I've used the plain old angle grinder with a thin blade. 3" is plenty
(but check for fit) and is my preference. The "cut off" wheels come
quite thin at 1/16th or 3/32nds. I never measured the thickness, just
purchased the thinnest I could get.
I have an air powered "cut off tool" that uses a thin abrasive wheel and
is easy to handle with one hand "In the shop!) I'd hate to haul up 100'
of 3/8ths in air hose up the tower, but it'd be great cutting U-bolts
off an antenna setting on sawhorses.
I think you will find the Ryobi with the oscillating blade to be a bit
awkward when the battery is attached but it should work with a fire
tooth blade on the order of 20 teeth per inch. It too would be easier
with the antenna on sawhorses.
A Skill saw with a metal cutting aggregate blade sounds really
dangerous. Awkward, heavy to hold, and difficult to control with fine
movements to cut boom to mast clamp u-bolts without cutting into the
mast or boom. If the blade grabs or breaks you not only have dangerous
pieces flying (wear a face shield with plenty of coverage, not just
goggle or safety glasses!). A hand saw with a broken blade is difficult
to hold with two hands when when you are working on the floor or a
bench. When that saw suddenly wants to leave your hand, it becomes
almost impossible to relax your finger on the trigger. That hand will
clamp as tight as it can reflexively just when you need control. That
saw can do serious damage to equipment and you.
Almost all of us have violated safety rules, even in industry, but it
only takes once of things going bad for that to prove why the safety
rules are there..
The downside to all of these is being able to control the device careful
enough to cut the bolt or clamp without damaging the underlying metal.
Preferably cut the bolt close to the clamp where there is no underlying
metal right up against the bolt. You can also cut the clamp or saddle
next to each bolt, but that is often a more difficult cut to make and
still may not clear the mast or boom.
73
Roger (K8RI)
On 8/30/2015 2:52 AM, Gene Smar wrote:
TT:
Recently I purchased a Ryobi multitool http://tinyurl.com/lq28mbk
(because I already have a Ryobi drill, batteries and recharger) to use atop
my tower when I eventually replace the rotator and add a couple of V/UHF
Yagis to the stack. I expect that I will need to saw off the muffler clamps
that I installed with the tower in 2001 to help support the mast on the
bushing at the top and along the mast above a second rotator shelf (to use
when the rotator is temporarily removed.) In addition, I believe I may have
to use this tool to saw off the SS U-bolts that attach the mounting bracket
of my Bencher Skyhawk to the mast above the bushing. I'll need to release
all these items from the boom so I can lower the boom through the tower to
add the small Yagis before I install the replacement rotator.
My question: What specific blade should I purchase for this cutting
work? The Ryobi tool comes with an oscillating circular saw blade for wood
but the u-bolts and muffler clamps will require a more robust blade, IMHO.
The oscillating plunge cutting blade (shown in the Home Despot link above)
might work for the muffler clamps but I could use your advice based on your
experience with this kind of tool and blades. Is there a specific blade I
need for cutting through SS?
While I'm at it, another question: For those of you who have a Skyhawk
or F12, how likely is it that I'll have to saw or break off the u-bolts from
the mast plate? I don't recall if the Skyhawk used Nylock nuts which would
make this question moot. No, I didn't use anti-seize compound when I
installed any of the antennas on this mast. But I will with the small
Yagis.
Thanks for your assistance.
73 de
Gene Smar AD3F
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73
Roger (K8RI)
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