- Joined
- Dec 18, 2010
- Messages
- 160
This is beckerhead ??? aka dallastxco (number in process with requirements approved by Moose) and I accept this challenge.
I however, Failed miserably.
I attempted to collect all natural materials for this one, as a personal challenge.
First, I went to a nearby park and collected some vines that I had seen weeks ago. We have not had a lot of rain, so the vines were a bit dry.
This is the tree with the vines
and these are the vines I collected
I took the vines home and let them soak in water for a couple of hours so increase their resistance and flexibility.
Then I took some of the vines and removed the bark to expose the fibers and then proceeded to remove the fibers carefully to use them later as "jute" to keep the larger vines together.
It was difficult and hard work, so in order to save time, I replaced those fibers with actual jute twine to tie the ends. It worked great.
Then, I took more jute twine and wrapped it around a thick piece of wood and tied the other end to the hammock. The wood served as a lock to keep the ends of the hammock in place.
Then it was test time:
I went to a nearby park with my setup and hooked one end to a tree, and another to a post in a fence. Then I used a blanket to keep the shape of the hammock in place and help distribute the weight.
Then it happened:
What can I say. The design was ok, the execution and the ties were very strong, but the vines were certainly sub-par materials and had already been dry for far too long. Using non-natural materials is key for this challenge or perhaps by using more vines to distribute the weight more uniformly across the the entire structure.
I literally busted my a$$ on this
But I was rewarded with a nice Texas sky... so I guess it it was worth it...
I however, Failed miserably.
I attempted to collect all natural materials for this one, as a personal challenge.
First, I went to a nearby park and collected some vines that I had seen weeks ago. We have not had a lot of rain, so the vines were a bit dry.
This is the tree with the vines
and these are the vines I collected
I took the vines home and let them soak in water for a couple of hours so increase their resistance and flexibility.
Then I took some of the vines and removed the bark to expose the fibers and then proceeded to remove the fibers carefully to use them later as "jute" to keep the larger vines together.
It was difficult and hard work, so in order to save time, I replaced those fibers with actual jute twine to tie the ends. It worked great.
Then, I took more jute twine and wrapped it around a thick piece of wood and tied the other end to the hammock. The wood served as a lock to keep the ends of the hammock in place.
Then it was test time:
I went to a nearby park with my setup and hooked one end to a tree, and another to a post in a fence. Then I used a blanket to keep the shape of the hammock in place and help distribute the weight.
Then it happened:
What can I say. The design was ok, the execution and the ties were very strong, but the vines were certainly sub-par materials and had already been dry for far too long. Using non-natural materials is key for this challenge or perhaps by using more vines to distribute the weight more uniformly across the the entire structure.
I literally busted my a$$ on this
But I was rewarded with a nice Texas sky... so I guess it it was worth it...
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