Terry
> The mast is 2.5" OD. If I use a 2.5" hole saw to
> cut a hole in a board, will the wood swell and bind
My rotator is situated at the base of my tower. I use wooden mast bearing as
guides for the drive tube that extends from the base of the tower up to the
mast that passes through a sealed metal bearing about 6' from the top of the
tower and then through the thrust bearing at the top of the tower.
If you use wooden bearing then it might be a good idea to immerse them in
paraffin wax heated to a temperature that drives water out of the wooden. I
treated each bearing for at least 30 mins this way. You can see the bubbles
of moisture exiting the wood when the paraffin temperature is hot enough.
DO NOT attempt to do this on the stove or indoors. Paraffin is highly
flammable. I used a camp stove on the patio.
Treating wooden bearing with paraffin has some advantages. It preserves the
wood. It reduces swelling. And it provides a bit of lubrication.
I will leave it to others to specify the proper diameter - I did not need a
tight fit since I was only using my wooden bearings are guides and not
bearing in the true sense of the word. However, I understand that some old
farm machinery used wooden bearings.
** Standard liability disclaimer - I am not an expert only an amateur
sharing my experiences ***
.. sylvan
Ô¿Ô¬
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Sylvan Katz, VE5ZX
Saskatoon, SK
"A Novel Perspective of Amateur Radio Contesting" at
http://www.dynamicforesight.com/~ve5zx
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