[TowerTalk] Aluminum Tube...NOT Pipe

[Robin Midgett]

WB0W carries 2" OD x 1/4" wall 6061-T6 aluminum tubing for gin poles 
and such. He keeps both 24' lengths & 12' lengths. You'll have a 
tough time beating his price. If you can coordinate with his ham fest 
schedule, you could meet him at an event and avoid the freight 
charges. Google search his call sign...you'll find him.

BTW, pipe is used to carry fluids and/or gases or wire. It is not 
used for engineering supports or structures; it's mechanical 
properties are not normally disclosed for such purposes. Pipe is 
usually described in terms of inside diameter, material and working 
pressure; little else.

Tubing is used for engineering supports and structures, and it is 
usually described in terms of the material, outside diameter and/or 
wall thickness, AND mechanical properties, i.e. yield strength and 
ultimate tensile strength...which is why we want tubing, not pipe, for masts.
In short, we want tubing for masts...not pipe. I know, I 
know...you've gotten away with it for decades, and so did I...at 
least until that strong wind came along....


Thanks,
Robin Midgett K4IDC
http://www.people.vanderbilt.edu/~robin.midgett/index.htm