Suggested Materials
- 4 10′ x 3″ spars for corner uprights
- 4 12′ x 2″ spars for lateral supports
- 12 6″-diameter wooden discs, four of them painted with the numeral “5,” four with “10,” and four with “20”
- 1 6″-diameter log, 20″ long with a large eye hook on one end and a flat, even surface on the other
- 4 single pulleys
- 4 40′ lengths of 1/4″ braided nylon cord for the pulleys
- 4 3′ lengths of 1/8″ nylon cord to attach pulleys to the corner uprights
- 8 15′ x 1/4″ manila lashing ropes for lashing the lateral support spars to the corner uprights
Set the parameters. Lay the four lateral spars on the ground in a square where you want to position the Atomic Pile. Overlap the ends about 4″ so there will be room to lash them to the corner uprights. Drive a small stake into the ground on the inside of where the ends intersect. This is where the holes for the corner spars need to be dug.
Prepare the corner spars. Using a post hole digger, dig the holes about two feet into the ground at the spots marked by the four small stakes. Make sure the holes are the same depth so the tips of the spars come up to the same height. Before actually placing the corner uprights into their holes, attach the pulley to each with the 40′ cord reeved through. Tie the inside end of each cord to eye hook of the log using a Roundturn With Two Half Hitches.
Attach the “boundary poles.” After placing each upright into its hole, with the pulleys facing the center of the square, and firmly tamping them in for solid support, tightly lash on the four lateral support spars about belly high.
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