Poles for Lashings

Just curious what type of poles people are using for pioneering projects? Our boys want to move up and assemble larger and more sophisticated pioneering projects such as monkey bridges, larger gateways, towers, etc. What we have been using for smaller projects are 2x2 with the corners ripped creating an octagonal pole which works great. I am afraid that these may not be strong enough for larger project. Finding straight, long, tree limbs has been challenging. So, what does everybody else use?

Our troop is also looking for poles (trees) for lashing. We are in an area where there are common stands of cypress. This wood is lightweight, strong, and rot resistant; the fact that the trees grow straight is a real plus. Through our CO (church) and other related sources, we are looking for about a dozen or more straight trees with a diameter of 2-4". We have a line on a few trees here and there, and hope to have something cut and readied in a few weeks. But I am curious about what other around here use.

One of our scouts saw a lashing project from "prepared" lumber (2x2s). He came up to the scoutmaster, pointed to the troop, and asked, "Where did they find those square trees to cut?"

I know that some places are lucky enough to have resources.

Here is a suggestion that is dependant on your region. Around here there is a large abundance of bamboo. Our council camp uses it for the camp pioneering projects. They also have a large supply on hand for troops to use. We used them for a tripod gatway when we went last year. We put it up at the entrance to our shelter. Yeah, I know, cheesy but the boys thought it was cool.

Anyway, from my understanding, bamboo is pretty strong, so I think it would work good for some projects. As for the tower idea, I think you may want to look into the safety issues. I asked someone about it and they said that it was an OSHA thing to have safety lines if the tower was over 6 feet tall. I dunno.

I hope this helps.

Our district has a Vietnamese troop and the SM likes to show a picture of a tower built when he was a scout. It was at a camporee in Viet Nam in 1964. This wasn't your typical tower but rather a bamboo replica of the Eiffel Tower. I kid you not, the thing was at least 50' tall and had more than twenty scouts standing on it. He said the base was made of four deciduous logs forming a pyramid but the rest was bamboo. Amazing. And think about doing this in a war zone. Gave me pause to think about what became of the rest of the scouts.

Bamboo is a great idea, but unfortunitly, bamboo is not to readily available in the midwest. The tower was just a thought that may not happen. Monkey bridges are coomon, what do you use for monkey bridges?

What we use is not suitable for large projects but is suitable for training and "camp gadgets." We use the round wooden closet rods that are about 2 inches in diameter. These should be available at any Home Depot, Leow's, and similar stores. Kind of lame, but we don't have to cut any trees down and they are easy to replace and easy to store.

I've got 20 7.5 foot natural poles in my garage - gathered by an Asst. Scoutmaster off his property. It's oak, ironwood, and birch - whatever looked the straightest and skinniest. They are all about 2-3 inches in diameter.

It's enough to build a catapult, swing, or single story tower, but nothing big.

Look for small trees within an older forest since they'll be growing higher and straighter searching for sun. You might contact local DNR or property owners to see if your scouts can harvest a couple dozen trees.

Scout On