback guys!
 
Maybe glue some pieces to the sides to better grip the tree (they look wide enough to rock back and forth rather than sit flush against the tree
 
I would do some testing to see how far I could cut them down width wise before they broke or started flexing.
 
Yep make a couple of slots for the strap and test away! Looks great


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Test it and let us know! Fiberglass that thick should be pretty stout. Start your testing by laying it on the floor and then standing on it. maybe lay a board across it and walk on it or something just to see if you can get one to break. If it breaks easy, I wouldn't worry with it. IF it doesn't break through jumps and all that, I would definitely try it out.

Either way, try it out and let me know! Always love seeing new stuff!
 
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