Two years ago, I got my hands on a couple of boy scout canvas tents that were a pretty good deal. After several attempts, I was finally able to get wood poles made for it that actually worked. Wood poles seem simple enough, but it is a little more complex than I thought.
All poles ended up being treated 2x2. For the up-rights, I predrilled a hole in either end and hammered in a rather large nail. Once this was done, I cut the head of with an angle grinder. By the fourth attempt, resistance was futile and I submitted myself to the use of a ridge pole. I notched a "V" in the top of the long up-rights and drilled holes "corner to corner" on a 2x2 so that a corner of the 2x2 would go into the ridge corner. Good in theory, bad turn out. Ridge pole didn't sit flush in the notches and ended up shatter the ridge pole and on of the up-rights. Made 2 new up rights, and got a new 2x2 for the ridge pole. Drilled holes for the nails of the up-rights to slide in and then I ran the ridge pole in a router with a 45* bit nocking of two corners and making a half hexagon shape. This worked out great and I plan on screwing in a few hooks into the ridge pole to hang a few items such as a lantern or light.
Next battle was the side poles. After a few trial and errors, I ended up making a "ridge" pole to go on top of the side uprights, then I put the grommets on the pikes, then put cordage over the pikes atop the grommets. That really provided a sturdy frame on the two sides. However, I was using slick stakes in the shape of a candy cane. The force cause by the canvas weight like pulling those stakes out of the ground. I switched to 10" Aluminum "Y" stakes and I am using 550 cord with aluminum tensioners. So far, this set up is really good. It can be put up or down in less than 30 min with two people, a bit more practice and I think 20 min is feasible.
The next step is adding a stove jack to the tent. I didn't mind trial and error with poles at $3 per 2x2x8, but now I am looking at having to cut into the tent itself. Any advice on stove jacks is greatly appreciated. I am thinking of putting a stove jack with an oval opening on the roof near center of the tent. The tent will only have a max of 2 people plus gear, and I figured a centralized unit would make it more effective. Thanks for any tips that can help, including sewing, location, type, features, etc.
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