Duct Tape Hammock

Make a Hammock out of Duct Tape and every household materials in 3 Easy steps:

Step 1: Woodworks (Preparing the wooden rods)
Step 2: Duct Tape Heaven
Step 3: Rope it up

Materials: 
2 wooden rods (Broom or mop will do)
Duct Tape : 50m
Rope

Tools:
Saw
Drilling machine 
6 mm drill
Good mood :)

Step 1:

Step 1: WoodWorkds

1.Take 2 wooden rods(20 mm Diameter). I took my old Broom and mop.
2.Saw the rods to get 90 cm length.
3. Drill two 6 mm holes at 30 mm from each end of each rod. (The hole diameter depends on the diameter of the rope you will use)
4. Recommended tip - polish the preccessed area of the wood to avoid splinters.

 

Step 2:

Step 2: Duct Tape
To your convinience I will devide this step into 2 main substeps:
Substep 2.1
This is the most time consuming step.
a. Place the Rods (which we prepared in step 1) at a distance of 220cm from one another. Make sure to fix their position (I used Duct Tape to fix it to the floor however i recommend fixing the position elevated from the floor to prevent back pain)
b. Wrap 6 long peices of 50mm duct tape with approximatly 50 mm of spacing between pieces (wrap back and forth and tighten together).

Step 3:

Step 2: Duct Tape
Substep 2.2:
1. Wrap 10 pieces of 50 mm Duct tape with approximately 150 mm of spacing betwwen them. (in vertical to the pieces in step 2).
2.Make sure that 2 pieces (out of the 10) are taped tightly near the wooden rod (to prevent the longtitudional duct tape from opening).
3.We now obtained a web of duct tape (this will take our weight when we sit in the hammock)

Step 4:

Step 3: Rope It Up

1. Take the rope and cut 2 even pieces (length depends on the distance between the supports you are intending to hang your hammock on)
2. Insert each end of the rope into the holes we drilled in step 1.
3. Make sure that you have even length of rope emerging from each hole
4. Bring the ropes together (forming an isosceles triangle) and tie a not (make sure to leave enough rope for the supports.
5. After you have done this on both sides.. your done! 

Step 5:

Now you have your brand new Duct Tape Hammock. 
Just go outside, hang it up and enjoy the breeze... 

Comments

[seansippo]

so i was getting this idea when watching mythbusters : P i am not gonna make one now cause its to cold at least to put outside.............was thinking thou would maybe using tape instead of rope work? and are the rods really necessary?

hm i wonder if i could make a good looking jacket out of duct tape................

[DarthCaniac]

Hey, I finally finished making one like yours! Here is my final finished product, and video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q55CoehL-84

[tinker234]

could i use steel pipe and goralla tape and add a cloth cover

[sitzikbs]

sounds like it should worl. the steel pipe sounds even better than the wood (it will add significant weight. And gorilla duct tapes are good but make sure to take one that is durable enough. Cloth cover sounds good as well. i would love to see it when your done :)

[tinker234]

hey also could i use goralla duck tape and reqular duck tape

[sitzikbs]

I Personally didnt use a special duct tape, just a regular one. but i recommend for you to test its strength before applying your wieght on it.

[joehudy]

i just hade this idea last night. why does this alwas hapin its not fair.

[sitzikbs]

haha, we live in a world that most times someone thought about it before us. but its ok, you can try to do it better :)

[Ebj8]

Can i use pvc pipe instead of pieces of wood

[sitzikbs]

hmmm... i dont think it will hold the load... as you can see in some of the photos' even the wood bent a little...

[apenjong-31295]

it should be: tie a "knot", and not a "not".

[froggyman]

You made it onto http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/2010/11/02/white-trash-repairs-personally-i-would-prefer-a-higher-thread-count/

Congrats!

Also, I can't wait to use this at the summer camp I work at as duct tape is always seen as being the ultimate thing.

[sitzikbs]

cool, thanks,
what is this website?

[froggyman]

Its a website filled with all sorts of different "kludges" showing off peoples stupidity... I thought it was weird that if got on there though...

[sitzikbs]

omg. they put it there becouse they thought it was stupid. thats insulting...

[holland6045]

no, they put it on there because they thought it was ingenious..that portion of the site was pretty mutch labeled "epic jury rigs"

[sitzikbs]

hmmm.... im not sure if im insulted or flattered...

