It took four tries, but Stephanie Masteller of Coon Rapids finally found the ultimate in Paul Claas' Premier Christmas tree stand.

Her family had tried tree stands with harnesses and strings to make their 10-foot trees stand straight and tall, but Masteller wasn't convinced. So she cut out Claas' ad from a religious magazine and held onto it.

And when the family dog grazed the tree two years ago, eventually toppling it, Masteller decided it was time to try the "premier" stand, even with its $150 price.

"First, I made sure that we were committed to buying live trees," she said. "Then we decided it was worth it if it was the last one we'd buy."

Claas, from DeForest, Wis., has been tinkering with and manufacturing versions of his Christmas tree stand for nearly 20 years. The longtime mechanic and repair man started with a stand that required the user to drill a hole in the bottom of the trunk.

When that put off most buyers, Claas retrenched and designed the current model that uses jaws to tighten around the stump and three levers to tilt the tree forward and backward and right and left.

"There's no more fiddling with the four screws of the standard stand, tightening one and loosening another till you say 'good enough,' " he said.

He is disappointed that he hasn't sold more than 500 stands, but he knows it's partly because of the price and his refusal to compromise. He turned down an offer to make it for less in China after he was sent a model that broke in shipment. "That was the end of China," he said.

Most of the parts for his current model are made in Wisconsin. The sturdy steel jaws, trunk holder and the base are made by Wisco Industries and the parts are painted by All Color Powder Coating, both in Oregon, Wis.

Cate Machine and Welding in Belleville, Wis. modifies the screws and brass pieces. Even the plastic water pan and the shipping boxes are U.S.-made.

"It makes it more expensive, but it's important to me to keep it local," said Claas. He assembles the parts himself and gets orders ready for shipping.

Where Claas' invention stands tallest is with trees 8 to 10 feet in height. "It works great even if the tree is 10 feet tall and 100 pounds," he said. Some customers have used it successfully with 12-foot or 15-foot trees, but Claas doesn't recommend it.

Masteller said she wanted a stand sturdy enough to tolerate any tail swipe or climbing maneuver from the family pets. This year will be the best test yet with the addition of two curious kittens who are already notorious climbers. "I'm envisioning walking by the tree seeing two pairs of eyes staring at me between the branches," she said.

Modest to a fault, Claas acknowledges that many tree-stand manufacturers claim to have the best one in the world, even ones that cost much less at $40 to $80, the price range for most stands.

"I'm not saying that I have the best stand for sure, but I may," he said.

He admits his own lack of marketing skills has limited sales. He refuses to sell the product in stores because the price would become that much more expensive after retailers took their cut. He tried eBay but sold only a handful of stands. Word-of-mouth has worked best for him.

With more than $30,000 invested, Claas, 64, can't retire on the profit from the stands, but that doesn't bother him. "Full-time retirement sounds boring to me," he said. "The stand is a small income."

John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633