[TowerTalk] Cheap thrust bearings...$10 or less

[Cqtestk4xs at aol.com]

When I had about a dozen side mounted antennas I thought the cost  of 
thrust bearings would wind up costing about $1000 or more.  My solution,  at 
least for the lighter beams was to use the PVC toilet flange cut for two  
inches.  I made a "sandwich" from two of them back to back connected  by a very 
short piece of PVC.  The top plate was the "meat" of the  sandwich.
 
Of course, the  "thrust bearing" could  not be tightened around the mast, 
but that was not an issue since the mast was  short and the beams were light. 
 I successfully used this setup for small  tribanders and up to 6 element 
10 meter beams for years at my old QTH.  By  the way, total cost was around 
five bucks from your local Home Depot.  The  price probably has gone up but 
it surely beats paying $140 for  a Rohn  t-bearing..especially for small 
beams.
 
Bill K4XS/KH7XS