Call for Artists, Making Money at Juried Art Fairs, Craft Shows and Festivals
How to make weights for your tent for less than $30
These are the finished product!
Component #1
Component #2
Component #4
Last year I posted these instructions, thought they might be of interest to some of our newer members, or some who missed it the first time.
Here's what I used:
- 1 10" piece of 4" schedule 40 PVC, cut into 4 equal pieces
- 2 80# bags of Sackrete.
- 8 test caps, 4 with 3/8" holes in top
- 4 eyebolts, 3/8" diameter, 8" long, with nuts (add washers if you wish)
After you cut the pipe into 4 pieces, put the test caps in one end and place them with that end down on a level surface. Fill each pipe half full of the dry Sacrete and add one cup of water. You can stir this with an old broom handle if you wish, I did, but am not sure it mattered.
After a quick stir, add more dry Sacrete till the level is about 6 inches from the top of the pipe. Add one more cup of water and wait for the level to fall. Add water and Sacrete alternatively in small amounts till the level of mix is up to the top of the pipe.
Insert the test caps, with the eyebolts and nuts, through the holes, into the wet mix and push the caps down tight. Then push the eyebolts down into the wet cement, stopping a half inch or so from the cap.
Next morning, you are finished, your weights are more efficient if they hang an inch or two off of the floor. The PVC is paintable, spray paints for plastic are at any home center
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robin Ragsdale on -
I have weights just like those and they work great.
Robin Ragsdale
www.evenbetterimages.com
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Permalink Reply by Chris Brady on -
Great tutorial. I made a version of these (with different caps) and later added one other feature: a wrap of oilcloth, sealed shut with a glue gun. The plastic pipe scratches and scrapes and picks up marks so easily, and I got tired of repainting them with that special plastics spray paint, so the oilcloth makes it easier to keep them looking nice. Will attach a (blurry)photo.
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Permalink Reply by Cindy Ketchersid on -
This is great. also saw these in square PVC bases, this weekend. Great for loading/stacking.
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Permalink Reply by Cherry Sphere on -
Did these make 40 lb weights? Less than 40 is not going to pass muster at some of the more strict shows. And think of all the gas they consume hauling them around!
Bruce - been there, done that, not no more : )
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Permalink Reply by Martha Giberson on -
These are very easy to make but, and this is a big deterrent, they swing in the wind and do NOT anchor your tent in a big storm. So a really good microburst is going to pick up up tent and move and these weights are just going to be big heavy swinging pendulums. If you want you tent to be really secure you have to weigh down at ground level, not from weights that hang from the top. One really cheap way to go is to buy soccer goal weight bags at a sporting goods store. Buy some builders sand at a Home Depot where the show is located, Fill the bags, weigh down your booth at the 4 corners at the bottom. When the show is over, dispose of the sand alongside some roadway with a sandy verge. Builders sand is cheap. Your booth is not going to move.
martha
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Permalink Reply by Cherry Sphere on
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How did Martha learn about these swinging facts?
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Permalink Reply by Connie Mettler on -
Martha has been around in this business for a long time. I always listen to her.
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Permalink Reply by Cherry Sphere on
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Aren't there shows that have requirements for corner weights and actually define poundage per corner? As far as swinging I have always seen corner weights tied to the corner poles to disallow swinging.
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Permalink Reply by Connie Mettler on
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Maybe there are, I don't know. I have seen plenty of swinging weights, and swinging from bungees -- always looks dangerous to me.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Brady on
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I have elastic wraps around mine to keep them from swinging. But, yeah, they are no fun to carry or transport!
One other good thing about this type of weight is that it is relatively slim and out of the way. I used 5 gallon jugs of water one year and they were just too big and obvious-looking, and also were in the way of customers walking around the front of my booth when I had enough breathing room around my booth for folks to enter from the side and front.
In big winds I also tether my gridwall fixtures to the canopy frame. So far, nothing has gone airborne.
Also--generally I just use the spiral dog stakes with ratcheting tie-downs at night, but there have been a couple of really windy days when I've left them on. (I use two stakes, one on each side, each with two tie-downs, one to each corner.)
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Permalink Reply by Cherry Sphere on
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Many of the outdoor shows I have done forbid any ground anchors, shows like Fair on the Square, Madison. I have had my tent with 40 lbs per corner moved several feet by moderate wind, often. I liked doing outdoor shows better back in the day when the weather had manners. I don't do them anymore. Indoor shows ROCK!
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Permalink Reply by Warren Townsend on -
Just a thought to those that want these style of weights, you can get the 4" square vinyl fence posts and end caps for them. Then they will not roll around in your vehicle and can lay flat on the ground with out rolling. Also no ugly lettering and if you want you can get in different colors.
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