Christmas Tree Stand

by Stephen Taylor

2 Materials

Last year I bought an 8 foot Christmas tree, and the stand wasn't "man enough" to hold it upright, meaning that I ended up having to tie it to the banister.
So I thought I would make something a bit heavier and more robust.
Now obviously, having the whole year to do this I left doing anything until the 7th of December, because procrastination etc...............

Step 1: The "Ingredients"

A 9 litre LPG Gas Bottle (free from a skip)

30 inches of 3mm steel bar (free from scrap bin)

50mm length of steel tube (free from scrap bin)

7 x 12mm x 1.75 coach bolts and 10 nuts 150mm long (from disassembled trailer free)

6 x 8mm x 20mm bolts and nuts (from disassembled shelving free)

3 x 6mm x 70mm bolts and 6 nuts (from "odds and sods" box free)

Total time to make approx. 3 hours (at lunch breaks)

The Gas Cylinder - Chop that sucker up!!!

This one was condemned as it had rust around the valve, so after ensuring it was empty and unpressurised by pushing in the seal valve in the outlet I removed the top valve assembly and filled with hot water to wash out any residue.

I only intend using the bottom half (though I will keep the top just in case)

I used a hacksaw to cut the bottle in half, this took about half an hour, tbh I could have probably used a mechanical saw or gas axe but decided safety was better!

Once halved, I cleaned the inside with degreaser

She's got legs - she knows how to use them!

I cut 3 pieces of 3mm thick steel 10 inches long.

This was from the offcuts bin at work and is approx. 50mm wide

I bent the end 3 inches at both ends at 45 degrees giving me a 90 degree turn and positioned at equal intervals around the circumference. I used the sheet metal bending machine at work but this could be done in a vice

Clamped the legs in position, and drilled and bolted the legs on with 8mm bolts.

The Trunk Holder

Back into the scrap bin and found a piece of 6 inch gas pipe, so cut off a 50mm slice (I used a mechanical hacksaw at work as I was over sawing stuff by hand!)

I then drilled 6 equally spaced holes and tapped them with a 12mm x 1.75 tap, giving them a screw thread

I also then aligned the inner circle inside the gas cylinder and marked, drilled and tapped 3 equidistant holes in the gas bottle

Fastening Screws

I screwed in 3 coach bolts to the inner ring in order to work out the lengths I needed to allow me sufficient clearance to tighten them up when fully assembled, I then cut the bolts to length and sharpened the ends on an a grinding wheel (the longer one is for the base)

I put nuts on to the bolts prior cutting and grinding to allow me to clean the thread in case of any damage from grinding

I then drilled a crossways 6mm hole in the 3 sharpened trunk bolts, just below the bolt head allowing me to insert the 6mm x 75 bolts as handles

Assembly

I put the trunk ring inside the bottle and then the 3 positioning long coach bolts were screwed in, these have 2 nuts on each, one on the outside of the cylinder and one on the inside to ensure every thing does up tightly,

A bit of a fiddle about ensured that the trunk ring was accurately centred.

I also put a tack weld on the nuts so they won't shift, however this isn't really necessary.

I also drilled and tapped a hole in the centre of the base for the vertical longer spike that will be in the trunk centre.

Painting

Found a half tin of Primer and half tin of black spray paint and painted (I could have looked round for green and red but BLACK--- much more Christmassy!!!!!!! and more METAL

BTW the green and red one is the wimpy bought one, shown for comparison

Add Tree!!

The wife thinks I am mental but hey, a 10 foot tree was the same price as an 8 foot one, so go big or go home (nearly killed me standing it up though!)

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6 of 62 comments

Jeanne Stull Hackworth on Feb 16, 2017
Lots of work but nice job. I would have bolted the old stand to a nice flat piece of wood and weighted it down with some bricks. Worked for us for years. Have fun!

2 Reply
- Stephen Taylor on Feb 16, 2017
  Thank you
  
  Like
Nadine Hartman Bourne on Dec 11, 2017

I see some of the comments and I think HA! Lazy scared people. The one where you say Danger is my middle name... I made a wreath last night now that was dangerous. That hot glue gun burns me every time. It has given me blisters. Cooking is dangerous, I once dropped a big knife it landed tip down in my big toe. Walking is dangerous. I fell off a log in the forest. Maybe I'm just a klutz!! And to the time consuming part. anything worth having or making is worth the time. Granted if I ever do this I'll have my hunny do it. He has cut gas tanks and the like working on motor bikes. He'd cut it with some sort of grinding wheel. Danger is his middle name too he once lit the grass on fire using a cut off wheel on metal.

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- Stephen Taylor on Dec 11, 2017
  I am constantly cutting pieces off me/ getting stitches etc (in fact I did an advanced first aid course so I can now put the stitches in myself (and have done at least once)
  
  Like
- Nadine Hartman Bourne on Dec 12, 2017
  Ouch!! My hunny uses man Band-aids. Duct tape and paper towels. He refuses to see a doctor. So far none of my injuries have needed medical care.
  
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- Cresence on Dec 11, 2018
  
  That a woman thought of... to be frugal!!!!
  
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