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Tried my hand at a DIY Shikar

boyne bowhunter

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Well since its a snowy day here I thought I'd try my hand at a DIY Shikar for one sticking. It still needs a cam cleat and some T-Track style knobs to replace the wing nuts I have temporarily holding it together along with a sponge paint job. I originally laughed at your comment about the knobs availability here in the northern woods @Silvio, but apparently its true. They didn't have them in our local big box stores so I'll have to order them.

All in all I don't think it came out to bad for an amateur machinist like myself. The stick is 3/4"square solid aluminum stock cut to 21.5" long. The mill cuts in the sides are all 1/4" deep by 1/2' wide leaving 1/4" of material in the web. I used a 3/8" ball nose end mill to create an ample round in the bottom of the webs. I left a 2.5" solid center section so I'd have sufficient material to bolt the cam cleat to.

The steps and standoffs are from @DanO (Thanks again DanO for your super service!). I modified the standoff's by cutting off the ears for the 1" tubing and then machining shallower cuts to accept the 3/4" bar. The steps are straight off DanO's shelf. Step spacing is 19.5", exactly the same as my modified Hawk. As it stands right now it weighs in at 28.5 ozs (1.78 lbs).

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Nice work! What do you think are the pro/cons of using that solid stock versus the typical square tube?
 
Nice work! What do you think are the pro/cons of using that solid stock versus the typical square tube?
Thanks.

The square stock allows me to leave solid material under the areas that need support where bolts pass through, i.e the steps/standoffs and the cam cleat. By machining the stock into an I-beam I have maintained a great deal the of the stiffness and strength while removing almost 2/3 of the material.

This thing is rock solid. My FEA simulation for it shows an anticipated deflection of only .030 inches with 400 lbs applied horizontally at the rope hole and a 5X margin of safety on bending stress.

Here I'm standing with all my 220 lbs on it.

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Someone asked me in PM if this was an economical endeavor. All I can say is not even close. :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy:

A similar Shakir from OOAL would cost right around $98.

In this build I used the following:

McMaster Carr: $67 with tax and shipping
3/4"square x 2' length of 6061-T651: Subtotal: $11
3/8 Ball Nose Endmill: Subtotal $35

Eastern Woods Outdoors: $77 with tax and shipping
2x Brackets: Subtotal $40
2x Steps: Subtotal $24

Home Depot: $9
10x 1/4-20 thread T-Track knobs

Total: ~$153 plus about 4 hours of my time. :coldsweat:

IMO, Anyone who questions OOAL price on a Shakir should see this.

Why do it? Well, my preferred climbing method is one sticking with a rope mod and cam cleat. Initially , looking at the Shakir I wasn't sure there was enough length between the milled sections to properly mount my cam cleat. Secondly, and most importantly, I like the idea of hunting off "MY" gear. Since I have recently DIY'd a saddle I am very comfortable with, I splice my own ropes, and now a stick of my own . . . next year it looks like I'll be hunting off all my own gear with just a few exceptions . . . carabiners, rappel devices and the Predator platform. I honestly don't see a way to improve on that on my own.
 
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With those skills. I think you could easily fashion yourself a platform before the season starts. Well done stick build and explanation of the costs.
 
Awesome work. I've thought it might be useful with these types of steps (that rely upon that dovetail to not rotate under weight) to have a small steel pin embedded in the post (above or below the bolt hole) that goes into one hole in the step when rotated for carry and another hole when slid into "action". This would aid the hold the aluminum on aluminum contact point by sharing weight. I'm concerned that aluminum (being relatively soft) might deform over time and then your step won't stay in position. Just an idea. With your skill set it would probably only take 30 minutes.
 
Wow! Did you buy a mill?
I wish but no. I have access to a Bridgeport in our fab lab here at work. I bought the aluminum stock and endmill and spent a Sunday afternoon making lots of little pieces out of a big piece. :)

Access to the lab is one of the little perks that's keeping me from retiring. . . :)
 
What cam cleat is that?

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The cleat is the Harken Cam-matic 150. Its a little pricey and there's others out there that may be less expensive but I've been using one on my modified Hawk for 2 years now and its been on countless other "passed by the wayside" DIY projects for over 4 years total usage and it has given me zero issues. Because of that I went with another one for this build.
 
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