Homemade Basket
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Homemade Basket
brianlang Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:24 pm
It is not the prettiest thing but it catches a disc better than my Innova Sport. A little over sixty bucks and half of that was the cost of the chains.
Last edited by brianlang on Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:55 am; edited 1 time in total
brianlang- Driver
- Posts : 149
Join date : 2008-06-30
Age : 47
Location : Bonaire, GA -
Re: Homemade Basket
brianlang Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:54 am
Tire Basket Pictures
How to Build 18 Tire Baskets, and Why
by Jason Southwick, Marshall Street
The Simple Answer
Because we got that magic feeling like we might be on the verge of getting another free public course in the ground. But it's no sure thing, and having 18 temporary targets ready to go when (and if) the powers that be give us the go ahead massively improves our chances.
Sure, they're hideously ugly, but they're a million times better than no baskets at all. And once they're in, play begins immediately, and work on the course can begin in earnest. So can fundraising for the real baskets that will replace our 18 motley testaments to New England ingenuity and thrift.
The complicated answer? Hard to say. Could be a touch of mid-life crisis with a desire to feel less stoopid, useless and inept.
Some Background
In 2000, when we began the long and complex process of establishing Barre Falls Disc Golf Course, Pyramids' old homemade set of baskets had just been replaced with brand new Chainstars.
Once we got the official go-ahead, Pyramids' old baskets were promptly planted at Barre Falls, allowing play to begin immediately, while NEFA and the Army Corp cooperated in raising the roughly $5,000 needed for Barre Falls' shiny new set of 18 Discatchers.
Shortly thereafter, in 2002, our same group of dedicated promoters, approached yet another Army Corp flood control project, this one at West Thompson Dam in North Grosvenordale, Connecticut. The former Pyramids basket set, once they had served their purpose in Barre, had shortsightedly been sold and donated individually, so when we once again got permission to set up another disc golf course on federal property, we decided to make another set of homemade baskets, and to make them all in one day, with most of the same people installing them one week later.
Negotiations with the West Thompson decision-makers had been rocky, so we thought it wise to get the course in the ground before they could change their mind. Plus we had momentum.
Once again, NEFA and the Army Corp shared the fundraising for 18 real baskets, this time Chainstars. Nine of the tire baskets then went to yet another Army Corp flood control project, this one Hodges Village Dam in Oxford, Massachusetts, and the other nine to Norm Fitzgerald, who promptly planted them at an emerging course in Rhode Island (though it never did quite emerge, for various reasons).
Our band of merry course-builders had stumbled onto the concept of traveling starter baskets.
Materials & Construction
We keep improving our design, and anyone with a set of tools and handyman skills can look at these pictures, understand them, and probably come up with an even better design. But this is what we used:
Pressure-treated 2x4s for the pole itself and supports
Pressure-treated plywood for the top and trapper bottom
Chain (hot-dipped galvanized is best and most expensive; zinc-plated means it'll rust)
Electrical wire for holding the chain top and bottom
Nuts, bolts, screws and washers
Truck tires (car tires are too small)
Cost of materials for 18 tire baskets: about $1000, including beer and food for everyone who shows up for the workday. And what's the most important thing to bring to a workday? Other people. Preferably people who own and know how to use tools.
Where We're At Right Now
Once we announced our tire-basket building day, Norm Fitzgerald, amazingly, retrieved seven of the original West Thompson tire baskets and delivered them here. Then T.M. Dyer showed up and donated an old basket, as did Jeff Chauvin. So we only had to repair nine of the old ones a little and make nine new ones to complete our set.
We also decided to produce tee markers appropriate for the first draft of a disc golf course - painted rocks with painted numbers, which we bury at ground level so no one trips over them.
And the piece of land we're eyeing? Just talking and walking on site with the stewards of the property at this point. If they say yes and we rubber-stamp it through the various municipal committees, we'll be playing in a week.
And if they ultimately say no, we've got 18 tire baskets in our front yard looking for a home, and feeding the dream.
Sincerely,
Jason Southwick, Marshall Street
How to Build 18 Tire Baskets, and Why
by Jason Southwick, Marshall Street
The Simple Answer
Because we got that magic feeling like we might be on the verge of getting another free public course in the ground. But it's no sure thing, and having 18 temporary targets ready to go when (and if) the powers that be give us the go ahead massively improves our chances.
Sure, they're hideously ugly, but they're a million times better than no baskets at all. And once they're in, play begins immediately, and work on the course can begin in earnest. So can fundraising for the real baskets that will replace our 18 motley testaments to New England ingenuity and thrift.
The complicated answer? Hard to say. Could be a touch of mid-life crisis with a desire to feel less stoopid, useless and inept.
Some Background
In 2000, when we began the long and complex process of establishing Barre Falls Disc Golf Course, Pyramids' old homemade set of baskets had just been replaced with brand new Chainstars.
Once we got the official go-ahead, Pyramids' old baskets were promptly planted at Barre Falls, allowing play to begin immediately, while NEFA and the Army Corp cooperated in raising the roughly $5,000 needed for Barre Falls' shiny new set of 18 Discatchers.
Shortly thereafter, in 2002, our same group of dedicated promoters, approached yet another Army Corp flood control project, this one at West Thompson Dam in North Grosvenordale, Connecticut. The former Pyramids basket set, once they had served their purpose in Barre, had shortsightedly been sold and donated individually, so when we once again got permission to set up another disc golf course on federal property, we decided to make another set of homemade baskets, and to make them all in one day, with most of the same people installing them one week later.
Negotiations with the West Thompson decision-makers had been rocky, so we thought it wise to get the course in the ground before they could change their mind. Plus we had momentum.
Once again, NEFA and the Army Corp shared the fundraising for 18 real baskets, this time Chainstars. Nine of the tire baskets then went to yet another Army Corp flood control project, this one Hodges Village Dam in Oxford, Massachusetts, and the other nine to Norm Fitzgerald, who promptly planted them at an emerging course in Rhode Island (though it never did quite emerge, for various reasons).
Our band of merry course-builders had stumbled onto the concept of traveling starter baskets.
Materials & Construction
We keep improving our design, and anyone with a set of tools and handyman skills can look at these pictures, understand them, and probably come up with an even better design. But this is what we used:
Pressure-treated 2x4s for the pole itself and supports
Pressure-treated plywood for the top and trapper bottom
Chain (hot-dipped galvanized is best and most expensive; zinc-plated means it'll rust)
Electrical wire for holding the chain top and bottom
Nuts, bolts, screws and washers
Truck tires (car tires are too small)
Cost of materials for 18 tire baskets: about $1000, including beer and food for everyone who shows up for the workday. And what's the most important thing to bring to a workday? Other people. Preferably people who own and know how to use tools.
Where We're At Right Now
Once we announced our tire-basket building day, Norm Fitzgerald, amazingly, retrieved seven of the original West Thompson tire baskets and delivered them here. Then T.M. Dyer showed up and donated an old basket, as did Jeff Chauvin. So we only had to repair nine of the old ones a little and make nine new ones to complete our set.
We also decided to produce tee markers appropriate for the first draft of a disc golf course - painted rocks with painted numbers, which we bury at ground level so no one trips over them.
And the piece of land we're eyeing? Just talking and walking on site with the stewards of the property at this point. If they say yes and we rubber-stamp it through the various municipal committees, we'll be playing in a week.
And if they ultimately say no, we've got 18 tire baskets in our front yard looking for a home, and feeding the dream.
Sincerely,
Jason Southwick, Marshall Street
brianlang- Driver
- Posts : 149
Join date : 2008-06-30
Age : 47
Location : Bonaire, GA -
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