Remember how I was copying a sunshade from Gulf Wars?
Here it is!
This was the test run in my driveway on Friday afternoon. Despite the breeze, I still got it up All By Myself.
I did this by laying out the corner poles in an X, then laying the canvas on top, which told me where the stakes should go. So I pounded in all the stakes, which are the cheap modern type that have a prong and an upper nub. (That part is important later.)
Then I pulled up each post halfway, and tied it off using a sailors’ cleat wrap with a half hitch. (I learned this from a children’s drama-science show that we watched in seventh grade, that was set in and around a large sailboat. Besides all the bits of sailing that they demonstrated with the boat, and weather, there was a large survival segment when they inevitably got stranded on an island with no fresh water. Does anyone else know what it was called? That show was awesome.)
After making the first round, I went around again and got all the corner posts vertical, and tied off. The canvas was still droopy enough to set the center pole and pin at this point, so I did. And I set the front pole. Then one last round produced the result above.
I’m very proud. Here’s the shopping list again – the cost was $60.
One canvas painter’s dropcloth – 9′ x 12′
4 pressure-treated 2x2s, cut to 6′ long, with holes drilled in the ends to accept big nails (pins)
2 pressure-treated 2x2s, left 8′ long, with holes drilled in the ends to accept big nails
6 large nails
Large grommet kit with at least 8 grommets – I put the two extra in the backflap corners just for flexibility and usefulness.
Rope
8 tent stakes – I want to upgrade to heavier duty stakes – I’ve bent a couple of these already.
I have plans to add some hooks to the poles so I can hang signs or bags of stuff up easily. Also, I have the wild idea to reconfigure the poles as struts in a cart, with the addition of a wheel. However, the parking situation for the next two demos is not bad enough to warrant a cart, so I’m not going to rush on that.