Miniature folding brace

[Doug Goncz]

Where can I buy a miniature folding brace for use with 1/4 inch spur point standard spiral wood boring bits? Can I further miniaturize the bit and brace set to perhaps palm size by finding a 1/4 inch hex shank bit and brace to fit it?

I am installing hammocking hooks into trees in my area.

Six hooks have been installed, two pair on private property, one in a park. They have been in use and under careful observation for one year now.

Can any of you comment on the probability of killing a tree by screwing in a screw eye? I see each tree adapt to the insert in a different way and there's no way I'd want my hammocking or that of others using the same spots to kill a tree, yet in the long run, it seems the trees do OK.

I don't install a hook pair everywhere I hammock. I carry a 40 foot nylon rope for routine use. But some spots are special, and if I return frequently, it seems reasonable to set a hard point, as the climbers say. The rope occupies the same volume in my pack that the hammock does. My back pack has plenty of room for both. My waist pack accommodates the hammock only.

Try

ftp://users.aol.com/GPSHammockList or ftp://users.aol.com/GPS%20Hammock%20List

if you wish.

This is my user ID for sharing GPS coordinates of hammock sites. In the /incoming directory. It doesn't seem to be working. What do you see from your internet access point, please?

Yours,

Doug Goncz ( ftp://users.aol.com/DGoncz/ ) Student member SAE for one year. Loves in my life: Dona, Jeff, Kim, Mom, Neelix, Tasha, and Teri, alphabetically. So that is who I spend my time with.

[J T]

Fri, Jul 23, 2004, 1:18pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (Doug=A0Goncz) claims: Six hooks have been installed, two pair on private property, one in a park.

Been asking permission?

JOAT Every thing that happens stays happened.

- Death waxes philosophical

[Henry St.Pierre]

[e-mail] ( Doug Goncz ) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Avoid screwing into the heartwood.

[Markus Ellermeier]

Well, it will kill saws.

[Doug Goncz]

OK, so the consensus is ask permission, don't screw into the heartwood, and tag it so the sawyer will notice it. Right?

In other words, go back to the removable mount that leaves no trace?

Doug

[Dan Cullimore]

Carry it in, carry it out.

Perhaps less than 40 feet of rope would work? I would think two 10' pieces could work for many spots.

How the heck do you manage to make this hammock-trek frequently enough to wanna tease the rest of us shmoes what gotta make a livin' with questions about the propriety of puttin' hooks in trees to further your R&R? Curious minds wanna know.

Your gin and tonic, sir. Dan

[Doug Goncz]

I carry the hammock, 40 feet of nylon rope rolled into a ball, and a rain poncho or my Pocket PC in a leather-look butt pack. I have impaired glucose tolerance and require a period of rest after every period of exertion.

Would you like me to post the locations to ftp://users.aol.com/GPSHammockList/incoming ?

I gotta make a living, too.

It's just the three most accessible spots. No more now. For when I am down to near no luggage: a pack of cigarettes, my wallet, keys, and lighter, and the hammock. I tread lightly through the woods to the hammock point in Upton Hill Park. You'd barely know I'd been there.

Is that with mint? I thought I ordered mint....

Actually, I get almost all the drink I need from the food I eat. That eight glasses a day line is Perrier bullshit.

Doug

[Doug Goncz]

40 feet is about right for two large trees more than 9 feet apart. I carry a single piece of rope because it has more other uses as a length than as two lngths. At least for me it does. One use is to arrange a line between two trees and hang my backpack from the middle of the line over the hammock, which is hung from either the ends of the rope or the turns around the trees. This gives me access to my conveniences: snacks, water, Pocket PC, pen, smokes (I am on Nicotrol and can smell again. Still backsliding.), mail ( good place to read paper mail), extra clothing if I get chilly. I've been out there in a wool bag in winter.

I will buy a bit of Spectra cord soon to reduce the bulk. For now, this length and strength is working. I think it is 3/16 braided nylon, it is red and white, and it came from Home Depot.

I experimented with untying the braided frapping around the rope eyes, and spreading the lines out as guys. The Amazonas design allows this, as one length of end line passes through many pairs of button holes, gathering the hammock fabric into pleats of a sort. This was interesting, as it allowed use of the hammock as a ground cloth, pulled over grass lawn. Without that method, the lines tangle when you stake the fabric out. They are somewhat shorter than or nearly as long as half the width of the hammock fabric.

I hope to make one out of fine Kevlar cloth if I can get some. Nylon is not UV resistant and must be struck every time you leave. If left standing, it will weaken rapidly.

Brother Jeff's hammock stands at Mom's outdoors all the time, but it is nylon netting, not fabric, and so is more resistant. The lines are much thicker.

For exercise one day, I will parachute the hammock from my bike rack and pedal hard. Just for fun. You see, I believe all bike trail users should move at the same speed unless they are commuting. The racers who press for speed even on down slopes are a safety hazard. If they want exercise, then they should use a drogue.

I digress...

[Mike]

Do a web search for "undertaker's brace". Folding braces were typically used by undertakers who would keep the brace in their suit pockets so that it would be available for driving screws into the coffin lid as soon as the family left the funeral. For packing a bit brace, I'd think that weight is a bigger concern than size. You can probably make a crude but utilitarian brace from wood and fit it with a square-shanked 1/4" spur auger bit (available from Irwin or fairly easy to find at garage sales, etc.).

Cheers, Mike

[Doug Goncz]

Web search unsuccessful. But no plans to install more screws just now.

I have the Ryobi electric screwdriver and Crafstman hex shank adjustable depth countersinking wood screw bit set. Those will do.