[TowerTalk] Crank up tower standoffs

[Marvin Shelton]

I'm in the process of rebuilding an older 72' crankup US Tower.  I am almost to the point of tilting it up but have a couple of things left to do first.
1. I order coax stand-off arms but the tower I have does not have pre-drilled holes to mount them to. I can drill the holes myself but was wondering  if I should place the standoffs so that they extend from the tower as much as possible, of the other way around. Obviously I'll be using the longest standoff at the top and working my way down to the smaller ones. Of should I just center the standoff arm in the tower channel of each section and let the various lengths determine the distance from the tower?
2. my top section is flat and has a sleeve for a 2" OD mast (which I'll be getting soon). Should I lubricate this sleeve when I put the mast thru it? and if so, with what (noalox?)
3. Finally I need to drill holes in the top plate for the thrust bearing but I'm going to wait until I get the mast to be sure that everything is centered properly when I do. Any hints on how to center the thrust bearing?

Thanks 
de Marv WA2BFW/7

73's from Marv
wa2bfw at att.net