Hanging a basketball wooden backboard on a palm tree

[marciokoko]

TL;DR Summary

How to hang a basketball wooden backboard on a palm tree.

I have this backboard made of wood (gift). The board itself has 2 vertical wooden 2x4. I need to hang it on a palm tree. I've checked the measurements and the palm tree has a good 20 inches side to side (diameter). I've had 3 different ideas and Id like to get a better one.

1. Drill 2x10" screws into the palm tree and and somehow attach the board to those screws. I first though if I nailed a board horizontally across the 2 verticals on the backboard and somehow use the screws to fix the backboard to the tree. But I realized it would be nearly impossible to tighten the screws through that horizontal board and into the tree because there would be no space to maneuver the wrench.

2. Fix a 2x2" equal angle onto the tree and somehow attach the board to that angle. I thought about using the same horizontal board across the 2 verticals but I would need something else to ensure the backboard doesn't simply slide off.

Could someone give me ideas? I don't have access to sophisticated post-market backboard frames/kits.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Good question.
Consider:
What happens to the two palm tree trunks in a strong wind - they sway, right? Maybe only a few cm. Will those screws or nails remain embedded properly in the porous palm trunks?

You may want to get two so-called all thread rods or some really long bolts that go completely though the trunks to the other side.

Or do I misunderstand your drawing?

https://www.mcmaster.com/all-thread-rods/

 

[jim mcnamara]

Also, since you seem to be in the tropics, go to a car parts place and find really long worm drive hose clamps. They wrap around big pipes and trees to anchor objects. Not expensive.

Picture here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DI88J6/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[marciokoko]

we are on lockdown so that's not an option.

 

[Lnewqban]

we are on lockdown so that's not an option.

What materials do you have to work with?
Are you using one or two palm trees?
What kind of tree?
How vertical the tree is?

 

[hutchphd]

Also, since you seem to be in the tropics, go to a car parts place and find really long worm drive hose clamps. They wrap around big pipes and trees to anchor objects. Not expensive.

I don't know about palm trees but it is generally not a good idea to girdle a tree because the vertical fluid circulation is just below the surface. Through bolts or lag screws are better for the tree.
I would solidly secure two six foot long 2x4 studs vertically to tree about 12 inches apart. Bolt two horizontal studs (far apart) to them. These will attach to the vertical braces on the backboard. You will need to shim these joints to get the backboard "plumb". That's why you want several sets of joints in the design...
I have no idea what palm wood is like to work with!

 

[Tom.G]

How about:
Think of U-bolts, but use rope instead. Probably a loop near both the top and bottom of of the backboard.

 

[berkeman]

Summary:: How to hang a basketball wooden backboard on a palm tree.

I have this backboard made of wood (gift). The board itself has 2 vertical wooden 2x4. I need to hang it on a palm tree. I've checked the measurements and the palm tree has a good 20 inches side to side (diameter).

What is that large blurry black and white photo in your first post? Is it supposed to show the tree(s) and the blacktop area where you want to install this?

In any case, it would help a lot to see the actual site where you want to put this backboard up. How close does the blacktop or concrete come to the base of the palm trees? Or will you be shooting from sand/dirt?

I'd be inclined to hang the backboard on a few ropes from higher up in the tree(s), and only add some light positional bracing to the tree(s) to maintain the position of the backboard. Use the ropes to take the vertical load of the weight of the backboard (spiking the tree seems like a bad idea to me). But without good pictures of the site, it's really hard to offer up advice/thoughts without understanding the setup.

Also, how many years do you want to be able to use this hoop? Do you own the property where this tree is?

 

[marciokoko]

OK yes it's my property and I have wooden boards of different sizes and an aluminum angle left over from a solar panel install and some stuff like a 15cm x 15 cm metal plate about 3/8" thick, a 3" galvanized pipe and stuff like that.

 

[berkeman]

How about rope?

 

[marciokoko]

No I don't think I have a rope but I'll check tomorrow morning, why?

 

[jrmichler]

I don't know about palm trees but it is generally not a good idea to girdle a tree because the vertical fluid circulation is just below the surface. Through bolts or lag screws are better for the tree.
I would solidly secure two six foot long 2x4 studs vertically to tree about 12 inches apart. Bolt two horizontal studs (far apart) to them. These will attach to the vertical braces on the backboard. You will need to shim these joints to get the backboard "plumb". That's why you want several sets of joints in the design...

What he said.

Here's a sketch of how I would do it.

Two vertical boards, one on each side of the tree. Fasten with either through bolts (threaded rod) or lag bolts. The bolts should not be tight because the tree is growing, so you might need to go up every few months and loosen the bolts a little.

Absolutely do NOT use nails. Things move, then the nails break. I learned this when I built a tree house as a kid.

 

[berkeman]

No I don't think I have a rope but I'll check tomorrow morning, why?

Um...

I'd be inclined to hang the backboard on a few ropes from higher up in the tree(s), and only add some light positional bracing to the tree(s) to maintain the position of the backboard. Use the ropes to take the vertical load of the weight of the backboard (spiking the tree seems like a bad idea to me).

 

[hutchphd]

Here's a sketch of how I would do it.

I like the plan. If I understood the OP sketch of the backboard, though, there were two vertical stiffeners on the back of the backboard which are probably what you want to tie to. Hence an intermediary set of horizontal boards in my recommendation.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Revisit the hose clamp idea. I get that the OP cannot afford them.
@jrmichler @hutchphd

Plant Anatomy says you are likely wrong.
Consider reading Eames & McDaniels 'An Introduction to Plant Anatomy'. One of my texts in grad school. Palms are not dicotolyedons, they are more related to grasses. No growth rings, no ring of vascular cambium like dicot trees. The simple non-technical answer is the tree would simply swallow the hoop. Like all Biology it has to have a name. It is called anastomosis, in the botanical version of the meaning of the word. Ever see two tree trunks or branches from separate trees? Sort of fused together to the point where they form a blob-like inseparable connection? They can even share sap. Roots and forest fungi hyphae do this on a vast scale in forests.

But you are correct, it will not work for the OP, for other reasons.

Picture of the fusion for two dicot trees.

Courtesy of Native tree society

 

[DaveC426913]

Fasten with either through bolts (threaded rod) or lag bolts. The bolts should not be tight because the tree is growing, so you might need to go up every few months and loosen the bolts a little.

I advise against running bolts right through the tree. Depending on the tree, this can kill them over time.

Not a palm by any means, but I used a staple gun to attach some tiny lights to a cherry tree, and it leaked gouts of sap from the staples for years until it had to be cut down.

 

[hutchphd]

Picture of the fusion for two dicot trees.

A long time ago someone put up a clothesline "T" made of welded 2 inch galvanized next to the little maple tree out back. Now it is later and it holds my hammock (with a little help from the maple).

 

[marciokoko]

The problem with those 2 boards (stiffeners) on the back is that I believe they don't extend out long enough:

Ill try it today and see.

I agree about the rope [sorry, i hadnt seen the rest of that post cause i read it on my mobile]...aamof i like that idea way better. And I just found about ~20ft of 3/4" rope.

Ok so should I drill holes on those stiffeners and tie it around the tree trunk? I would still need to add something to keep it from sliding down the trunk.

 

[DaveC426913]

I would still need to add something to keep it from sliding down the trunk.

You probably won't need anything, but I suggest simply a loop around the tree a foot or two above the backboard should provide enough tension and hold by friction.

 

[ericlawson2001]

You have probably done this by now, but rope as said above, or why not use a separate post and not use the tree at all?