Built to Relax — Allison Haworth ‘22 Constructs Hammock Stand for McClellan House

An avid hammock user, McClellan House member Allison Haworth scanned the House yard for trees where she could hang one to enjoy relaxing outside. None of the trees seemed suitable for hanging a hammock, and after a small porch hammock left more to be desired, Haworth decided to build a hammock stand herself.

 

She had already taken a design course with Rex Brodie, director of design and fabrication, and loves construction. With the green light from Brodie, Haworth got to work.

 

"I've always been one that loves building and making things, and even fixing things, which I learned from my grandfather," Haworth said. "Because I already had the skills to use the 3D software and everything from the class that I took with him, it seemed pretty attainable."

 

Carving out time between homework, softball practice and her other activities, Haworth worked on the design, aiming for half of a perfect circle. One the design was finished, she and Brodie got to work.

 

"We made a form, which is just like a big...long piece of really heavy wood that has the ties to the exact right curve that we want for the pieces," she said.

 

Using a process called bent lamination to construct the stand, Haworth stacked "a bunch of little teeny, thin pieces of wood on top of each other, so that you can bend them easily, and then you epoxy them together," she said. "We had to cut down on the wood, and stack it and everything, wait for it to dry. We had to do that five times because we had it in five pieces."

 

Next came sanding, bolting pieces together, and adding a coat of paint and protective weather-resistant stain. Finally, Haworth used a special machine to engrave a message to her Housemates: "A gift to my McSisters during COVID, lots of McLove. Handcrafted by Allison Haworth '22."

 

Haworth says through the construction process, she learned a lot about troubleshooting and creative problem-solving.

 

"We did run into a lot of problems with the epoxy, and making the holes align," she said. "I love designing and building things, so I always looked forward to working on the project. It was a ton of fun to build, and I know the House will enjoy it and make great use of it for years to come."

 

Keep an eye out for Haworth’s hammock on the McClellan lawn next fall!