[DarthCaniac]

You have any of that extra "good mood" laying around by any chance? If so, I'd love to borrow some!

[sitzikbs]

sure! ill email it.... :)

[DarthCaniac]

*is waiting* It didn't come yet.

[sitzikbs]

it takes a while to upload :)

[smash10101]

nice 'ible, I might make one this spring, one typo though:

"Step 4
...
4. Bring the ropes together (forming an isosceles triangle) and tie a not (make sure to leave enough rope for the supports."

it should read:
4. Bring the ropes together (forming an isosceles triangle) and tie a knot (make sure to leave enough rope for the supports.

you just missed the 'k'

[steveo625c6]

Have you thought about making strips and weaving them together?

[sitzikbs]

im not sure i understand what do you mean by that .

[steveo625c6]

The way you have it is you have the strips taked together at the intersections, I was saying to make individual strips and weave them. It would alllow it to move and flex as you lay in it.

[sitzikbs]

i understand now... it could work ... care to make an instructable? so everyone can do it too?
:)

[steveo625c6]

Well I am in college and poor, so maybe in time, haha.

[sitzikbs]

ha... i knkow what you mean... (not so big on the money myself)... in time...

[SOTILAS]

Look at that rod bending!

[sitzikbs]

what rod bending?

[SOTILAS]

step5: 2nd picture.

[sitzikbs]

hmmm... you are correct. i didnt notice it earlier.
but it held my weight fine.
i suppose for future reference you should use a rod with a bigger diameter or different material (like aluminum for example)...

[gmyers2112]

Aluminum rods (tubes) not good for this. More later if you're interested.

Basic problem:
Because all of your weight is bearing between the tiangulated ends of the rod to the center of the cord, it forces the rods to bend. If instead, each line of duct tape had a corrosponding line extending beyond the rods and were then tied together at a central point, that would eliminate most if not all of your torsional bending. Also, based on past history with duct tape, weight and time, you need to doulble your longitudinal lines (not make them double thick, make more of them). More distribution of weight equals less weight based damage to each line of tape equals longer lasting. ANd it has the added advantage of being more comfortable because of a finer mesh in your hammock.

[sitzikbs]

i understand what you say and you are correct.
However my solution works too since the bending stress is in reverse relation to the moment of inertia of this rod (the higher it is the smaller the stress). Plus, the yield strength is higher in relation to the material you choose (wood is weaker than aluminum and aluminum is weaker than steel).

[gmyers2112]

yes, your hammoks works so long as you don't gain any weight or have that nice looking blond chick sit in the hammock with you, but the inherent weakness is obvious in the bend and the bend shows stress that isn't necessary. Simply by balancing that load the bend goes away and the stick will never break.

On the aluminum subject: An equal sized "rod" of aluminum would be prohibitively expensive for a duct tape project and surprisingly heavier than you'd expect; steel even more so. If you used a tube of aluminum, you'd have greater tensile strength in straight compression but the bend your picture shows in section 5 would be disastrous for a tube. A) once bent, the tube would stay mostly deformed and lateral strength would be reduced exponentially. B) at some point the bend would create a kink in the tube and the bent part would shoot through the back of the hammock rider's head with the force of his weight driving it. This tragic and horrific death can be avoided by balancing the load correctly.
:)

G

[sitzikbs]

some easy stress calculations could tell us exactly the required measurments.
if you would like i can calculate what tube diameter and thickness is required to hold a 100 kg person with a safety factor of 1.5. would you like me to calculate it?

But you are right, for the common DIY guygirl, balancing the load will work fin.

[gmyers2112]

I think we've probably already spent more time and effort discussing it that it warrants. If you're happy with it and you feel safe, who am I to nay say ye? I drew up a diagram of what I was talking about in terms of extended lines, etc. (though I'm certain that you grokked my intent), If you'd like to have it and or post it for your readers, I could send it to you in a pdf. Else if, cheers.

Gary

[binary]

wow. i feel like i am watching an episode of big bang theory.

thanks for the intelligent banter! lol.

great and fun project!

i'm penny btw. lol.

[sitzikbs]

LOL, and who am i ? sheldon ?

[binary]

lol. no....i think you are leonard. leonard tends to look at things in another way when presented with a different idea or more efficient idea. he also admits when he might be wrong. sheldon on the other hand...