As for steps, I took 1/2" square SOLID bar stock, cut it about 1 foot long, heated it up and bent a 90 with about 3 inches off the bend and welded the head of a lag bolt 4" long. Right now I cannot remember the size of the lag I used???
I gave about 7 inches for the horizontal, then heated up the end and turned it up as a "stop" so you could not slip off. Then I took traction tape like you use on stairs, cut it in strips and wrapped it like a candy cane. Just make sure all the oil is off the bar stock, and wrap it in warm conditions so the sticky adhesive grabs the bar stock.
i did weld a gusset or build up on the inside of the 90 bend, as the metal thins out where it is bent aggressively.
These steps weigh a ton, and are meant to stay in place in the tree.
They do turn in pretty easy, but you have to take a knife point and gouge a starter hole for the lag to go into.
Make sure you go into the center of the trunk, and not at an angle. You are trying to make sure it will not pull out.
Drewski
|