I know that we've discussed this before on the reflector, but review is
always a good idea. Besides....it is a pet peeve of mine...
I do not like pinning of a mast no matter what the material is. Either the
holes will elongate or the bolts will fail in time. That has been my
experience. I do not like to spend time on the tower, but I like to spend
time in front of the radio. So, I am not a fan of drilling any holes in
any mast. It is just asking for trouble.
If you just have to couple masts together, spend the money and machine a
coupler with very precise holes in the coupler and the mast. There should
be ZERO slop in the holes. The bolts should be tough to get in. And, they
should be shoulder bolts as well. Any slop in the holes...and with any
wind (I live in Kansas where wind is always blowing) you will have
elongated holes and the bolts will fail (in any material, just takes longer
the harder the material is). I've done this before with mixed
results. I would rather go with some sort of compression joint, but never
figured out a good mechanism to do that yet.
Just my two cents. Never pin a mast....
Lee - K0WA
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