[TowerTalk] 80' tower in SF Bay area (update)

[Michael Baker]

Hello,
	In a previous occupation, I poured refactory concrete in wooden and
rubber and fiberglass forms.  What we used for form oil was a product made
from petroleum naptha.  It is made by a company called Symons and the
product is called Magic Coat VOC. If you go to any good concrete specialty
store that sells Saunatube and rents forms they will have a recommended form
lube.  Back when, Magic Coat ran about $3 a gallon when gas was under a buck
so who knows what it sells for now but it is an excellent form release and
can be applied by a pump sprayer like you use in the garden for bugs.  Use
it on all the forms and tools and it helps the clean up a lot.  It helps to
preserve the metal and wood form and tools as well for storage.

Michael Baker  K7DD
k7ddmjb at qwest.net

-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of JC Smith
Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 12:55 PM
To: 'Towertalk'
Subject: [TowerTalk] 80' tower in SF Bay area (update)

Greetings fellow TTers,

Man, has it been hot out here!  139 deaths due to the heat in the past three
weeks.  We saw 112 deg. F on the shaded patio one day and three or four days
in a row of 110+.  The hottest temperature I can recall in the previous 25+
years was 106, and that only lasted a day or two.  Anyway, the hot weather
gave me a chance to learn a lot about grounding schemes and a good excuse to
let my back heal up.  I got a bad spasm digging by hand to clean out (square
up) the corners of the hole that the backhoe could not reach.  That's
another drawback to a tight location and requisite small backhoe.  You can
see how much the backhoe was able to dig out and the resultant hand digging
on my tower picture site:
http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/k0hps/Tower%20Project/

Today I'm assembling the tower base and purchasing rebar, dobies, wire ties,
etc. and plywood for the forms, also some concrete blocks to set the tower
base on.  I intentionally dug the foundation hole about 3" deeper than
required so I could put some crushed rock in the bottom to make it good and
level, so I have to pick up the rock and wheelbarrow it into the hole too.
Next week I'll be cutting and bending the rebar ($17.00 per day to rent a
cutter/bender that will handle up to #5 rebar) and getting the tower base
all level and plumb.  The forms will go on last, right before the concrete
pump and trucks arrive.

One quick question for the group:  In the past I have just used motor oil on
my forms, but I was always able to oil them a few minutes before I poured
the concrete.  Due to the size of this form (5'x5'x3.5') and its location
around the tower base I will probably have to oil it before I drop it over
the tower base and it may have to sit there for a while before we pour.  How
long can I wait after oiling the forms (plywood) before I pour?  Is there
any commercial form-oil product that would give me more slack time between
oiling and pouring?

Thanks, and keep an eye out for more progress reports and pictures if you
are interested.  I'll post a summary, along with costs, when the project is
complete.

73 - JC, K0HPS






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