[TowerTalk] Prime Directive - clamps etc

[Tom Rauch]

> 2.  I think my clamps LOOK the same relative to the "clamping radius".
> That is, the cup of the saddle is the same radius as the U bolt part - as
> they are brought slowly together, they eventually form a circle - not sure
> exactly how this circle compares to the rope diameter, and it's probably
> not a circle anymore when tightened down.

I don't follow you. Are you saying a U bolt has the same surface 
contact area as a long saddle or only looking at it from one 
perspective?

Maybe you are only looking at the clamp in-line with the guywire. 
Look at the cross section, from a cut-away view. Like you would to 
watch a pair of bolt cutters at work while standing at the handles.

The tighter the clamp, the harder the guy line, and the less the 
number of strands the bigger the problem becomes. 

The U-bolt, because it is round and a small diameter, has very little 
contact area compared to the clamp saddle...which is reasonably  
long and flat in the length-wise view. As a matter of fact the only 
surface area the U-bolt has is due to deforming of the guyline and 
the bolt, which tends to "kink" the cable.


73, Tom W8JI
w8ji@contesting.com

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