If you have a welder, its easy to make them out of square tubing. I usually dont worry with the ladder type, but make a tree mount kind out of 1 inch square tubing. I buy the cheap screw in pegs to climb to my stands. I can make two stands for around 16 bucks. They work as well as any store bought fixed tree stand and I can put up more on my land for the same amount of money.

Kevin is right, it is cheaper in the long run to buy a cheap latter stand than to make a wooden one. My brother has a aluminum welder and he makes his out of square aluminum tubing. Still not much cheaper, but he makes them just the way he likes them.