Collapsible Market Stall

Intro: Collapsible Market Stall

Build a unique and collapsible market stall for around $100. Use it for your booth at the farmer's market or craft fair, or to provide a little shade over whatever you're into, from bluegrass band to lemonade stand!

STEP 1: Research, Planning

I needed a shade solution (mainly for pumpkin carving events), but I've never liked most of the designs on the market: they’re clunky, squeaky, expensive, boring and are always trying to pinch your fingers.

While searching for DIY options, I liked the look of a lot of “Viking” style market stalls, many of which have an integrated tent so you can actually set up camp. But one that really stood out for me was made by a Czech company called “Xmarkt,” which has a very small footprint on the web (at least when viewed from here in the U.S.), except for some mentions about a market in Prague which features lots of them in different colors, all looking quite badass alongside one another.

Their design features bright white fabric with what looks like hefty 2"x6" lumber, sewn pockets for the horizontals, cables with turnbuckles holding everything together, metal stripping for asphalt protection and built-in tables. From the photos they appear to be 6 feet wide but that's just a guess.

Lacking sewing machine skills and access to whatever fabric they’re using, I opted for bungee connections for a pre-fab grommeted shade cloth, and hanger bolts and wingnuts instead of cables. A table across the whole front of my design seemed a little claustrophobic (how would you escape, out the side? A tripping hazard, can’t possibly be OSHA approved!) so I opted for a separate, 6’ table. Another design I saw uses the same diagonal idea but has a triangular plywood joint in the middle of the “X.” But I kept returning to that general outline: a vertical back and a lopsided “X.”

Now that I've finally bult it, I really like the aesthetics of this layout; it has nice dynamic diagonals that showcase the paint job, and a wide-open, inviting “front.” I can hang things from it (like signage and pumpkin skulls, ew!!), and it (just barely) fits inside my Honda Pilot, or can be strapped to the roof. 

Mine cost just over $100 to build. Your mileage will of course vary depending on the price of lumber and hardware in your neck of the woods, but it's bound to be cooler than anything you can buy off the shelf. I opted for thinner stock, but the design will work using many different dimensions of lumber. I used hanger bolts and wingnuts, but another plausible option is dowels and pins, just like the Vikings used due to their inability to access hardware stores, or store-bought threaded knobs like these.

I’d done some doodling, figured out some dimensions and kept revising the design, but I kept getting stuck on the tarp: I didn’t want the common blue plastic kind because they “rattle” quite a bit when the wind picks up, and they look exactly like blue tarps*. I’d found several other contenders including reclaimed billboard vinyl, oilcloth and standard plastic tarp, but they all seemed too pricey or heavy or ugly. I bought one shade tarp that looked okay online, but I returned it as soon as it arrived because it was far too flimsy. Finally I found this 8’x14’ shade cloth with grommets that really fit the bill, for a little over $40. Many different dimensions will work, but matching the width of the tarp makes everything easier. 

I used 2”x2” for the verticals. I had a few eight-foot long, 2” thick garden poles on hand so I used those for the three horizontal poles, but 2”x2” lumber would work there instead. I used two ten-foot and two eight-foot 1”x4” pine boards for the diagonals, for a total of $45 or so. Adding in the hex and hanger bolts, washers and wingnuts, I ended up spending around $65 in both lumber and hardware.

*A blue tarp would work just fine; no judgement if you’re one of those freaky blue tarp fans.

STEP 2: Making the Parts, Part A: Two Verticals

Two verticals: (six-foot 2"x2's):

These two (A) have a hole drilled about 1" from one end. This is so the top of the horizontal (D) will be flush with the top of the vertical (A). It's 1" from the end for my 2"-thick horizontals, but it would be 3/4" if your horizontals are 2"x2" (which are really 1.5"x1.5", which is just dumb).

They also have hanger bolts sticking out of the center of their base, pointing down, long enough to make it through the ground-level horizontal (C).

I rigged a makeshift “sideways drill press” so the pilot holes for the hanger bolts were as straight as possible, and it very nearly worked. Luckily, perfection is not required here; all the holes you're drilling are bigger than the bolts going through them, which means you've got some "wiggle room." I found the depths by measuring how much bolt needed to be sticking out - enough to make it through the lumber, with enough thread for the wingnut - and marking the drill bit with a felt-tip pen so I knew where to stop. Then I'd push a little wood glue into the hole and drive the hanger bolts to the correct depth.

Tip: you can convince a hanger bolt to behave like a regular hex bolt by nesting a pair of hex nuts together; one pushes up against the other one and keeps it from spinning, so your hex driver bit can grab that "headless" bolt and drive it with no trouble. 

