For the record I have successfully straightened two towers. (I know no
theory, I just know what has worked for me.)
I did it by completely disassembling the towers to work only on the bent
sections one at a time.
I placed the bent sections bowed sided down on some blocking to allow
room to insert my automotive floor jack under the section to be
straightened.
The section MUST be firmly anchored to the ground. A measuring reference
needs to be placed in such a way to monitor the progress.
Note the original bend and then bend the tower in the other direction
carefully. Release the pressure and note progress on the measuring
reference.
It took me several applications of reverse bend to straighten the
sections, but each only took a couple of minutes and now you can not
tell they were ever bent.
Careful setup and careful monitoring are very important. Think safety!
Apply a little reverse pressure and then measure. Do not get in a hurry
and reverse bend too far.
Depending on the construction of the tower you might have to spread the
load of the jack over an area so you don't get a "point load ding" in
the tower leg.
Be careful, take your time and you may be successful.
I was careful, I took my time, I set up carefully, I was safe and it
worked. Twice.
Best of luck & Happy New Years to you.
Kim Bottles - K7IM
Bainbridge Island, WA.
425-702-6628 day phone
Feel free to call if you have specific questions.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rick Stoneking [SMTP:w2rds@arrl.net]
> Sent: Friday, January 04, 2002 11:03 AM
> To: towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk]
>
>
> Hello to all, and happy new year! I am new on the list and I have a
> question for all of you tower experts. I have recently acquired an
> Tristao
> (sp?) 54' self supporting crank up tower. It has all of the
> documentation,
> etc., with it. The only problem is that when the tower was taken down
>
> (tilt over) the guy rope broke and the tower fell. There was a small
> hill
> involved and the result is the tower has a nice curve to it. This is
> a
> three section, triangular tower, very similar to the TX-455 from US
> Tower. Only the lowest section is bent. I have been told that the
> tower
> can be straightened, with the two most popular techniques being; 1-use
> two
> stationary objects (such as trees) to brace the tower against and then
> use
> a come-along to pull the bend out, and; 2-drop the tower 'the other
> way'
> (from a reasonable height) and bend it back (may take several
> 'controlled'
> drops).
>
> So, my question is, does anybody have any first hand experience
> straightening a tower and can pass along any words of wisdom before I
> attempt this?
>
> Thanks to all who take the time to reply.
>
> 73,
> Rick
> W2RDS
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________
This list is sponsored by the new eHam.net Store. When you buy products
like ICE filters, Array Solutions StackMatch, or M-Squared Antennas from
the eHam Store for the same price you pay direct, a portion of the sale
price goes to support this list. Check it out at http://www.eham.net.
-----
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
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