I don`t if this will help you out or not but it works great for me.

Take a metal "T-Post" and drive it into the ground with a "Post Driver" then slide a piece of 1 1/2" PVC over the post to support your scarecrow as high as you want it. It will be sturdy enough to handle the winds and can be broken down for easy storage.

I had the post and driver left over from a fence project so I`m not sure of the current cost but I think the post is about 5 bucks and the driver can be found for around 20 bucks. Not a bad investment for future projects.

Hope this helps.

 

Some combination of PVC and rebar could work. You could use two 5 foot PVC sections that have male/female threaded fittings glued onto them so that it can be stored in smaller lengths. For my scarecrow, which is not mounted as high as what you plan, I use a vertical 8 foot 2x4 board with a 1/2 inch PVC attached behind it out of view with metal conduit straps, but I also have some stabilizing outrigger boards attached to the base of the vertical 8 foot board to help when high winds blow against the scarecrow "sail". I think you'll probably want some stabilizers like this too. No problems using this method for what I have it support. Sorry, I don't have photos to show that kind of assembly detail better than this.

 

Very good ideas. If it was my house I could careless really about making a hole in the ground, but it will most likely be at my girlfriends mom's house and she does care if I make a hole in the ground... so thats why I asked for options to lessen the impact of it. I think I will probably go with a combination of PVC pipe and some type of reinforcement of the cross so it will be steady if its really windy.

 

The rebar won't be able to take too much wind without bending.

We have a 12' pumpkin scarecrow. First year we used rebar - bent. 2nd year we used a t post - bent. This year we used 2 t-posts. That held but his head ripped off.

Gotta love ND wind.

 

Texas doesn't have THAT much wind, most of the time at least. But I more don't want it to sway back and forth if it happens to be windy. What is a good cheap pole to put it on which would still be sturdy (not PVC) and be able to hold probably 20 lb we will say to be safe (after the pumpkin head, cloth, MM and vines or what not goes onto the project). I MAY be able to place it in the ground, so if that was the case what would be a good solution. and I was thinking about doing the body out of chicken wire over the cross where the cloth will be draped over and stuff. It will only be 8-10 feet in the air, the head will probably reach that high but the body will be from around 4-7 feet high.

 

This is how a lot of pipe and drape it hung for shows, conventions etc...

You have a base plate that is squared usually 18" or 24", steel 1/2, and heavy.
If you weld you can weld a 1 1/2" coupling in the "Dead" center of the plate.
If you cant weld, then you have to find a 1 1/2 flange, and mount it onto the plate with carriage bolts and nuts (dont forget to countersink the bottoms so it stands stable).

Now you can thread a 1 1/2" pipe into the coupler/flange. These are available at your toystore of choice (HD, Lowes, or wherever you go) in different lengths.

Once the pipe is threaded in securely, you need to weight the baseplate down even more. Sandbags are what we would usually use, but I have used barrells, heavy speakers, and chains before. Perhaps even some hay bales?

Up to 10' is pretty stable, although I have done higher (but with light weight aluminium systems that are commercially available).

 

Decorating for Christmas this weekend, and I just ran across my custom tree stand that I built several years ago (and it is still going strong). It is but with this same concept, and I can try to figure out how to upload oictures here on the forum at the same time...

I Get to kill two stones with one bird!

As the criteria of this project was a little less critical than hanging things with weight safely in the air (and the leverages involved with that), I was able to use plywood instead of the steel plates that I suggested you to do. BUT if you are concerned at all about wind I would still use steel for the extra strength.

Here is the stand.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z432/mikelyte69/Halloween projects/DSC01121.jpg


Because I wasn't able to quickly find a 1 1/2" flange, I ended up getting a 2" flange and a 2" - 1 1/2" reducer. The pipe that is then threaded into that reducer in my tree stand is a little bit shorter than what you wanted, you would put whatever length suits your needs.

Here is the close up.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z432/mikelyte69/Halloween projects/DSC01123.jpg



I give you this shot to remind you to countersink the screws on the bottom, or it will not sit straight. Yes on steel it s a little bit more involved, but it is still needed.

http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z432/mikelyte69/Halloween projects/DSC01124.jpg



I hope this helps.

 

I also suggest the T-post but i use a 3" 10' long PVC pipe. I then use a 2x4 and a U-bolt to fasten the 2x4 to the pole to make a cross. I use this to hold up my crucified bucky skeletons. Check my pictures in my profile. Also if you have high winds like i do then i suggest you buy a 10' steel pipe. Slide this pipe down the PVC pipe to keep it standing up straight otherwise the PVC will bend due to the weight after a few days. PM me if you have other questions.