[TowerTalk] Stuck aluminum tubes and caution

[K8RI on TowerTalk]

>I would be a little cautious about using PB Blaster.  I believe it's
> basically made for unsticking rusted steel parts.  I tried Liquid Wrench

"I think" it'll work well with Aluminum too, but I make no gurantees and I'm 
not running out to the shop to read the lable as it's pouring rain as in 
visibility no more than a couple hundred yards. Forecase was for light 
scattered showeres.

> once to loosen some antenna parts and it made it more difficult.  WD-40
> works well.  I'm not sure how well heat or cold will work as aluminum is a
> good conductor.  The only sections I ever had trouble getting apart were
> ones that were tight to begin with.  Make sure that you have around 0.005"
> clearance between sections before assembling.

You mean this approach may not work with those two sections I drove 
together? <g> Brand new too.  It was part of an antenna boom.  They sent me 
new parts within two days. It'd be nice to save them and they've lain up on 
top of the shelving out in the shop for years.  I'll probably end up using a 
small rotary saw or cutter in a mill to slot the outter tube enough to get 
them apart. That'll save the inner one and still leave me with about 6 feet 
of the larger stuff (that's out of spec)


Roger (K8RI)