DIY Hammock Stand

Intro: DIY Hammock Stand

We recently bought a portable hammock and we've enjoyed so much on our hiking and camping trips that I decided I wanted to hang it at home to enjoy on our backyard. I looked at the available hammock stands and they seemed quite expensive but very simple so I decided to give it a try. I based the design on some of the available commercial options. This is what I used:

2 - 8' 2X4 beams
2 - 6' 2X4 beams
2 - 4' 2X4 beams
8 - 5 and a half inch 3/8" bolts
4 - 6" 3/8" bolts
24 - 3/8" washers
12 - 3/8" tightening washers

STEP 1: Angled Cuts.

The first step is to make the angled cuts of the beams that will hold the hammock, the 6' beams. I made a 30 degree cut so that the angle to the floor would be 60 degrees.

STEP 2: Drill the Holes

There are quite a few holes to drill for the bolts. The most tricky ones are the ones to attach the angled beams to the base.

The angled beams will be "sandwiched" between the two 8' beams and the bolts will go through all three pieces. To make sure I had a straight hole for the bolt to go through all three I laid down all three four pieces on the floor just as they would when standing and drilled once through all the wood. As you can see in the picture I made the holes 1" from the edges.

I should also note that the angled beams are not flush with the base beams. This is because the base will rest on top of the 4" pieces and hence be elevated about 2" from the floor. Having the angled beams reach all the way to the floor adds stability. You could also cut a "bed" in the base beams to fit the two 4" pieces so that the base would rest on the floor.

The other holes to be drilled are holes for they eyebolts where the hammock will hang, and the holes to secure the base to the "feet" the two 4" beams.

STEP 3: Assembly

The final step is to bolt everything together. I used a washer on each side the bolt and a tightening washer on the nut side.

After using it a few days I've thought of a couple of improvements. The angled beams flex quite a bit when the hammock is rocking so I think some tensioners running from the top of the beams to the edge of the feet would increase the stability. however they could become tripping hazards!

I should also note that I choose these dimensions based on my hammock's length.

So far it's held pretty well up to 200 pds.

Comments

[kaway27]

My wife had always want to have a hammock in our back yard, so I made this hammock stand for her as a Christmas present. She loved it.

[gdsmit1]

That's a great looking stand.

[JeremyO20]

Do u have the specs on this please

[kaway27]

Here's detail on the my Hammock Stand in PDF.

[JeremyO20]

It won't open up for me

[kaway27]

I just tried to download the file myself and it opened fine. Try update or reinstall your Adobe Acrobat.

[TIPOC]

Just made this stand. Thank you for the instructions. We love it!

[kaway27]

You are welcome. Glad you like it.

[TAYETURANA2]

I love this i will love 2 have one made

[kmedina58]

we really like your design. what are measurements and cuts to assemble

[kaway27]

I am glad you like it. I attached the detail drawing with dimension below.

[TheDownsProject]

What was the degree that you cut the 4' pieces that are angled?  I'm looking forward to making this my weekend project, my hammock has been rolled up and put up since I bought it months ago.  Great design!

[Joseph.of.Jesus]

You could find the angles, though with a bit of work, by finding the ridge length of your hammock, and the geometry to the hanging angle (30 degrees) and the height. There's an online calculator for hanging a hammock. Try that, it should make it easier.

[kaway27]

45 degree on both ends.

[CarsonG1]

i was looking at your design and decided to would look better with my backyard

i saw your drawing attatchment and appreciate it but what size bolts did you use

if you even remember of course

thanks

[Cyrus KaelA]

I'm not good with measurements. Can you give me something for scale of the size?

[JeremyO20]

kaway27 how did you anchor your 4x4 uprights to bottom 2x4?

[DrewE1]

Does this even support a toddler?? I made this to spec, even improved on the hardware choices and I've had to brace this thing to the extreme to keep it from pulling the vertical boards in. Also notice how droopy this hammock is, how is anyone supposed to lay in that? Dude, way off here.

[cmcclendon65]

Just a constructive piece of info.Weight (mass) is measured in pounds (lbs). It might scare people who are considering trusting your design if you are using inaccurate units.

[dhendriks]

Weight and mass are two different units of measurement. Mass is measured in grams. It might scare people who are considering trusting your comment if you are using inaccurate units.