Mast for large star

Aurbo99

Super Moderator
Staff member
I've had a large plywood star (8 feet tall, 4 feet wide) in my display since 2010.

Image is a close facsimile of what I built
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At first it was 20 feet up a large maple tree with a pulley to hoist up and a ladder to position and ratchet strap to hold in position.

After moving in 2017 to my current house I have used an old 30 foot CB antenna mast, again using a pulley, ladder, strap.

I'm getting too old for dancing on ladders and I'm looking for an alternate, easier method.

I am considering a 30 foot, 2 to 3inch square tube mast like some of the MegaTree builds with pulley on top and winch to raise/lower like a tree topper but what concerns me most is the sail effect and wracking from the wind against the plywood.

Perhaps a yardarm added to the top of the square tube to help prevent wracking?

Any thoughts or suggestion are most welcome
 
I used the Holdman star for years until I got tired of having to carry it up and down ladders, after searching the forum I found Walter's Bethlehem Star design (a different Walter) https://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/forum/index.php?threads/wireframe-bethlehem-star.17357/
I placed a piece of square stock across the back some of muffler clamps and I use the above ASAP system to lift it 25' up. No issues with wind if you use guy wires and common sense.

Just did a quick search for the PDF file for Walter's star but was unable to find it. Here's a copy. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-e5xMLFkPA0tn2r51g47WdnZBdz1Q8P0/view?usp=sharing
 
I used the Holdman star for years until I got tired of having to carry it up and down ladders, after searching the forum I found Walter's Bethlehem Star design (a different Walter) https://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/forum/index.php?threads/wireframe-bethlehem-star.17357/
I placed a piece of square stock across the back some of muffler clamps and I use the above ASAP system to lift it 25' up. No issues with wind if you use guy wires and common sense.

Just did a quick search for the PDF file for Walter's star but was unable to find it. Here's a copy. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-e5xMLFkPA0tn2r51g47WdnZBdz1Q8P0/view?usp=sharing
I'll look into this BillW, the shape appears to be the same as my plywood version but the wire frame would be less weight and very little wind resistance. I will need to modify it a bit to hold square pixels but I have an idea that might work

Google shared drive denied my access, I sent a request.
 
I approved your request and hopefully you were able to get a copy of the plans, I don't use google drive to share file, need to learn how to do it. Currently I use dumb LED light strips to light mine up (3 channels) would like to see your idea for the pixels if you build one. Will post a new link once I figure it out.
 
Fiberglass military tent poles are fantastic for just about anything. They come in 4' sections and you can make it as high as you want. Super strong, you'd need guy wires for anything above 8' unless you have a sleeve mounted in concrete in the ground.
 
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