STEP 3: Making the Parts, Part B: Three Horizontals

Three horizontals (rounded or 2"x2*):

1. One eight-foot horizontal (B) with 2" hanger bolts at each end. There should be sufficient threads exposed to make it through the 1"x4" diagonal (E) with room for the nut; in my case 1" was plenty.
2. Another eight-foot horizontal (C) identical to the first, except it also has two holes drilled 2.25" from each end, for the hanger bolts at the bottom of the verticals (A). I flattened my rounded horizontal a little where it meets the vertical for a better fit, but that wouldn't be needed if you're using 2"x2" for the horizontals.
3. A third horizontal (D), seven foot, 7.25 inches (or, 4.75" shorter than the others), with 5" hanger bolts sticking out far enough to get through both the verticals (A) and diagonals (B) with wingnut room, so about 2.75".

Note: Because my rounded garden poles had pointy ends that I had to remove, my horizontals ended up a little shy of 8 feet long (which actually simplifies tarp attachment a little). But since that’s probably not going to be the case for most folks, this Instructable assumes a full 8’ width for clarity. Should you opt for a narrower stall, you can easily reduce the dimensions of those horizontals (or increase them for that matter), as long as the two long ones are equal, and the short one allows for the thicknesses of the other pieces.

STEP 4: Making the Parts, Part C: Two Pairs of Diagonals

Two pairs of diagonals:

1. Two ten-foot 1"x4's (E), with a hole about 1" from each end and a hole at the four-foot mark.
2. Two eight-foot 1"x4"s (F), with a hole 1" from one end and a hole at the four-foot mark.

I rounded off the ends of the 1”x4” boards with a jigsaw, drilled holes at the four-foot mark and used 2" hex bolts to stick together two pairs of the 8’ and 10’ 1"x4"s, forming the lopsided "X."

These are the clunkiest components, and the ones most likely to bite you, so beware: they're swiveling around like giant scissors and really want to smoosh your fingers!

When the other poles are disassembled every time you pack up, these parts can remain stuck together.

STEP 5: Finish

I applied several coats of paint, trying to adhere to a paint scheme I’d doodled on my computer (purple and green), but I mixed up a couple poles during the disassembled confusion, so I have a purple piece that was supposed to be green and a green piece that was supposed to be purple. Will I fix that at some point? I do hope so. 

For added durability wherever wood touches wood, I cut little 2” circles from plastic “coffee can” style lids with a hole saw, sliding them over the hanger bolts and stapling them to the wood. 

Since I’m mostly setting up on dirt or grass, I opted for rubber feet: stapled 6” sections of bike tube. If I were to do a gig on pavement, I’d go with metal. Come to think of it, maybe a bike tire would be more versatile, like a section of mountain bike tread? I like that idea, and am going to go do it now. You can stop reading and come back when I’m done.

Ok that was harder than I thought; the tire wasn't flexible enough to make the turn I was asking for. I'm not giving up though; it's a good idea that I'll revisit.

STEP 6: Setting Up

Erecting the whole thing proved to be a bit tricky, and I managed to drop a pole on my head at least once, but I feel just fine now and wait what were we talking about?

After a little trial-and-error I landed on a procedure that excludes cranial injury. It's no problem to set this up all by yourself, but it's quite a bit easier if you have a friend/volunteer/service robot who can hold pieces up while you tighten wingnuts.

Set up (the TL;DR version):

Set it all up on it's "back" with the front legs pointing up at the sky, then gently rock it forward when it's done.

Set up (the full version; see the diagrams and below): 

1. Slide the bolts on the short horizontal (D) through the holes at the top of the 6’ verticals (A). Slide the bolts at the bottom of the two verticals (A) through the holes in the the long horizontal (C), tighten wingnuts.

2. Slide the diagonals into place (avoid pinching!): the bottom of the long diagonal (E) goes through the bolt on the side of (C), and the top of the short diagonal (F) goes through the bolt on the side of (D), tighten wingnuts. Repeat for both sides. Tighten wingnuts on the diagonals, too.

3. Attach horizontal (B) to the top of the long diagonal (E).

4. Attach front edge of tarp, using whichever bungee strategy sparks the most joy in your heart.

5. Make sure the area is clear of bystanders or pets or fragile glassware. Standing behind structure and rock it forward by lifting up on (D) until the front feet of (E) hit the ground. Note: Keep the tarp pushed to one side so you can see where (and upon whom) the feet are landing!

6. Stretch the tarp over the frame, pull tight and attach with bungees.

7. If there's any possibility the wind will pick up even a little, anchor all four feet to the ground. You can weigh them down with sand bags, or drill holes (like I did) at the bottom of the diagonals for tying paracord to big stakes, or use cement-in-coffee-can anchors, whatever works for you.

Break down:

1. Detach the tarp from everything except the front edge (B), drape tarp out of the way (so you can see what you're doing).

