Light Duty Personal Target Stands

[Seth]

I spoke with Brian the other day about opening a forum and starting a little business and I'd like the input from some members about some product ideas.

I have a well equip welding shop at my home and can do props and target stands out of materials other than steel. The distinct advantage is, of course, weight. I have already built about 50 STEEL target stands which my club, Fredericksburg Practical Shooters, is using 25 of and they have proven inexpensive, extremely durable and fold up nicely.

But out of aluminum, they are also LIGHT. 2 pounds each to be exact, where a similarly built steel stand is closer 6 pounds. I don't think they'll work for hard range use, but for an individual, 10 of them would weigh just a fraction over 20#.

Would anyone use this or is steel the standard, even for the individual?

Thanks.

seth

Here's an example of the stand in steel:

And in Aluminum:

[jasmap]

I have one like that. It works for me but it does require the use of stakes or weights. I see you drilled.for that already so you have it taken care of already. I am not sure I would use these for heavy use in a club but for personal use they rock. Good work!

[Seth]

Its not for club use. I figure it won't survive more than a couple of new shooters putting rounds into them... but for personal use, 10 of them would weight 35% of the same in steel!

[EEH]

I like it--looks good-good weld-BUT YOU ASK-WHY DONT YOU JUST WELD THE FLATBAR IN VERTICAL POSITION-REASON I DONT HAVE TO KEEP UP WITH SPIKES AND PUSH TWO OF THEM IN THE GROUND,AND WHEN I GET READY TO SHOOT THE WIND WONT TURN IT OVER--I MADE SOME OUT OF PVC,WORK'S OK BUT YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO USE IN A HEAVY MATCH--Eddie--good luck

[Seth]

The idea was that they could stack and be left in the back of your car. A full field course (16 stands) weighs 32# out of aluminum vs 96# out of steel. The cost is the same. A small bucket of turf nails are enough to keep them standing in some serious wind....

I'm just playing. Trying to see what generates interest and is useful.

[XRe]

I suppose the key question would be... how much will they cost? Bringing some turf nails along isn't a big deal, and I like the light/compact construction on the Al ones...

[Seth]

Dave,

They're about $15 each for me to build one and keep the lights on.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Seth

[G-ManBart]

I have some H-shaped stands that are reasonably light and stackable, but probably not as portable. Being stackable is very handy for the way I use them, and space isn't normally an issue for me, but they might not fit in the trunk of a car as well as yours would. I think that's a deal maker/breaker for a lot of folks. I haven't shot my stands yet, so I don't think making them out of Al is much of a risk. R,

Edited May 26, 2010 by G-ManBart

[Seth]

There are a few great builders out there making stands from steel. I can do that too... But I have the tools and the skills to do some things that are outside of their product line and not stepping on any toes.

S.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Seth

[XRe]

So, your price point could be pretty reasonable, then... I'd say go for it... I have some H-type stands, too - mine also double as plate stands, so they don't work in the same fashion as yours. I'd be tempted to have a few of each, just to take up less room in the car, etc...

[murkish]

Seth,

I would definitely interested in picking up 6 or so of these. An additional bonus is that they could be used for dryfire practice in the garage without the stakes.

Light and folding/stackable is huge for me.

Jack

[rvb]

they could be used for dryfire practice in the garage without the stakes.

This is how I was thinking of using them.

For range practice, I like something that doesn't need staked as I like to set up a couple targets, do some shooting, then drag them somewhere else for a different drill, shoot, etc... ie I don't want to be messing with stakes/hammers/prybars/etc. I get very little range time these days, so setup/teardown time is precious.

The flip side is my current wood stands take up too much room, and I have to pull the 1x2s to store. I could see me getting 3-6 aluminum stands for DF. With your design I could just fold up the hinged base and store the target/sticks/stand flat against a wall, so DF setup would be faster.

Ok. I talked myself into 3 for sure. Keep the holes in case I do decide to use them w/ stakes, I like to keep my options open.

Good luck!

