[TowerTalk] Rohn 55 thimbles and turnbuckles

[DMartin560 at aol.com]

Just start the thimble on the eye of the turnbuckle by hand and give the 
thimble a couple of whacks with a hammer.  The thimble should spring open and go 
into the eye just fine.
Dwayne, KG4ADM

Reviewing the Rohn parts list for a 110’ 55G tower @90-100MPH, I decided to
go with ¼” EHS for all three levels (actually, 6700lb Phillystran with ¼”
EHS leaders. Following the parts list, I ordered 3/8” heavy-duty thimbles
(3/8THH) and ½”x12” eye-jaw turnbuckles (1/2TBE&J). Rohn specifies that the
thimble should be one size larger than the guy diameter. The parts have
arrived, and I’m perplexed to find that the 3/8” thimbles don’t fit inside
the eye part of the turnbuckles. I might be able to make them  fit by
flattening the edges of the thimble a bit (sandwiching it between a piece of
two pieces of flat steel and hammering the flare out of the edges), but
before I try that, I’d like opinions on this. I can’t be the first person
who has run into this. It looks like a shackle would work, but Rohn doesn’t
specify them for 55G towers. Comments?