Since I originally discounted welding because I didn't have a welding machine I was limited to nuts and bolts and anything else to make a frame. From messing around with all sorts of components my quest evolved to find a stand that was:
1. Durable
2. Quick and easy to setup\takedown or move around in between details
3. Easy to transport and store
4. Cheap to make
Prototype 1
My first design inspired from watching Youtube, I guess a classic one when hanging steel. Two rebar poles, some chain, D Links and the steel target. Simple design, cheap and relatively easy to store but a little fussy to setup. I bent the rebar poles around a thicker pole to make the O shape to link to the chains. Not the easiest to move around or change in between details. I soon found heavier steel plates would sag inwards despite the rebar being deep in the ground. Also a direct hit on the steel plate from a heavier round would eventually pull the rebar out of the ground caused by the plate swinging around. A direct hit to the rebar (being quite brittle), D Link or chain had the potential to finish the stand there and then which it did quite often. Game over.
Prototype 2
Got rid of the rebar from Prototype 1 to make a more stable stand that would hang heavier steel plates and switched from D Links to nuts and bolts. The frame is made from mild steel and the steel plates and chains held together with nuts, bolts and Loctite. Frame is pegged into the ground at each leg with tent pegs. Worked OK initially but soon found the steel plates were flipping over the top bar when hit with a heavy round, like a swing. Easily fixed by running wire through the back but that would break in no time with all the shrapnel flying everywhere. A direct hit to the frame with a .223 would go straight through which was OK but a heavier round like a .45/70 would go through at best or at worst deform it. Setting up was a hassle with all the nuts and bolts. Chain was still vulnerable from a direct hit and started to notice the force from the direct hits and splash from the rounds were loosening and deforming the bolts on the plates making them impossible to remove or tighten up. Had to hacksaw a few off eventually. The frame and plates became very unstable despite using Loctite on bolts. Plates also sat very low to the ground so ideally wanted something higher.
Prototype 3
To address the problem of the frame deforming and adjust the height of the plates I decided to switch from steel to a half lapped wooden A frame with a steel bar along the top. To address the problem of the chains breaking and plates flipping over I decided to recycle the rest of the steel frame from Prototype 2 and have a fixed arm from the cross bar to the plates with a loop at one end to attach to the cross bar. This is classed as a low carbon footprint stand due to the recycling involved. All fixed together with nuts and bolts. The frame was stabilized to the ground with tent pegs.
This frame worked well to begin with and I had to add further nuts and bolts along the cross bar to space out the plates as a hard hit would cause them to spin 3 or 4 times before joining together. Direct hits to the wooden frame weren't a problem, they just went straight through and didn't affect the overall integrity. Bullet splash off the plates would embed in the wood so had to be careful when handling. The main issue was it was just too large and took too long to setup. It was also a pain to transport and move around inbetween details. It was also unstable due to it's height. I found as before the nuts and bolts holding the plates to the arms were loosening and deforming from direct hits and splash. Therefore unable to tighten and loosen once damaged.
Protoype 4
Wanting something that fixed all of the above issues I went back to the drawing board. No chains, no nuts and bolts, no heavy or large frames and something that might stay in place before I emptied a mag or two. Having seen a garden ornament being held up by a single pole with a hook before I started Prototype 1 I decided to take another look and source a thicker steel pole that would be strong enough to withstand the hits but mild enough to work in a vice. I bought some 10mm thick round steel form B and Q and bent a hook shape at one end to hang the steel plate from with the other end stuck into the ground. Alot of banging with a hammer. Very easy to store and set up and worked well for about 20 seconds until the second shot hit the plate and rotated the pole so the plate was now sitting at a side angle to the shooter.
Prototype 5 - "The Daddy"
Realising I only needed to fix one issue to potentially make the daddy of all steel plate target stands I decided to add an L shaped arm to the bottom of the pole which would sit in the ground to stop it rotating. Since I didn't have a welding kit I visited a local welder who welded the arm for a small charge. The arm also acted as a good placeholder to put your foot to help seat the stand in the ground up to the height of the arm. Luckily I got these measurements right. The pole is 1m, arm is 50cm so 25cm deep in ground. Just about right.
Pleased to say these are holding up so well I have made 6 in total. They are relatively cheap to make, a doddle to store and transport, take up virtually no space and can be setup in less than 10 seconds. Very easy to move in between details or swap plates if necessary. I've hit the plates with 22lr, .223, .303 and 45/70 so far and have had no problems at all in 8 hours of shooting. I respray the plates with white primer after each detail so it's handy to be able to remove easily so you can respray the front, flip them round and the back will dry out in time for the next round.