-rvb

ps. consider adding a small "leg" on each end so on a flat floor it wouldn't wobble?

Edited May 26, 2010 by rvb

[kgunz11]

Seth, we'd put them on the website and try to sell some for you. I think it's a great idea!

[Seth]

Ok... so the idea isn't terrible. That's great.

The hardware that's on it is there only because it was in my box. I actually have a button head that helps the stand sit lower. I can also tab the ends so it won't wobble.

I'm going to build a few this weekend for testing and then see how they do. If I decide to move forward with selling, I'll contact Brian and open a forum.

Thanks for the input!

S.

[ampleworks]

I tote a couple of these around in my trunk.

PVC target stand

[werewolf45auto]

Seth,

I really like those stands. I would buy a few out of aluminum and a few out of steel if you offered both materials.

Dave

[glockwerkes]

Nice TIG'ing on the aluminum ones.

New product idea: lay the tube back against the angle iron, so the targets are presented at 45 degrees, using short sticks. I could guarentee an order for a half dozen. Only if you deliver them, of course!

Rob

[basman]

Seth does great work, so far he has made for Fredericksburg Practical Shooters:

Bases for poppers

Target stands

The stands made from aluminum would be easy to transport and easy to move around, the folding design makes them compact.

AND he welded together the SM Brew-master 3000 (home brewing, gravity operated) picture attached.

Jeff

Edited May 27, 2010 by basman

[Seth]

I built 3 more today with varying design. Ultimately, the simplest design is the most stable. With a black rubber grommet on either end of the stabilizer, the bolt head doesn't touch the floor and 1"x2" furring strip stabilizes the target by sitting directly on the floor.

These are drilled for turf stakes and will free stand on concrete or grass without staking. A good breeze WILL knock them over without stakes. With stakes they'll take a good breeze without incident.

Anyone see anything they'd want? Shipping weight would be a whopping 2# each, so they're cheap to ship. I can make it fancier, but I'm not sure that the function will improve.

[ChuckS]

I got these at the Area 2 prize table about 8 years ago:

They are nice for practice sessions since they don't take up much room in the car. You can spike them if you need. It is a nice compact design!

Later,

Chuck

[Phil G]

I got these at the Area 2 prize table about 8 years ago:

They are nice for practice sessions since they don't take up much room in the car. You can spike them if you need. It is a nice compact design!

Later,

Chuck

[Phil G]

Seth-

The aluminum stands look great. I think tabbing the ends to reduce wooble is a great idea if it doesn't add too much manufacturing time or labor.

Phil G

[John Heiter]

Instead of using a bolt, ever think about just using a cut to length section of all-thread rod? You could weld it to the top of the pivoting foot and not have anything penetrating below to cause wobble?

Actually, that looks like what they did in the ones Chuck S showed. I like that the cross bar goes under the slat holders too, keeps the slats from slipping through and catching on the ground if you want to drag it to a new position.

Edited May 27, 2010 by John Heiter

[ChuckS]

Instead of using a bolt, ever think about just using a cut to length section of all-thread rod? You could weld it to the top of the pivoting foot and not have anything penetrating below to cause wobble?

That is how the old ones that I posted above work.

[Seth]

Instead of using a bolt, ever think about just using a cut to length section of all-thread rod? You could weld it to the top of the pivoting foot and not have anything penetrating below to cause wobble?

Actually, that looks like what they did in the ones Chuck S showed. I like that the cross bar goes under the slat holders too, keeps the slats from slipping through and catching on the ground if you want to drag it to a new position.

John,

I like the idea of threaded rod. Aluminum all thread is a little pricey, but in 2" increments, its not bad. I'm ordering some tonite to try. Thanks for the tip.

I am leaving the bottoms open for 2 reasons. First, so they can be easily stackable and 2nd so that the furring strip contacts the ground and adds to the stability. I have built the steel ones with the bottoms closed so that they can be dragged around. (see first post)

I'm not quite at a point of selling these, but I'm getting a lot closer to a useful execution. They work great indoors and on concrete for dry fire practice inside.

s.