Looking for in put building a DIY mega/spiral tree

[Rhizzlebop]

So, I know this is prob old news for many, but i'm on S4 and all regular LED and incandescent string lights and I'm about to build a mega spiral tree.

I'm trying to determine a reasonable means to quickly build a top ring for hooking strings, and possibly if I need something at the bottom like a ring.

 

I bought 2 sticks of 10ft chain link top rail.   Planning to use a 3 ft metal stake thats about 3/4" dia from Lowes and drive it in the ground, and put the conduit on top.

I ordered a set of 24  16" long  galvanized rebar hook stakes.

I was thinking of using 4 sticks (3 and a piece) of 1/2" PVC pipe and Tees to make a 9 ft ring, with the stakes just to the inside so the ring cant lift off the ground more than 3 inches, (being pulled upwards by the taughtness of the string lights.

 

I cannot figure what to use for the top hook ring.

I don't have a welder, and wanna make this out of PVC, or wood, something simple I can DIY.

 

I was planning to get the ring sleeved loosely onto the pole so it'll slide up.   Use a fence rail endcap (that has the little hole in it), and run paracord through that hole to the top, and down, so that I can get the ring about 9ft off the ground, connect all the string lights to it, and then using the cord, pull the ring up to 18ft high.

I am planning to use 16 strands of 100 white LED string lights for straight strips, on 8 channels, so up one side and down the opposite as a channel.

 

Then I was gonna do  32 stings, 16 pairs, of multi color LEDs, on 16 more channels, and spiral wrap them.

I walked around lowes and Home Depot looking for inspiration.  couldnt find much.

 

Thinking of just using a 1 1/2" piece of PVD pipe about 12" tall like a sleeve, and just run a bunch of screw hooks into it like a sleeve.   I guess I'd need 32 hooks.  

 

Other idea was a couple PVC couplings and a short piece of pipe sandwiching a 12" dish of plywood, and then put screws around the plywood to use as hook points.

 

Again, the idea is, I can attach all the light strands,  pull the slide up with the paracord to an unreachable height, and secure the rope down low to hold it for the season.

 

yes, I'm gonna do several gye wires.  I ordered coated clothesline wire, and crimps.  Was thinking put some down low below the slide point of the ring, and pre-attached another 4 up high above the slide height and let the wires hang down when I set the top tube in place.  Then attach the guy wires at the ground.    But with this method, if the guy wires are not RIGHT at the ring, they wont help support all the light strand weight.  

 

Ideas appreciated.  Wanna get this up in the next 4-5 days, and hopefully not a TON of expense.  Already looking at a couple hundred $ in lights, and pipe, etc.

[gsmith37064]

@Rhizzlebop

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