[Towertalk] Teflon sources

[Robin Midgett]

I use a material referred to as "Nylatron" for the bushing in the 
Sidewinder; works great! It may be the same as what John refers to; it is 
black; it has graphite in it to make it slick, and it is UV stabilized. It 
is specialized UHMW for bushing use.
Use a nice, slow RPM on the drill press to avoid melting the material 
whilst you bore it out to size. Fastening it to a piece of wood or metal to 
secure it while boring on the drill press is a very good idea.

At 03:02 PM 7/29/2002 -0500, W0UN--John Brosnahan wrote:

>The proper material to use for mast/tower bearings is UHMW polyethylene
>Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene is used for all kinds of
>bearings.   The white version appears similar to Teflon although not
>as slick.  And it doesn't cold flow like Teflon.
>
>There are gray and black versions that are UV stabilized.  But I just made
>my bearing brackets in such a way that they are out of the direct sunlight
>and have had no problems with the white bearings (made with 1 inch thick
>UHMW) in over ten years of service with a number of large antennas.  Such
>as 8 element 15 meter beams on 60 ft, 3 inch diameter, booms.  Never needs
>to be lubricated and is CHEAP.  And doesn't rust of course.
>
>The mast hole on UHMW can be "drilled" using a hole saw in a drill press.
>Pretty easy going and makes for a cheap machining job.
>
>Good Luck--John   W0UN
>
>BTW   I would never use any material that I wasn't sure of.  And I wouldn't
>use Teflon in any case.   W7RM was an early adopter of the UHMW bearings
>and has had very good service over MANY years.
>
>
>At 03:13 PM 7/29/2002 -0400, Jim White wrote:
>
>
>>share with us Toddles...on a related matter...
>>
>>I am considering using some scrap pieces of what I think is Teflon
>>picked up at a flea market.  I want to use them as horizontal thrust
>>bearings on a tall rotating mast...seems like these should be a good low
>>rpm choice...
>>
>>The mast would be aluminum and these would have a hole in the "plastic"
>>slightly large than the mast...the stock is about a half inch thick and
>>in turn would be bolted to an aluminum plate with a slightly large hole
>>than is in the "plastic"...should take care of lateral movement it seems
>>and at the same time would not chafe the aluminum mast during rotation.
>>
>>Is there a concern I should have for ability of Teflon (this might be
>>something else but lets assume is what the guy selling it said it was)
>>and its exposure to UV - a crucial problem here in FL.
>
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Thank you,
Robin Midgett KB4IDC
IDC Technology
rmidgett at bellsouth.net
www.idctechnology.com
615-322-5836 days - rolls to pager

3232 Beckwith Road
Mt. Juliet, TN 37122-5215
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