2. Slowly tip the structure until its back hits the ground.

3. Remove the tarp from the front edge, detach the top horizontal (B) from the long diagonals (E).

4. Remove wingnuts from the ends of the diagonals, then carefully slide them off their bolts. Don‘t let them collapse like giant scissors and decapitate you.

5. Lay out tarp, detach all poles (leave diagonals attached to each other). Roll all parts into the tarp, leaving a few wraps between each piece so they don’t scratch each other in transit. Tie it all up using bungees and/or rope, and off you go!

STEP 7: Variations

There are countless tweaks that will work here!

This design can be easily adapted to different lumber dimensions. Using 2"x4" or 2"x6" would be quite unwieldy but super sturdy, and would be perfectly fine especially if you're setting up for like a week at a time instead of a few hours. I like the idea of rounded poles, particularly on the "middle" horizontal (D) so it's gentler on the tarp, but square stock would work there too.

The finish can also go in any direction; you can leave it unfinished or stain it and seal it or use any paint color scheme or carve intricate designs all over it like the Vikings did when they were bored. The tarp color is another obvious choice that affects the overall look.

For even more portability, the 10' boards (E) could be engineered with a split in them so they could fold down a bit; maybe the last two feet could swivel down to 8' and back, using a fixed bolt for the pivot point and another bolt to lock it open (and closed)? Actually you could even use that trick on all four diagonals, and get it all to fold down to 6'! Maybe I'll do that if I ever build another one of these, we'll see!

A bag like this might come in handy.

Personally I'm planning to expand the items I have for sale during pumpkin carving season (I have a book for sale, but I'm thinking of offering woodcarvings and carved avocado pits too); retail feels more plausible now that I have this designated space. Besides always having a perfect spot to hang my banner, I can dangle things from the frame, or mount little custom-made retail displays to the diagonals so they're right at eye level with no footprint! I'm also looking forward to my next outdoor music gig: I'll be completely self-contained, and won't get baked by the sun or even drizzled upon by the drizzle!

I suppose if that drizzle were to haul off and become rain, I'd like to have rainproof tarp on hand, along with the one I have now which is really only made for shade. Perhaps I'll become one of those blue-tarp people after all? Regardless, I'll be keeping an eye out for additional 8'x14' options.

And while I'm on the topic on inclement weather: right now I have pretty substantial tent stakes that I can tie to the feet as anchors, but I'd like to have beefier options on hand. Perhaps a sharpened length of rebar with a cross-piece I can step on, or drive in with a mallet? The point is, I have a decent solution for a slight breeze, but I'd prefer a more robust solution that will survive the coming apocalypse.

I'm going to keep fiddling with ways to protect the wood where it hits the ground (see the bike tire debacle in step 5).

I also might try plastic knobs in place of the wingnuts, or I may end up making these myself instead of buying them; you can glue a nut into a hole in a chunk of wood and cut out whatever shape you want, so it could be a round-ish knob or a lever or a t-shaped thing or a square or a random chunk of driftwood or an (ironic) "x," or maybe even a pumpkin shape? I'll let you know when I decide.

So, dear reader, what will you be doing under your market stall?

Best of luck with it, whatever it is!

Comments

[1nStitches]

question, how does it hold up in a breeze? and how long does it take to breakdown? I'm imagine a quick shower at a craft market. thanks!

[mikecraghead]

OSHA says you should have 40-pound weights in the corners of your ez-ups; I’d agree on this design, but the way the weight is distributed (at least in my version, using the lumber I used), the back is super stable and I’d mainly worry about anchoring the long “front” legs. That said, if the wind is blowing that bad, having the front and sides exposed means you’re not getting much protection from the elements at all, so it would probably be time to bail.

Re: time to break down:
If you want to bundle it up nicely it takes 15 minutes or so, but if you’re escaping the weather and running away, you could drop it in closer to five minutes; just the time it takes to unscrew the bolts and undo the tarp. I’ve just made some knobs (as mentioned in the last step) so that will speed things up too, and my time is dropping with practice.

Overall I’m sure that setup and breakdown is slower than store-bought metal contraptions, the main advantage this stall has over those is that they’re lame and this is cool ;)

Cheers!

[CMoz]

Really useful! I also really loved how you did research first to see what is currently used. That's so good to do to make something that is needed.

[mikecraghead]

Thank you!
I do think this ended up being cost-effective in the long run, which is not typical: usually I'll DIY something that ends up costing more than it would if I bought it. But I believe actual construction time and materials ended up costing me less than the purchase of a less-fun item off the shelf. Of course that's only if you don't count all the time spent on research and doodelling, which I have hereby decided not to count ;)

[CMoz]

Haha that is so true - my projects are often like that - but I get huge satisfaction from the making and the uniqueness of the thing. And yes, never count time spent - that will rack up fast! So true!!

