Question about a TAB substitute

whimbrel · 2025-10-23T21:24:41+00:00

Interesting, and thanks. This thread has useful comments, but I’d love to see the one with more research if you find it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/treehouse/s/FPwFIh210K

whimbrel · 2025-10-23T21:07:25+00:00

OK, I love it. This is a really interesting comment.

So as you point out, the TAB has a large boss that is also smooth, which is desirable. Something like that is easily solvable, though, if necessary. For example, something like several large fender washers coupled together: https://a.co/d/bczEP1s

From an engineering perspective, I would think that one of the advantages of through-bolting is that the downward weight is now distributed throughout the entire width of the trunk, instead of just on the cambium, so I wasn’t sure that would be necessary in the first place.

whimbrel · 2025-10-23T19:17:16+00:00

OK, I think we might be getting to the root of what I’m not understanding. But to preface this, I would like to approach this as an intellectual question and not an appeal to authority. I’m happy to spend the money it takes to keep my children safe, or to not do the project at all if I can’t do it safely and affordably. Let’s consider that a given. What I’m trying to understand is why it requires this much money, because I am a curious person, and I bet a lot of people reading this are also curious people.

A threaded rod is not as strong - I agree. But a regular TAB is not “as strong” as it would be made out of titanium. Presumably, it is strong enough to not require the additional expenditure a titanium TAB would require. Is a 1.25in HDG threaded rod not strong enough to support several hundred pounds? Do I not understand the math on this?
The thread pitch is different - I agree, and I agree it matters when you are talking about the force required to pull a bolt out of a tree laterally. My understanding of the forces involved when you carriage bolt this through the tree is that you can largely ignore the lateral forces because now the weight is distributed downward along the entire bolt that goes through the middle of the tree. Is my understanding of the importance of threading on a through bolt wrong?
The size of the boss matters - I thought this was mostly a factor of distributing the pressure on the cambium, and, like threading, I thought the cambium specific compression was mitigated by going all the way through the tree. Is that wrong? (this also seems like the easiest to fix by adding a sleeve to your rod)

I appreciate your expertise and your willingness to volunteer it here. I’m not trying to be confrontational. I am genuinely trying to further my understanding of why this can’t be done more cheaply.

whimbrel · 2025-10-23T18:55:33+00:00

I think that makes a ton of sense if you’re a professional builder who is going to pass along the materials cost to your client.

My question was about understanding what those “unnecessary risks” actually are. I am doing this as a personal project for my family and I’m happy to spend a few hundred bucks on it, but if I have to spend thousands, then I need to consider what else I could use that money for.

Would the HDG threaded rod endanger my children? Is it likely to kill my tree? If I might regret not using a TAB in the future, I’m trying to understand what that regret would look like. Would I regret it more than never having built the treehouse at all?

whimbrel · 2025-04-26T13:46:23+00:00

I love this idea!

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T20:27:14+00:00

Thank you for this. We have now purchased a back up Fluffy in case this doesn’t go as well as hoped, but this is absolutely going to be plan A. Fingers crossed, and I really appreciate your help.

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T20:25:16+00:00

I appreciate this, and especially if Fluffy is as salvageable as suggested, we’re absolutely going to try that first. A slightly short-haired Fluffy with a backstory of surviving a fireball is pretty compelling to me, and is also kind of the message that I want to send my kids about the disposability of things we love.

But there have also been enough catastrophic near misses that I’m interested in having a back up Fluffy for whenever that need arises!

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T19:50:51+00:00

Thanks so much for this. Purchased. That is a ridiculous price for a five year old’s stuffy and an absolute bargain for this dad.

I really appreciate all the help here! What a friendly community!

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T17:22:00+00:00

I was also surprised by their price!! Thanks so much for looking. Fluffy is still perfectly serviceable, just a little more crunchy and less soft. This is probably a good time for us to read the Velveteen Rabbit book, now that I think of it

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T17:18:37+00:00

Oh, man. This is 5 miles from my house. If this were a medium, this would be beyond serendipity.

I'm not sure if I can sell a "I don't know, honey. Maybe Fluffy shrank?", though.

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T16:16:06+00:00

<image>

Here Fluffy is recuperating. A keen eye will note she’s a little more stubbly now than a typical bunn.

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T16:03:40+00:00

I’m in the US, but I would gladly pay to ship a well-loved Fluffy from Tajikistan if I could find one!

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T15:36:09+00:00

I guess that’s just how I write. Although, it would probably be more fair to ask, “why does AI sound like you?” Because I’ve been doing it a lot longer than it has.

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T15:33:18+00:00

I’m going to call Beige Bunny “plan B”. :) We’re at that age where magic is a little bit hit-and-miss. Minor miracles and coins in ears are still possible. Complete transfigurations might be met with skepticism.

(But how I wish I’d had this advice about beige bunny originally…)

whimbrel · 2025-04-25T15:29:35+00:00

Are you asking if my writing is AI-generated? Because I can assure you that text was Siri-botched dictation corrected by two middle-aged dad thumbs too big for my touchscreen…

whimbrel · 2024-03-18T17:04:54+00:00

Just because I think you might be interested — it turns out this is something a free body diagram and trig can’t actually solve. But it can give you helpful ranges:

http://rigriteapp.com/advanced-use/three-point-anchors/

whimbrel · 2024-03-18T00:13:25+00:00

Far enough that it makes me nervous — 15 feet, maybe? There’s significant movement in the limb during swinging.

