Dueling Tree

[petroid]

Since these cost around $300 and I have a cheap flux core welder, I figured I could make one. $50 worth of steel and a couple hours in the garage and it lives! Need to make the hinge for the upright less sloppy but it works! 164056
All mild steel but will be limited to handguns with cast bullets

[Artful]

Good Job - DIY is alway fun stuff.

[petroid]

Here is how I made and mounted the swingers164057

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I like it!!! Awesome work! Have always made my own stuff, and started recently here making my own tagets. Just finished up a texas star. I used 3/8 mild steel and have shot it with 9s, 40s, 45s, and even 5.7s and only the pointy-boolited 9s left every so slight dimples. The plates will last hundreds of thousands of rounds.

Savings is huge when you make these targets yourself. I figured I had about 150-200 bucks in the star, so I probably saved about 5-600 bucks.

Fun stuff!

[petroid]

I modified the pivot for the upright. Now it has no slop and doesn't lean. Before, when all the plates would move to one side it would tilt to that side. Not so, now.

[pmer]

This looks like a fun project. Scrap metal is cheap now, I've had some luck going to auctions for project material.

[HB0708]

Satisfaction of doing it yourself AND save money AND build to your own specifications. Win, win, win! Awesome job.

[Half Dog]

Can you add something to catch your lead?

[petroid]

Thanks guys. Not sure how I would catch the lead but cool idea

[Outer Rondacker]

Did you use that harbor freight welder? I was thinking of buying one for small projects until I get my new house built. This camp on the lake has old school wiring. Great job by the way. I want to make one of these and I think I even have a 6" length of mild 3/8ths.

[petroid]

Yes I used the hf welder.it overheats a few times but worked again after cooling off

[Outer Rondacker]

You guys are worse then a woman showing another woman what she bought. Now I have to go buy a welder and make one of these. SOAB. Thanks :bigsmyl2:

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I would try to bolt as many of the parts together as you can. Welds eventually crack.

[pmer]

You guys are worse then a woman showing another woman what she bought. Now I have to go buy a welder and make one of these. SOAB. Thanks :bigsmyl2:

Yeah CBF cost me $ more than once LOL.

[petroid]

I would try to bolt as many of the parts together as you can. Welds eventually crack.

Sure welds can Crack but if they're getting shot will hold up better then bolts and I can reweld it. In hindsight welding the pivot arms to the back of the plates would have been better than the top but I'll see how long it holds up and can redo it the other way if necessary. Those should be the only welds directly impacted by bullets. The others only hold the pipe sections to the back of the angle iron mast

[mike69]

Nice been planning to build one too just got to get the sons truck done and my race car ready to many projects going on at once. yours looks good going to be fun

[jmorris]

I welded mine but I used 4130 chrome moly tubes riding on oillite bushings that are protected from bullet impact. Hinge material is angle iron for more surface area of weld and the plates are like a ping pong paddle with a hold drilled through and then twisted, then drilled insert tube and weld, captive and has lasted for years like this, non "magnum" pistol and carbine loads like the OP's.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/target/tree/tree3.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/target/tree/tree.jpg

[jmorris]

I use the same concept on my plate racks, the captive pivot makes the weld much less prone to failure and having the piviot point below the bullet impact point makes the target more sensitive (a .22lr can knock down an 8" plate at 200 yds) and puts less stress on them (my oldest rack with this design was put together 19 years ago and has not needed a repair yet (well non electrical, they are auto reset.

The flat strap absorbs any torque imparted from off center hits as well and that is what starts the weld cracks on plates welded directly to a piviot.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/target/autoplaterack/platerack1.jpg

[petroid]

jmorris you got a lot fancier than I did. I tried to keep my design as simple and easy as I could. As such, I made it so all the plates can be slid straight up and out of the holders and the tree disassembled to lay completely flat in the bed of a truck or back of a van. That way it is more portable and the parts can be replaced more easily if needed. There's a couple of things I have learned. 1 Keep it simple, stupid. 2 Everything will break eventually, so make it as quick and easy to repair as you can.

[jmorris]

If you look close you will see a handle at the top of mine and steel wheels at the bottom so it is easy to move around. Also there is a "T" bolt to remove the upright from the stand, like to load it in a truck to haul somewhere else.

I'll be honest though, my first one I built was almost exactly like yours. Cut 3/8x4" flat strap for the targets and bent 1/2" rod.

[JefferyL]

After about 8 years of shooting at my rebar and steel plate targets they are nearly destroyed. Anything from 22s to 8mm Mauser. The welds are just about the only things left. It appears that the weld wire alloys is considerably tougher than the base metal.