boisechris Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Hi Holiday light enthusiasts!!!I had an idea this morning for a new way to set up a CCR tree.What do you think of 1/2-5/8 metal packing straps?http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-1644/Steel-Strapping/1-2-x-023-x-2688-High-Tensile-Steel-StrappingIt's inexpensive and very strong.I thought about securing it to the ground with hooks and a tension turnbuckle ...A 1 1/2 inch x 18'Post for the height and star, with a cross brace with hooks to secure it to the top. From there you can ziptie the Strips and voila! you gave a strong, light CCR tree that should stand up to high winds, snow etc. /Looks like tensile strength is from 1400-2200 lbs........Please give me your thoughts and ideas to make this idea a reality. Best,Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roverdish Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Steel rusts and conducts. Maybe try the same idea with plastic banding instead of steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightsinMaine Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I use the plastic banding myself for my pixel tree....withstood 6 months of Maine winter very well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerdmd Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I use the plastic banding myself for my pixel tree....withstood 6 months of Maine winter very wellDo you have any pics of this. How are you attaching to the ground - this is much more appealing than aluminum tubing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 http://www.magicchristmas.org/uploads/3/4/0/0/3400701/building_a_colormotions_tree_small_copy_2.pdf This is the way most of us are doing it when we use some sort of banding. The banding used in here is about $50 for 1800' http://www.amazon.com/PAC-Strapping-5830113B18-SC-General-Polyester/dp/B006LS7QQG/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1398516924&sr=1-2.005" thinner but will still do the job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightsinMaine Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I used the same instructions Ron just posted. I changed the base up some but same concept otherwise. I don't have pics and I just tore it down yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisechris Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 The plastic banding sounds like a great idea. Does anyone have pictures of their tree? Also, how did you get tension? I'm hoping I can do this rather than building an aluminum frame. Are you guys still using a 1-1/4-1/2 center post? maybe a center post such as http://www.christmaslightshow.com/Christmas-lights-music-house.html with http://www.christmaslightshow.com/20-mega-tree-anchor-kit-includes-4-32-guy-wires-and-4-ground-anchors.htmlI appreciate the inputThanks,Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightsinMaine Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) Did you look at the instructions Ron posted? It has lots of pictures, shows how the bands are tensioned and has a hyperlink on how to build your pole. You can try and recreate the wheel but I personally followed the instructions pretty much to the "T" because its a tested product the way it's built in the instructions. Doing so I didn't try anything different and my tree didnt end up in a pile during the large windstorms we had. Edited April 28, 2014 by LightsinMaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisechris Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 I appreciate all the posts people. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) I did tweak the instructions a bit. Instead of using a 2" flange and nipple in the base (Portable Hole II), I did mine using 1 1/4 inch galvanized. I did not use the jump pole instructions, I used the Pole Pin from CLS. One thing to note, when I built mine last year. I started with a typical threaded mega tree topper. This proved to be a mistake and did not turn out so well. Upon tensioning, the topper bent down on the side of the 16 legs. I had A friend of mine make a topper out of 1/4" aluminum. Here's the final topper before adding to the tree: http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/boydchristmaslights/library/Pixtree%20topperI had zero problems with this one. It stayed put when tensioning. The whole tree hardly moved at all during the bad weather. Granted, we didn't have anywhere as much wind as some places did, but we did have a couple of days of 20-30 mph gusts. It was rock solid. One other thing, I did a 180° tree instead of the almost 360° tree Walter did. Edited April 28, 2014 by Ron Boyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisechris Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Great instructions! Thank you so much. I'm building mine with the banding as per instructions. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisechris Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Actually I need to modify the base and structure for a 12CCR.I need a fairly straight brace at the bottom and top to attach the banding for a CCR. Since it's not a 180 or 360 tree.Ron,Do you have pics of your CCR tree? Was it done with banding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) Although my tree was 180°, my structure was done using the Portable Hole II, an 1 1/4" pole and the topper linked above. I did initially have the pixels on the Strapping and most likely will revert to that this coming year. However, my pixels were redone during setup and attached to 1/2" electrical conduit. All that being said, Once the tree structure was erected last year, I took a piece of the Superstrut, bought at Home Depot or Lowes and attached it to the bottom. This would have been the point I stopped if I were doing a 2D, flat tree. Anyway, I attached the superstrut to the pole and rested it on the base. At this point you will be able to add the turnbuckles and tighten up the bands. Here's a quick and drty drawing. http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/boydchristmaslights/media/Pixtree_zps36007c4b.jpg.html I'll have to look around for my pics of the actual structure.On my tree, I added a half circle to the Superstrut and attached my 16 strings to that. Edited April 28, 2014 by Ron Boyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzaas Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 http://www.magicchristmas.org/uploads/3/4/0/0/3400701/building_a_colormotions_tree_small_copy_2.pdf This is the way most of us are doing it when we use some sort of banding. The banding used in here is about $50 for 1800' http://www.amazon.com/PAC-Strapping-5830113B18-SC-General-Polyester/dp/B006LS7QQG/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1398516924&sr=1-2.005" thinner but will still do the jobRon, I read through the instructions you provided(very good instructions by the way), but I have a question. Why are you using an J-bolt with a D-ring at the top but a eyebolt at the bottm? Do you see a reason why we can't use J-bolts with D-rings at both ends?Thanks,Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 You can I'm sure, I just happened to have those at home. I bent mine in sort of a J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kzaas Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 (edited) OK Thanks, did you see any fatigue on the ends that went onto the eyebolts? From the looks of the pictures, the straps were on a tighly curved area of the eyebolt.That was my only concern about not using D-rings at both ends Edited April 28, 2014 by kzaas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Boyd Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Everything looked exactly coming down as it did going up. I was quite pleased with the way things held up. No fatigue. The eyeballs I used were 1/4". Took some doing to bend them open but it worked out in the end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawes Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Actually I need to modify the base and structure for a 12CCR.I need a fairly straight brace at the bottom and top to attach the banding for a CCR. Since it's not a 180 or 360 tree.Ron,Do you have pics of your CCR tree? Was it done with banding?Sounds like you are building a "flat" tree. If so here's a topic for you:http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/23186-anyone-else-building-a-frame-for-a-12-ribbon-ccr-tree/mine came out great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisechris Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Nice Pics Ron.. ty.Can you buy the half circle that goes around the pole and attaches to the superstrut?Also.. for the 2d tree would you just attach a shorter piece of superstrut at the top as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmilkie Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 (edited) I did tweak the instructions a bit. Instead of using a 2" flange and nipple in the base (Portable Hole II), I did mine using 1 1/4 inch galvanized. I did not use the jump pole instructions, I used the Pole Pin from CLS. One thing to note, when I built mine last year. I started with a typical threaded mega tree topper. This proved to be a mistake and did not turn out so well. Upon tensioning, the topper bent down on the side of the 16 legs. I had A friend of mine make a topper out of 1/4" aluminum. Here's the final topper before adding to the tree: http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/boydchristmaslights/library/Pixtree%20topperI had zero problems with this one. It stayed put when tensioning. The whole tree hardly moved at all during the bad weather. Granted, we didn't have anywhere as much wind as some places did, but we did have a couple of days of 20-30 mph gusts. It was rock solid. One other thing, I did a 180° tree instead of the almost 360° tree Walter did.Ron,is the 180 tree the one on the left?I made a similiar 1/4 tree topper you did, after also bending the one I purchase. Used 1/8 cable, no problems. Edited April 29, 2014 by wmilkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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