Holding Things Down

[Captain Spaulding]

I have a 2” square tube frame that had gotten a crimp and bend in it. The piece that was supposed to telescope inside wouldn’t go in, then wouldn‘t come out. Fun times, since I couldn’t source the material to replace it.

I made an expanding tool to open it up, then made a square “mandrel“ to help stabilize it while bending. Hammering, heating, straining, sweating and cussing got the job done eventually.

But getting to the point, having something solid I could chain things down to would have been a big help. I ended up having to use my tractor and loader, which was awkward and inconvenient.

I know people put tie down pots into shops, which would be handy as heck, but I’m thinking about something outside. I’ve looked at agricultural and construction earth anchors, but I’m not sure if that’s what I need. The ones that install easily have cables, and the ones with open loops are a chore to install.

Something like https://www.fehr.com/66-earth-anchor-w-6-helix-3-4-rod-hg-helix6-66 would seem a possibility, but the working load direction is 45 degrees.

Thoughts?

 

[dfiler2]

That screw anchor would probably hold a lot if you can get it in the ground. The other thing I've seen done is to dig a trench a couple of feet down then another trench perpendicular to the first trench so you have a "T" shape then burry an axel with a chain wrapped around it and bring the chain up to the surface at an angle. I do have to say that I have straightened and bent a lot of stuff with the drawbar of a tractor, as backwoods as it seems it works pretty well. I've broken dozens of tire beads with a handyman jack and the draw bar of a tractor.

 

[MoonRise]

Make an outdoor tie-down point. Or two.

Dig a hole in the ground. Add several hundred pounds of concrete. Add some sort of attachment point.

Depth of hole, diameter of hole, how much concrete to use, and attachment point(s) are up to your discretion. But generally, bigger diameter and deeper hole is 'stronger' and more stable.

Fancy, you can use a sonotube as a form. Extra fancy, you can use a 'bigfoot' form.

You can have various types of possible attachment points. Protruding loop(s), protruding threaded rod, recessed concrete anchor that you then screw a bolt into to hold things down or attached to your anchor, etc.

Cost is some time and sweat to dig a hole and mix or add concrete to the hole. And the cost of a few bags of concrete. Maybe a few bags or wheelbarrows of clean crushed stone.

A 12" diameter hole that is 36" deep will use about 4 bags of 80 lb concrete mix (4000 psi rated) and cost ~$20 ($5 per bag at Home Depot in my area, YMMV and all that) for the concrete. Fancy, the 12" dia 4 ft long sonotube form is $15. That's 320+ lbs of concrete, buried down 3 ft into the ground. That's a pretty solid anchor for a lot of things.

Go 4 ft deep and 12" diameter and you would need just over five 80 lb bags of concrete mix. Buy six bags for ~$30, flare the bottom of the hole a little, drop the sonotube into the hole in the ground, and put ~500 lbs of concrete into the ground. That's a pretty solid anchor pier for a lot of things.

A 20 ft stick of #5 (5/8" dia) steel rebar is $16 at Home Depot. Cut that into five 4 ft long pieces and embed that in your concrete if you want to strengthen the concrete pier against side bending.

So far you are at ~$60 for the six bags of concrete, the 12" x 48" sonotube, and the 20 ft stick of #5 rebar at Home Depot prices.

Put a bird bath or a garden gnome statue on top if it when you are not using it. Or a sign that says "North Pole - That way" with an arrow on it.

 

[Hank11]

I have an ultra heavy duty trailer. Its small but super stout. I often use it as an outdoor work table. A few weeks ago I bent up some 3” wide steel straps for a staircase using hd c-clamps and some wood for a lever. The trailer does not budge or flex as hard as I can pull with a 4-5 foot lever.

Otherwise, for you, maybe a big chunk of concrete with some eye bolts or threaded inserts in the pour. Like 1” diameter stuff or bigger. Once you get around 1000 lbs it’ll be pretty stationary. You don’t need a hole in the ground - just a form of the appropriate dimension.

 

[nadogail]

My bench grinder is supported by a 20” Tire and Rim that was found on the side of the road. I repurposed a few feet of 4” steel pipe and some short lengths of angle steel and a few tabs to make a very sturdy collum to support a length of 2X12 to bolt down my grinder.
Strong Steel and 7014 welding rod will work for many things.

 

[CraigStu]

Can you screw that anchor in at 45degrees? And another one too.

 

[cpttuna]

Take 2 pieces of rebar (1/2") 24inches long. Weld circular loops on one end of each and pound into the ground at 45 degree angle to each other. line them up and attach whatever to them.