I have a few new projects to share. With the help of a few friends (Sir Cuts-a-lot, Sir Level-lot, and Sir Big-Hammer) I got my "leaning tower of pell" straightened and ready for some padding/wrapping:
I also set two new post bases - one for a cutting stand, and one for my "quintain" variant. Here's the two post bases and the cut 4x4s painted and ready to put in:
The cutting stand is 3 feet high. I am going to fabricate two optional "pieces" to it - one a basic "platform table" roughly 1' x 1' for larger objects like kitty litter containers, another a basic removable wooden stake for placing tatami and/or pool noodles on. Or, the stand can be used "bare", and things just placed on top of the post. As a bonus, if the coming zombie apocalypse turns out to be a vampire apocalypse instead, I've already got the sharpened wooden stake!
The quintain assembly is very basic. It's a 4x4 post, with 4x4 top, and an eye hook on the end. Through the eye hook, I put an adjustable stretch-lock rope, It's a bungee-cord style rope, so it will hang a bit lower than it looks - should be roughly chest height. It should, hopefully, be able to hold a small water bottle as well as the large 2 liter bottles too, though I have not tested it yet. Part number, in case anyone wants one:
The top is attached by a single rebar stake (the ones used in concrete) and I simply drilled a recess in the main post, hammered in the rebar, and drilled a hole through the top bar. Looking back, there's 2 things I didn't do that should be done:
1) Get a couple washers to put between the bar and post - I didn't get a perfect angle with the drill, so it rubs the post as it turns,
2) Make the hole on the top bar slighly larger than the rebar; I used 1/2" rebar with 1/2" pilot holes, and it took many a whack with Sir Big-Hammer to get the bar down onto the post; doubly fun, as I had a small stepladder and trying to hammer something 9 feet in the air when you're 6 feet with a 2 1/2 foot ladder is "interesting". I think the slightly larger hole will make the bar spin more freely, and I left the rebar high enough that it sticks about a half foot up through the top bar, so the bit of slack that may cause won't be enough to worry that the top bar may somehow come off (unless it breaks).
Something I plan to do to expand the quintain's usefulness is take the rope back off the eye hook, and get a couple carabiners so I can have "swap" pieces - the bottle-hanging rope, some heavy-duty shipyard rope (saw it as someone's pell), and if it'll support the weight, a punching bag. I may have to go to a "fixed" frame without the turnable top post and put a 45* brace to do a heavier punching bag - still not sure yet. I like the quintain style with "floating" top bar because since it breaks down into 2 pieces, it's easy to store for winter and it's easy to get up and/or down by myself.
Finally, the (nearly) finished projects:
(new cutting post on left, quintain on right, and "old choppy", the original cutting stand I made from scrap 2x4s, in the center)
