From old bed frame to dueling tree target stand...

[Vtec44]

My wife is very happy that I finally put the old steel bed frame to use after saving it for years in the garage. I cut it up and made a target stand for my homemade dueling tree. Now, I need to go and mow that lawn. lol

 

[.dC0m]

Love it!

Seeing the price of these stands/plates go up in the past ~5 years - I'm tempted to pick up welding and make my own stands...

 

[guns&brew]

My wife is very happy that I finally put the old steel bed frame to use after saving it for years in the garage. I cut it up and made a target stand for my homemade dueling tree. Now, I need to go and mow that lawn. lol


View attachment 50938

Very nice. How did you make the hinges?

 

[Vtec44]

Very nice. How did you make the hinges?

Just a steel tube cut up and welded into the angle steel post (old bed frame). The post leans forward about 15 degrees. So as long as there's enough energy to push the plates gravity will put it down toward the other side

 

[Vtec44]

Love it!

Seeing the price of these stands/plates go up in the past ~5 years - I'm tempted to pick up welding and make my own stands...

Yeah I've seen them for $250-300. I think the total cost for me is under $100 including the 6" AR500 plates which I bought many many years ago. You can get the plates online for around $100 for a set of six 6". Also, my 12-year-old $100 Harbor Freight flux welder has been good to me.

 

[Willstang]

Nice work Vtec44!

 

[riceman]

I like, impressive set up.

 

[BigBossman]

Yeah I've seen them for $250-300. I think the total cost for me is under $100 including the 6" AR500 plates which I bought many many years ago. You can get the plates online for around $100 for a set of six 6". Also, my 12-year-old $100 Harbor Freight flux welder has been good to me.

The 110v HF welder got good enough penetration? I'm impressed. I have one, and can probably find an old bed frame......

 

[Tank Mechanic]

Spall from shooting the dueling tree will slowly mow your lawn.

 

[ar15robert]

Nice job. I have one too but not as clean lol. Gonna rework it sometime. Like the plate holders. I used 1.25 tubing and welded it directly to the pole instead of using a plate. Only tacked so I can replace if needed.

Oh and the trees are damn fun we set up tournament when we camped 5-10 buck entry for fun.

 

[Vtec44]

The 110v HF welder got good enough penetration? I'm impressed. I have one, and can probably find an old bed frame......

I'm no expert but it's hard to get consistent beads. I used .030 wire size and it does a decent job. You just have to keep an eye on the material. Too slow and it will burn through which I did several times. We'll see how it goes at the end of this month when I take the dueling tree out to the desert.

 

[Vtec44]

Here are some pictures of the base and hinge setup. The base is removable. I welded 2 pieces of angle irons to create a slot to slide in the post and remove it when transporting. There are also holes at each corner for me to nail it to the ground. For the hinges, I welded each steel tube on a plate then the plate onto the angle iron post. That way it will swing out flat and not at an angle. The tubes are small and would sit too far in the angle iron post if I weld it directly to the post. I hope someone else on this forum will take this and improve it even more.

 

[Vtec44]

I took it out to the desert to test and it works well. I'm also happy to report that 1/8" steel bed frame and mild steel from Home Depot can deflect FMJ 115g 9mm without issues. I just need to work on my aiming...

 

[ddatn9]

My wife is very happy that I finally put the old steel bed frame to use after saving it for years in the garage. I cut it up and made a target stand for my homemade dueling tree. Now, I need to go and mow that lawn. lol


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That's awesome! Well done!!!!!