# Portable umbrella holes



## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

As I continue track laying, I've been interested in something better than a sombrero for local shade. So I had a (cheap) idea, and tried it out today. 

My terrain is too rough for dragging around an umbrella stand, and my wife said NO to re-purposing the portable basketball hoop. Says the grandkids might like it, a decade or too from now. Bummer. Well, it wouldn't have taken the terrain either...

Anyway, the other thought was to put a bunch of sockets in the layout for an umbrella I could move around. Here's what I bought:










I cut the 10' PVC pipe into 6 lengths of 20". Size is 1-1/2" nominal, which has an ID perfect for a typical umbrella mast (1-1/2" diameter). The pipe caps are to keep the sockets clear when not in use.

The auger is a 24" bulb-planter bit that you put into your electric drill. It cost about $14 (Lowes), and is sometimes called an "earth auger."










The first hole hit a nice fat rock. Hence the second. I have very rocky soil, and had to be careful w/ the drill -- to not let it stall when hitting a rock, and to not rip away. The less rocky the soil, the better. I've read that these auger bits can burn up a drill on hard / rocky soils, so maybe using my best drill isn't the greatest idea. One auger reviewer recommended getting a low-speed HD drill from Harbor Freight. 

Since the auger was 2-1/2" diameter, there was plenty of play when I dropped the pipe. So I held a level to a yardstick inserted into the pipe, while tamping the dirt back around it. When I do this again, I'll make a temporary jig that fits on the pipe and has the level lashed on.











I made a mistake. I put the cap on, and it didn't want to come off -- and the pipe is easy to slide out. I should have turned the pipe end on the belt sander, or glued a half-coupling or two along the pipe's length to hold it in the dirt better.

It went quickly though, and held the umbrella firmly.











So I put a couple more sockets in, before the rain began in earnest.










The thought is to eventually put enough of these to plant an umbrella anywhere, and to turn the pipe caps into "rocks."

The umbrella seems too low, so I'll probably make a mast extension out of 1-1/2" dowel screwed within a piece of the same PVC pipe. 

Thinkin' of getting two or three cheap umbrellas from Wally World now... 

Not sure if this is useful to anyone else, but it's nice to have a place to share ideas, even if they are weird!

====>Cliffy


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I think it's a pretty cool idea for working on the railroad, hot sun is no fun! 

Greg


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Thanks Greg! 

Speaking of "cool," as in "cool-ing," the ultimate would be an umbrella that plugged into a socket having a quick-connect to an active water supply, and fed water up into a mist system incorporated into the umbrella spokes...


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Down here in S Az we have fans that you connect to your hose. Blow a cooling mist where ever you go. 
I have an umbrella attached to my ponder bench, seems like as soon as I open it a wind comes and blows it inside out! 

Looks good Cliffy. PS your pics are a tad big 600 x 800 is site size. 

John


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Thanks John, I think I've seen those fans, but only back when they seemed too expensive. Maybe prices have dropped? Have to check. 

Thanks also for the pic advice. I thought it was a 1Mb max rule, so I'll bear that in mind.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I have a 20 inch industrial fan and a Patio stand with a cinder block added to it and a Patio umbrella for it. 

JJ


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By CliffyJ on 02 Jun 2013 02:40 PM 
{snip...}[/i] Thanks also for the pic advice. I thought it was a 1Mb max rule, so I'll bear that in mind. Cliffy

John was referring to the displayed size of the image 800 pixels wide maximum by 600 pixels high, although height above 600 really isn't a problem, mostly the width causes the problem where the member has to scroll right & left to read the textual content of all the replies on a page where a too wide image is included. Just as a FYI if when you compose your reply and discover that the image exceeds the 800 pixels in width you can adjust the displayed size in the *Insert Image* dialog by changing the value in the *Width:* field before posting the reply. By the way, that's what I did to your pictures when I change the displayed size from 1024 x 768 to 800 x 600.

Just so you don't confuse *displayed image size* and *image file size*, they are two different things.


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Posted By John J on 02 Jun 2013 09:19 PM 
I have a 20 inch industrial fan and a Patio stand with a cinder block added to it and a Patio umbrella for it. 

JJ 

Picture! Picture!










===>Cliffy


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

OK, ok, new product idea, only a bunch of payments of $19.95, but everyone should have it, so here goes. 

It rolls... it adjusts to whatever terrain you throw at it... 
It has an umbrella and a comfy seat... 
Fan, maybe solar powered... 
Gentle misting spray... maybe w/ premix of Coppertone in a reservoir.... 
Ice chest, w/ plenty of room for a (stabilizing!) payload of beverages.... 
Radio, maybe a CD player and a complimentary disk of Abba's Greatest Hits... 

Oh yeah, Baby...! 

===>Cliffy


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Oh Boy! A free coaster!


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## mickey (Jan 28, 2009)

Cliffs, your dating yourself by first asking for Abba then spelling it the way normal English shoud have it "disk" instead of the way it's officially spelled "disc", assuming you're referring to a cd and not something else. ?? Probably has roots in being labels by an Asian firm and the poor person assigned the task didn't know how to spell in English. Kind of like the folks across the pond referring to a bonnet instead of a hood.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I have to admit that I was confused by the thread title... why would you want the holes in your umbrella to be portable, let alone why you would accept holes in it to begin with. 

As for your product idea, you forgot to add that if you call now you'll include another one absolutely free, for just the $500 shipping and handling fees.


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Ha ha ha!!


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