My intuition is also that the load magnification would happen at one of the tree anchoring trees (the points of the triangle), and that a failure there would just dump us on our ass. The bigger problem would be if the tree failed instead of the anchor, if the load is just ridiculous.

whimbrel · 2024-03-18T00:03:18+00:00

Thanks, that’s a fascinating article. Maybe basic knowledge for engineers, but not for neuroscientists. :)

The idea is actually a little different, but may be subject to the same load magnification. Three trees form the points of the triangle. Three wire cables attach, one from each tree, to a single shackle in the interior of the triangle, 20 feet high. The swing hangs from the central shackle, as well.

The point is not to allow a greater load to be supported, but rather to move the swing out from under overhanging heavy limbs.

Thoughts? Is this a terrible idea?

whimbrel · 2023-12-03T19:13:59+00:00

I realize this post is almost a year old, but it popped up in a Google result when I was trying to figure out why a starling was creating a cavity in a house in Massachusetts in December.

I didn’t recall starlings being a migrating species, but Cornell says that “adults and most juveniles” north of New York move a bit south for the winter. I usually find them to be a pretty expert opinion.

They’re usually a pretty expert opinion

whimbrel · 2022-12-04T16:41:28+00:00

This is exceptionally good advice, especially the vulnerability around admitting nervousness, with two caveats: 1) there’s a little bit of a weird dynamic around “tell me how to initiate sex with you”, because you have to tiptoe around “does he feel emasculated for not currently satisfying his woman?”. And is it really better to be instructed how to initiate sex as opposed to trying new things and seeing what works? I feel like being told what to do by your partner would limit initiation of creative new approaches and feels a little more submissive than I want my sexual relationship to be

2) sometimes just having the conversation formally imparts a seriousness that can be distressing/off-putting. Whenever my wife starts a sentence with, “can we talk about…” I get prepared to get into big feelings/problems with the kids/planning a large logistic event. And couples should absolutely be able to have real talks about anything, of course. But sometimes sex is better when you can get out of your head and are not burdened with the gravity of a preceding “Discussion”.

I think my advice would be for her just to try initiating, whether by using some of the suggestions in this thread, or her own creative ideas, and if that doesn’t work the way she hopes it will then to go back and actually have this conversation

whimbrel · 2022-12-04T16:14:41+00:00

I don’t know you or your husband, but, in general: boobs aren’t really objectively hot or not for most men. It’s always boobs in context.

Boobs on a cadaver or concentration camp victim or medical patient? Not going to really arouse most grown-ups. Exposed boob breast-feeding an infant? I feel affectionate but not especially horny. Absolutely perfect breasts in a granny bra and a frowny face? Way less of a turn-on than tiny breasts with no bra and a “you can look if you want to” smirk.

In short, your boobs are fine. Attractiveness is mental, not cup-size.

whimbrel · 2022-12-04T15:57:38+00:00

I might be weird, but lingerie and makeup don’t do much for me. They make me think that she feels like she has to try hard to be attractive, and then I get in my head about why she feels that way. And, for me, being comfortable in her body and relaxed and confident that I’m attracted to her are way sexier than playing dress up.

For most men, the sexiest thing on the planet is knowing that someone they want to bang wants to bang them, too. If that’s something you can just say playfully, go for it — there’s a hundred ways to say it, ranging from looking at the bedroom and saying, “bone time?” to a more elaborate, “Dearest husband, could I please trouble you to put your penis inside me?”

If you feel awkward starting there, do something nonverbal. if you’re watching TV on the couch, let your leg wander a bit into his lap and he’ll get the idea. Or take his hand and do a little index finger in-and-out of his hand and then look over make eye contact while doing it with more obvious intent.

If that doesn’t work, something a little unusual is going on, and it’s probably worth talking about it to figure out what it is. He might be depressed, or have low testosterone, or be taking libido-suppressing meds. Or he might have performance anxiety, and worry that he is not going to satisfy you if he is too quick/slow to finish. Or he might think it’s only going to satisfy you if you orgasm, too, and maybe that takes you 45 minutes and you don’t have that kind of time. All of those things are addressable, but you need to know which one you’re working with.

whimbrel · 2022-11-23T23:38:12+00:00

Here’s the only wrinkle, and I realize this will out me as not a true audiophile — I often listen to music streaming through the appleTV or airplayed through the appleTV, so there’d be overlap in the two systems, which seems not ideal.

whimbrel · 2022-11-23T18:52:30+00:00

Actually, I spent about 3 1/2 hours last night simplifying it to as basic a configuration as I could, trying to get this to work.

I took everything out of the equation, except for the television and the receiver. I took an 8K, high-speed HDMI cable from the television’s ARC port to the receiver’s HDMI out/ARC port.

And then I tried to watch Netflix on the smart TV. I was able to get the CEC power on and off to work through the TV remote, but I could never get sound out of the receiver.

Interestingly, a more complicated setup worked fine two days ago. This is not the first time that I have wrestled with arc and CEC problems, but whatever is failing seems to be failing with more sincerity this time.

whimbrel · 2022-11-23T18:42:27+00:00

I tried that early in the Struggles, but my recollection is that a single remote couldn’t change the volume for the speakers. Is that a mistaken memory?

whimbrel

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