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Step 8Step 7, Set it up
Step 7: Set it up! You can do one of two things here, the choice is yours:
1. Put the 36” post in the cement hole in the ground and just snug the target down on top of the 2” to 3” bushing. It may take a little pounding on the top of the target to get it to seat all of the way down, but this setup allows you to pull the target out of the ground and then remove the post from the bottom of the target (although it may be real tight).
2. Put the 36” post in the base of the basket first. To do this lay the target over slowly on it’s side (a few chains may fall off the S-Hooks but you can hang them right back up) and put a little PVC cement in the bore of the Closet Flange [attached to the underside of the basket] and glue the 36” post into it before you drop it in the hole in the ground. If you do it this way you may need to ‘tap’ the bushing in flush to the Closet Flange. Use a small piece of 2x4 [wood] on cut the end of the pipe; you don’t want to bugger up this end as it needs to slip into that cement hole and come back out again.
I did it like #2 because I have no need to dismantle them after I put them in. I also did it this way because I suspect that the bonded method will last longer and the target will be a bit stiffer at impact from the disc, but that’s just the engineer in me speaking out loud.
Last, if you really want to perfect this design, hang another 6 each 24” long chains from some eye-bolts from up inside the top evenly spaced on an 8” diameter circle (just outside the edges of the Closet Flange up underneath there). Use another 3” ring on the bottom to secure them around the inner post. It will add another $17 or so to the cost of the target but the design can easily handle it. You can always add them later if you want. That’s up to you.
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I couldn't come up with a good idea for a light weight yet sturdy portable base; that's why I figured cement holes were cheap and easy to put up in multiple locations if you only wanted to build one target. There is a 'portable' target you can buy for $175, and as far as the basket is concerned it's a good target, but the base is just 4 bent wire legs, but no matter how you hit it they are just not very sturdy and the target moves quite a bit on a hard shot. If you want to make this thing portable I recommend you make your cement hole in an old car tire (like how the old teether-ball posts were mounted years ago). It should be steady enough for even the most direct of hits, but you can roll it around the yard easy enough without lifting it :-)
Where is a good source to find these barrels?
you might try Craig's List for the barrels. Not sure where you are from but i did a search in SF Bay Area and I got 3-4 sources within a 1/2 hour from my house (south bay).