[Towertalk] Wood Mast Bearing

[W4ZW]

My recommendation.

I just recently put up a second mast with a base mounted Tailtwister on
my flat deck on my roof.  It's turning my once fixed 4 element
tribander.   I installed a TB-5 above the rotor in a bracket I had made
which is  attached to the elevator shaft housing, and then a second one
about 7' up near the top of the elevator.  

I looked at wood, even the Brazil tough stuff,  but since I'm
oceanfront, haven't had much luck with wood, so I bough two heavy duty
plastic cutting boards at Wal-Mart.  The type that's made of a very
study, very hard plastic.  Used two of them sandwiched together, drilled
for 2.25".  They are about 3/4"  thick and won't rot.

Works great!


Jon Hamlet,  W4ZW
Casey Key Island, FL

"A little bit of Paradise in the Gulf of Mexico"



*My questions are:
*
*The mast is 2.5" OD.  If I use a 2.5" hole saw to
*cut a hole in a board, will the wood swell and bind
*on the mast?  It seems that the thicker the board,
*the more likely this is to be a problem. How thick
*should the board be?
*
*What diamter hole saw should I use?  Is pressure treated
*lumber (like for outdoor decks) more or less likely
*to swell than, say, oak?  
*
*The heavy-duty mast clamps actually bite into the
*heavy-walled aluminum mast.   Still, perhaps due
*to temperature cycling, over time torsional play
*develops at the clamp-mast interface.  The owner's
*manual says that the warranty is voided if I pin
*the mast.  Of course, the rotor is out of warranty.
*Should I pin the mast?  The Orion 2800 is turning
*5 elements on 20 with 2 Cushcraft shorty 40 elements
*on a 48' boom, plus 5 elements on 10 and 5 on 15 on
*a 38' boom.
*
*Thanks.
*
*Terry Zivney, N4TZ/9 _______________________________________________
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