Dining Fly Poles
Here is how to make some inexpensive poles for a dining fly. Make two of these, add an inexpensive poly tarp, some cordage and stakes and you have a very economical dining fly.
Materials:
1/2" EMT pipe (10')
5/8" oak dowel
7 or 8" aluminum gutter nail (spike)
EMT stands for electrical metallic tubing. It is used as electrical conduit. It is galvanized steel, but fairly lightweight. You can buy a 10' foot length of 1/2" diameter pipe for $2 and change at your local home improvement store.
If you want an 8' pole, cut your pipe into two 4' sections. Cut a 2" piece of the 5/8" dowel. Hammer into into one end of one pipe. You may need to sand it a bit to make it fit. You want a tight fit so it doesn't move later. Now drill a hole through the dowel that is slightly smaller than the gutter nail diameter. I used a 7/32" bit. Hammer the nail in until about 2" is still protruding.
Now make a piece to connect the two sections. Take a 4" length of the 5/8" dowel and sand half of it so that it will easily slide into the end of a pipe to a depth of 2". Hammer the other end into the section of pipe that doesn't have the dowel and nail in it.
Another way to reduce the diameter of the dowel is to use a table saw. Set your fence at 2" and blade height until it just barely touches the wood. Hold the dowel against the miter gauge and rotate it over the center of the blade.
Now you have an 8' pole that breaks down into 2 sections and has a nail sticking out one end that can go through the grommet hole of your tarp and serves as an attachment point for guy lines.
At first, the head of the gutter nail would not fit through the grommet on my tarp. I had to grind it down just a little. If you don't have a bench grinder or belt sander, you could chuck the nail into your drill and spin the head against a file.
Gutter nails come in packages of 10 or so. You can use the leftovers as tent stakes.
Materials:
1/2" EMT pipe (10')
5/8" oak dowel
7 or 8" aluminum gutter nail (spike)
EMT stands for electrical metallic tubing. It is used as electrical conduit. It is galvanized steel, but fairly lightweight. You can buy a 10' foot length of 1/2" diameter pipe for $2 and change at your local home improvement store.
If you want an 8' pole, cut your pipe into two 4' sections. Cut a 2" piece of the 5/8" dowel. Hammer into into one end of one pipe. You may need to sand it a bit to make it fit. You want a tight fit so it doesn't move later. Now drill a hole through the dowel that is slightly smaller than the gutter nail diameter. I used a 7/32" bit. Hammer the nail in until about 2" is still protruding.
Now make a piece to connect the two sections. Take a 4" length of the 5/8" dowel and sand half of it so that it will easily slide into the end of a pipe to a depth of 2". Hammer the other end into the section of pipe that doesn't have the dowel and nail in it.
Another way to reduce the diameter of the dowel is to use a table saw. Set your fence at 2" and blade height until it just barely touches the wood. Hold the dowel against the miter gauge and rotate it over the center of the blade.
Do this before you cut the dowel down to 4".
Shave it down just enough the it fits easily into the end of the pipe, but not loosely.
After you have it like you want it, cut it down to 4".
Hammer it into the end of the pipe.
Now you have an 8' pole that breaks down into 2 sections and has a nail sticking out one end that can go through the grommet hole of your tarp and serves as an attachment point for guy lines.
At first, the head of the gutter nail would not fit through the grommet on my tarp. I had to grind it down just a little. If you don't have a bench grinder or belt sander, you could chuck the nail into your drill and spin the head against a file.
Gutter nails come in packages of 10 or so. You can use the leftovers as tent stakes.
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