[hperry11]

I have seen videos of people "waterproofing" large swaths of fabric using silicone. Not sure if it works, but that might be an alternative to the "blue tarp".

[mikecraghead]

Aha, here's an 'ible about that - maybe not silicone, but certainly waterproof!
https://www.instructables.com/Water-Proofing-Your...

[fuzz.professor]

Reminds me of oilcloth, again a mixture applied to the fabric (I think some kind of oil and mineral spirits) - iirc the main benefit is lower cost, drawback increased flammability.
Good thinking!

[djohnson85]

Great prject, i think ill make one in the Spring. I had a question about your receipt. What is the "CA lumber assesment" charge?

[mikecraghead]

Its 1% tax intended to level the playing field for CA lumber retailers:
https://www.hbsdealer.com/lumberyards/california-passes-new-lumber-tax

Cheers!

[darrell.fleury]

Wonderful! I'm curious how much it weighs???

[mikecraghead]

This just in: it’s 44 pounds (or 19.958 kg), which is less than many metal structures with a similar footprint.

I’ve found that different pieces of identical-sized lumber can vary tremendously in weight, but I think I was mainly hunting for straight pieces without knots. Selecting lighter wood would definitely shave off a few pounds, as would using 2”x2” stock for the horizontals instead of garden poles.

[darrell.fleury]

Thanks for weighing it! That's certainly light enough. Cedar would be an even lighter choice and it's usually pretty straight. Plus it's available in 2x2s. Thanks!

[mikecraghead]

Hey you know what? I’m curious too -I’ll try to weigh it today and will report back!

[OneBirdieMa]

Oh . . . ah . . . thuD. What were we talking about? Oh,yeah -- peevish stiff bike tires or some such. Make sure you have some decent gloves around -- and whatever tools are used on the bike tire -- and you'll need a sunny day for the easiest version of this. Take a section or three of the tire that's too stiff/tight to make work and put it in a black trash bag -- or wrap in some HD black plastic -- and just before lunch or snack or ??? interruption set it out in the full sun where it will be . . . at the end of the break, put on those gloves and open up the plastic. The tire section should have gotten hot enough to bend, twist, cut -- whatever you need. Give it a shot. // In my mind this market stall wouldn't take a whole lot of reworking to be a good -- heavens, I have no idea what to call it! -- protection for a photographer lurking outdoors to see what feathers fly by. Anyway, I'm going to turn it over to my husband the picturetaker (like the attached blueird with winterberry) and see what he thinks. //I REALLY enjoyed the presentation. Thanks.

[mikecraghead]

Thank you!

I do have a heat gun, so for the price of a little toxic inhalation I could probably speed up this process (here in Humboldt County, CA. the sun is pretty mellow, especially as of this writing (Dec. 19).
I don't know much about bird stalking, but as designed all this provides is shade. Is that worth the trouble? Or maybe you could use camouflage tarp, even wrap the whole structure in it, then make little holes in the tarp you can peek through so the birds don't see you and call the cops or whatever? Or for avian assassins, it could also become a duck blind; your very own duck-centric grassy knoll/book depository. (Too soon?)
Anyway, thanks for the kind words and the bike tire advice, I will think upon it presently!

[lziganti]

Awesome idea! An alternative to plastic tarp is cotton canvas painting tarps which are available in a range of sizes and relatively inexpensive online. They also are fun to tie dye or “paint” with squirt bottles of dye.

[mikecraghead]

Thanks!

Canvas painters' tarps are definitely an option, especially if you know your way around a sewing machine. If the dimensions are right you can ditch the grommets and bungees entirely!

[charlessenf-gm]

Simple, simply elegant form following function. Thanks for the tip on that tarp (and the link!). When you were talking about rubber feet and bicycle tires I had an idea you might try combining sections of the tires, maybe six-nine inches in length with sections of 2" x 6" trimmed on one edge to match the curve of the section of tire and, opposite, a mortice cut to fit the 'foot' of each of your corners such that they slipped on and off. Using pressure-treated two by six and polyurethane adhesive to secure the sections of bike tire (got a bike shop nearby - ask for a used tire - save a buck) to sections of two by six. While I suspect a relatively decent fit would keep the rubbers on the stand, you could drill a hole in the center of teh mortice and tenon and use a bolt on a string to insure they are carried off with the shelter should the wind blow it away.

You could also use the 2x6 laid flat, mortice through as well and another hole for a peg to anchor each 'foot' to the ground when needed. If you double up where the mortice goes and cut it through the top piece of 2-by and screw that to the larger foot (like an ankle joint) you can slip the feet on and off as easy as those cycle feet, above, But, on these, you can paint toes!

[mikecraghead]

Thank you!

Oo, I like it! Different "shoes" for different occasions, right? Elegant stilettos for formalwear farmers markets. And so many ways a "slip-on" could integrate with various weights and anchors. More to ponder!

M