per request from the other thread: when I saw the Long Grass sticks, I thought "I bet I can make those for under $50". turned out to be pretty easy: one trip to Home Depot + two hours = done! (that was 5 years ago and they're going strong)







materials list:

six 3-foot x 5/8" pieces of Oak dowel
one 3-foot x 5/8" inner diameter copper pipe section, cut into three 10" peices
six 5/8" copper piping end-caps
one 3.5" inner diameter vacuum cleaner belt
electrical tape

I'm 6'0" tall and prefer sticks right at my height, so these will be 6' sticks. Adjust accordingly.

Lower legs:

-Glue 3 end-caps onto the 3 36" lower leg sections (I used JB)

-dry fit the other ends 5" into the 10" copper pipe.

Upper legs:

-glue 3 end-caps onto the 3 36" upper leg sections

-cut one of the three upper legs 6.5" shorter than the other two (29.5")

-dry fit the other ends 5" into the 10" copper pipe.

Sand/stain the Oak as preferred after dry-fitting.

Assembly:

make sure the non-capped ends of the upper & lower section seat home and run tape around the copper to prevent movement/loss.

tape the upper ends for a shooting platform.

add the vacuum belt (should be able to get 3 throws) and position 9" from the upper ends (2" below the short end will give a perfect hand rest). Orient the short stick for RH or LH (long two sticks perpendicular to you, short stick pointing away, either on the L or R --pictured = LH orientation)

for takedown:

remove the lower sections and slide the copper pipe up the upper sections until flush and re-tape.









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the bamboo ones are 3 of the straightest pieces of garden bamboo stakes in the bin + vacuum belt + tape = done in 5 minutes. (these live in the truck)

You be a talented man,Matt.

or...I refuse to pay $200 + shipping for $25 in supplies available at the Home Depot!

cool

Excellent and very well done. A couple of suggestions from the field:

1. Add a thick o ring to each of the legs so the sticks do not clatter together.

2. Bind a leather loop across the top of the two main sticks and this often makes for a better rifle rest - not essential.

Now let us see you make a simple but stout carrying case from your local DIY store.

Sorry if there is a obvious answer. What is the reason for the copper pipe? Is it only for take down? Why not just have solid oak dowels?


ddj

Yes, the pipe serves only as a convenient connector for take-down without adding appreciable weight.

You can get 6' oak dowels, but usually only on order and usually only in 3/4"-1" dia. Sure, you could turn them down to size but that's a lot of hassle. (If you're lucky, one or two of them might even be straight!)

Also, try checking a 6' stick with your luggage next time you're at the airport...

Thanks, That makes sense!


ddj

Thanks for sharing this I'm going to give it a try

Excellent post there,UtahLefty.
Very nicely done.

When you break them down you remove the tape on one end of the pipe and then re-tape them when you put them back together?

yes. (I almost always have a roll of electrical tape in my pack, if needed)

I'll slide the pipe up the upper end so it's past flush (so the pipe end is supported and doesn't get dinged up when the sticks are broken down) and re-wrap the tape.

This is really cool and I'm going to give this a shot, but might make the tops a little shorter. Is there any need to have them sticking up so high? Not criticizing, just wondering.

Great job,but they need to be rubbed down with Kudu dung for the right smell and good luck!

Good work! They look great.
I was thinking you could probably get buy with only one break down point in the sticks if you are taking a gun with you to Africa. Most gun cases are at least 40 inches and 40 x 2 would get you to 6 ft plus.I dont know how hard it would be to put a wood screw with large threads on the end of one of the sticks and drill out the other stick a bit to keep it from splitting. Then as Zambiam said you could put a big o ring on the junction to help keep it from working loose and keep it quiet. My plan if probably flawed but I may have to give it a try and see if it works. Thanks for the winter project idea. Dean

Tag for this

to add to that, cut the first and ring fingers off an old leather glove and fit them over the ends for a decent rifle rest!

Use a length of PVC pipe to make a case!

Matt: My Home depot only has 1/2' and 3/4" copper pipe. What is the size of the 5/8" inside diameter copper pipe you used and where did you get it? Thanks for all the help.

