[TowerTalk] Insulators

[jimlux]

n8de at thepoint.net wrote:
> FYI:
> 
> I discovered a new source for insulator material that I will be using  
> on my 80m tower verticals.
> 
> At the local 'feed store', I found 1+1/4" fiberglass ROD with a few  
> small pre-drilled holes ... it's designed to be used as an electric  
> fence post.  The rod is VERY STRONG and should hold up quite well.
> 
> The cost for a 6' rod is about $6 .... quite inexpensive.  Cutting it  
> into 6+" lengths is quite easy.

I used to use a lot of structural fiberglass in various forms. Whatever 
you cut or drill with will get dull very quickly when working with glass 
composites.. The glass is quite hard (harder than the steel in your 
cutting blades).

If you have a diamond grit blade that works real well (like a tile saw). 
  A carbide toothed blade works fairly well, too. An abrasive cutter 
also works, but is messy, melts the plastic matrix, and makes dust to 
boot (which as was pointed out, is nasty stuff).

Don't contemplate taking a 6 foot rod and hacking it into 6" 
insulators.. the rod might be cheap, but the sharpening costs or new 
blades won't be.

I haven't tried it, but cutting it with a shear, axe, or tree branch 
loppers might actually be a better strategy, since it would tend to 
"cleave" the glass fibers, and it's easier to sharpen the blade when it 
gets dull.