Round or Square) Tubing and thickness for tree stand?

admin

(Round or Square) Tubing and thickness for tree stand?I just built my tubing bender I got the plans from http://www.gottrikes.com/ (they are great and Frank will answer your questions in a flash)I want to maximize my use of this thing I have a round tubing dies for 1.25” tubing that will bend 180 degrees.I have some questions: 1. Would you go with round or square tubing to make a stand?2. What wall thickness would you use?The stands will be semi permanent and made from mild steel with expanded metal as a floor, some day I may make them from aluminum.
Reply:I repaired a commercially built stand for a buddy awhile back. That thing was scary looking from a weldors point of view. Every weld on the thing was undercut and cratered badly... 2 of them had cracked. I had to fix every weld on it before I felt safe about giving it back to him.Anyway, it was a climbing stand built from aluminum. It was mostly 1" square tubing with .125" walls. If you are using steel tubing at 1.25" diameter you can go with the thinnest walled stuff that you can actually bend and weld well. .080" tubing would be plenty strong enough.Miller EconotigCutmaster 38Yes ma'am, that IS a screwdriver in my pocket!
Reply:I build ALOT of deer stands for myself and for customers.  First off what type of stand are you wanting to build?  A basic ladder style I tend to go with 1 1/4" 14ga  square tube for the uprights, and 1" 14ga for the ladder rungs.  I use the square is you do not have to flatten the ends or cope them.  Just cut square and weld.  The 14ga in most cases stronger is than you need, but it doesn't rust out as quick., and 1" gets kind of flimsy depending on the height you build it, and if a big guy like myself climbs it.  When something is holding my butt 20 ft up a tree with a loaded rifle I tend to feel over built is better.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:The die you have will dictate how thin you can go with your tube. For a 4.5 raduis 1.25" die, the thinnest tube will be .083. For a 3.5 die, you can go down to .065. If light is right, lighter is righter!!! You have to carry that stand and hump it up the tree, so I would look to some other good stands, and build accordingly. For such short pieces, with so little stress on it, you should be just fine with.065 or .083 tube. I bend lots of 1.25 tube, it is about perfect for that. Good hunting!! Paul.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Thanks guysHammark The stand will be a hang on type. I have a few climbing sticks and will make more if needed. I agree with you square is easier to "deal" with. One of the reason I asked the question was I fear rust between the round tubing and the expanded metal would seem to have less of a contact patch thus less margin for error.