OD measures .70

ID measures .63


I'm pretty sure it was Home Depot, but it might have been Lowes.

I remember taking 2 diameters of oak dowel over to the plumbing section and slip-fitting them in the copper pipe they had until I'd found the right combo.

Matt: Thanks for checking the measurements. I will keep looking. The 1/2" copper caps fit but the 1/2" copper pipe is too small for the 5/8" dowels and the 3/4" pipe is too sloppy a fit. 1/2" dowels look too flimsy so you picked the right diameter for the dowels.

Look closely at Lowes. The pieces you want are copper repair sections. They are designed to fit inside/outside of cooper pipe to fix ruptures or cuts.

that makes perfect sense ^^^

Docbill: Thanks for the info. Home Depot does not carry the repair sections anymore.

I bought all the items at Lowes except the Vacuum cleaner belt. I bought the belt at a Vacuum repair store.(The total belt length was 12 inches long. Eur/Sanit Uprt 20-3205-07 ) Lowes and Home Depot only sell the flat belts. The copper repair pipe 5/8 inside diameter came in 12� lengths. They also had them in 12� lengths at Home Depot but the dowels at Home Depot weren�t strait so I purchased everything at Lowes. I made them 5'10" total length(my height)and made the center dowel 5 1/2" shorter. They fit me perfect. I added some Zebra skin instead of wrapping them with tape. I also used some rubber caps on the bottom. I bought them at Ace hardware. No need to glue them they fit tight. I did use the copper caps on top and glued them on with JB Weld. I also marked one end of the dowel at 6 inches with a permanent marker so the tubing was always centered when they were put together. I deburred the inside of the copper tubing and they slide on much better.(6" because that was half of my copper tubing length)













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Nice set up - looks like ya'll took your time on these. I appreciate all the details, going to start on my own after this weekend!

Very nice ideas and workmanship. Now my 2 question are: why do you keep one of the protruding legs shorter? If all three stuck up equally, couldn't you shift rifle positions easier? Also, I'm assuming the vacuum belt is moveable so as to shift the tripod legs as need be, as in the case of uneven ground.
Its a classy option instead of something coming from China.

One leg has to be shorter to give you room to move side to side in case the animal moves. The belt stretches a little to allow you to open and close the legs.

Nice sticks, thanks for posting

I'm bumping this thread just to be subscribed to it for future reference. I intend to try making both of those styles.

Thanks for the bump....I need to make a set for my trip and wondered how I would find this thread! Thanks!

Great DIY! Even if its a few years old, its new to me.

ah, I remember that thread....

The bamboo set finally split (after 8 years)

bump

Wow,
Thanks for posting this. I just got back from Lowe's and an hour later I had the finished product and all for 48.95. Just tried them out on the back porch. Work Like a champ!!!We will be bringing these with us to SA in June for sure!!!

Bamboo can be done for cheapie cheap. Instead of black tape, use tennis racket grip "tape"

I'm surprised no one has yet insisted on blue tape...

I made a set of these based on the OP's concept - but modified by necessity as I couldn't find the copper pipe, so......

I used regular 1/2" copper couplings that have the small indentation at the mid-point that you shove the copper pipes up to to center the joint.

I used the double ended 1/4" x 2" furniture screws to join the two sections of dowel together by drilling pilot holes in the ends of the dowels and epoxied the screws into the dowel used for the lower half.

I slightly beveled the two ends of the dowel joints to fit just past the copper coupler centering ring to make sure the dowel faces would have full contact with each other.

Slipped the copper fitting over the end of the bottom dowel and "pinned" it to the bottom dowel with a centering punch. This way the copper fitting stays attached to the lower section of dowel when I take them apart. My hope has been the copper coupler would provide enough support to keep the screws from breaking out of the dowels - so far so good.

I adjusted the height of the assembled sticks by cutting from the bottoms of the bottom dowel sections and I used 1/2" rubber feet for canes instead of the copper caps.

Finish was simply rubbed on a couple of coats of mahogany tinted furniture wax with some fine steel-wool.

With this set up I have a full size (standing) sticks and I can unscrew the bottom sections, pull off the rubber feet and put them on the bottom of the top sections and use the same set of sticks for sitting/shooting from a ground blind.