I decided that I wanted something nicer than a nylon popup to sit under at events, so I put together a simple day shade using these instructions. I made it a bit large by using a 12′ x 15′ canvas drop cloth, but otherwise the design is pretty much identical.
The poles started as 8′ long pressure treated 2×2’s. I cut down the corner poles to 6′. The center pole is cut into two 4′ sections connected by a metal sleeve that I made out of leftover 22ga steel. The bottom half of the sleeve seam is screwed into the pole with drywall screws, and the top half is riveted together with galvanized roofing nails. The end of the top half of the pole is sanded slightly to make it fit a little looser. The top corners of all the poles were rounded slightly on the belt sander. The pins at the top are 60d nails with the heads cut off and set into 1/4″ holes.
The holes for the canvas are reinforced with 1/2″ grommets and leather squares. Hopefully they will survive for a good long while. The ropes and stakes are left over from an old dead tent.
When I set it up to test it, I was able to do it by myself, though it would be faster and easier with two people.