Mega Tree
We started on the mega tree. You will see some pictures of the anchors which we used. These will hold great in the holes we dug. We dug the holes 8" wide and 24" deep. Pounded in 36"x 3/8 rebar. Poured concrete in the hole and set the anchors in the holes. We left about 4" of room on top of the concrete for dirt so the grass will grow around the anchors in the off season.
I then dug a 24" x 36" deep hole for the aluminum pole I set into the ground. I found a piece of schedule 80 aluminum which had a inner diameter 1/8" larger than my outer diameter of my mega tree pole. I ended up using a 2" schedule 80 x 21' pole for my mega tree center pole. It was quite a bit lighter than the metal pole I was planning on using, plus it will not rust here in South East Texas.
I then set my large pole with my star on top. I built the star out of three wire frame stars and they have 100 lights per star. Once they are hooked up to the computer they will look like they are spinning on top of the tree. I hooked the three guy wires up and sprayed Corosion X on them so they will not go bad in the next 2 months . Before I set the pole, I had 7 rings of my tree base in place so I could build the base with out having to climb the pole and try to put them over the pole. Then I put the base together and now I am ready to put the Starlight spheres and strobes on the tree.
It took me almost a day to get all of the strobes and spheres in the tree. Then once I got them in the tree I had one Sphere that did not work. I had even tested them before hanging them. Come to find out it was just a bad connection on a bulb, I got it fixed.
Next you will see the tree finished. It took me a day and a half to put 108 strings on the tree. I still have yet to hook them up to the controller boxes here, but this will be easy because I can lay on the ground and do that.
Mini Trees
I am going to tell you how to make a Mini Tree. First you will need a tomato wire frame. You can find these at any Wal Mart in the area. I like the ones from Lowes, they have 4 verticals on them. I try to catch them on sale. Each of my wire frames have 250 bulbs of each color and there are 3 colors.
I buy two for each tree. I then cut the horizontal bands in between the vertical bands. "Do not cut the bottom one". It will leave you with something like this.
I know it is not that pretty but we are going to fix that. You then place the other frame you cut on top of this frame. The verticals should be between each other. You do not want them in the same place. This way you should have 6-8 verticals depending on the frames you bought. Once you have the two placed together like you want them, start using zip ties to keep them together. I start at the bottom and do one horizontal ring then go to the top of the cage and add one zip tie to bring all of the legs together so I can see where I want to close the frames next. Work your way to the top and then you will have something like this.
Next comes the fun part of the project. Find the strand of lights you are going to use. I would reccomend 3-100 light strands for a 4' tree. Start at the bottom with your male end. Make sure your strand of lights is working before you place it on the tree. I was doing 10 of these so I made me a little table to put these on that spins, like a lazy susan. Zip tie your plug to the bottom of the tree. Then make a wrap about 1/4 the way around the tree and place another zip tie to hold the lights on the bottom. Do this till you get back to the plug.
If you don't tie the wire down it will ride up on you like a bad pair of underwear. Once you have the first row done go ahead and do about 6-8 wraps going up the tree keeping about 1" spacing between the rows. Once you get these wpapped, place a wire tie on each row to hold them in place. I only use one tie per row. I keep going till I get to the end of the string of lights then I tie the last light to the frame and let the plug dangle. The plug in your next strand of lights to make sure they work and tie the first bulb near the last bulb of the strand you did. Plug the two ends together and let the plug dangle on the inside where it will not be seen. Then keep working your way to the top. If you have extra lights then just work them back down to the end of the strand and tie it off to the frame and push the end plug to the inside of the frame.
Once you get your first color done it should look something like this. Do your next 1, 2, or 3 colors the same way. Then you will have a nice tree. Total cost if you bought your lights on sale for a 3 color 4' tree, $10-$15.
