After a lot of research the following steps were taken and will be taken:
1. I considered 1/4" self tapping screws but finding a flat head here
was impossible. Also was concerned should a screw break during the
install process. I know that at this time USTower is using screws for
their rail.
2. We decided to use 3/16" x 3/4" steel rivets.
3. Some time in the future I am going to double the number of rivets
by drilling new holes in between the existing ones. Also I plan on
tack welding the rail at the top and bottom of the tower section. I
will do this by removing the cap and doing the tack weld. This is the
point of maximum stress when the tower is fully erected.
On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 5:01 PM, Alfred Frugoli <alfred.frugoli@gmail.com> wrote:
> Dick,
>
> Be careful. Steel rivets will cause a dissimilar metal reaction and corrode
> both the aluminum and steel. I've recently ordered a bunch of aluminum from
> TT to repair my F12 C3S that I used steel rivets on at one point when
> reassembling some of the sections. The smaller diameter pieces became so
> corroded that they would snap with very slight pressure. The larger
> diameter pieces simply show some severe fatigue and corrosion around the
> rivets, but don't usually break (at least not yet).
>
> 73 de Al, KE1FO
>
> -----
> Visit my amateur radio contesting blog at ke1fo.wordpress.com.
>
> On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 11:48 AM, Richard Zalewski <dick.w7zr@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> The rivets on my Wilson MT-61 tower keep popping. Does anyone have a
>> source for a really heavy duty rivet of the same size? Maybe of a
>> strong steel instead of aluminum. Or any other fix for this problem.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Tnx es 73
>> Dick W7ZR
>> www.w7zr.com
>>
>> Any program that runs right is obsolete
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> TowerTalk mailing list
>> TowerTalk@contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
>
--
Tnx es 73
Dick W7ZR
www.w7zr.com
Any program that runs right is obsolete
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