OK, here’s my problem… I bought a couple of sections of aluminum tubing from Texas Towers to make a new antenna from… the idea being to use this with the base mounting section of a re-purposed Hustler 4BTV vertical.
The two tubing sections are designed to fit together, so I slipped one inside of the other a short distance to assess how well. The problem came when I tried to separate them again… no deal! For the life of me, I cannot get the tubing apart now!
And now I have discovered that “a short distance” means about a foot!. So if I saw off this area, I will lose about two feet altogether from the available length. Not good!
Any ideas on how to get stuck aluminum tubing sections apart?
Heat
Might try asking the manufacturer/dealer, since this sort of thing has to have happened sometimes. If they have no suggestions and you have nothing to lose, try heating the stuck section a bit with a torch and having a fairly strong friend help you pull.
There’s an old physics experiment/trick that involved a screw and an eyelet that just barely won’t fit over the screwhead. When they’re heated they will slide over each other, but when they cool they won’t come apart. Heat them again and they can be taken apart. No idea if it will work with pipe, but it’s a suggestion you might consider if you end up in a “nothing to lose” situation.
Daniel
Unjoining Aluminum
Weak,
Daniel’s suggestion about heat may work, but first I would try this. Put one person on one end of the pipe, a second person on the other end and play tug of war. While they maintain tension, grasp the joint and wiggle it back and forth. Enjoy the show when it comes apart when your soon to be ex friends fall on their grasses. Don”t twist the joint since Al will gall and sieze making things worse. Just pull end for end and wiggle side to side.
Aluminum is a nightmare mechanically to work with. Don’t tap the joint, just wiggle it side to side while it is under tension.
Now that you have learned the hard way, the next time you assemble the joint, us a product called NoAlOx (electrical supply stores…used for aluminum wiring) to coat the metal. Follow the instructions and it will promote a good electrical contact as well as making disassembly easy.
Neil
Thanks!
These suggestions are all very helpful, and I will give them a try. I will have to find someone pretty strong to get on the other end of one of the sections.
I will also be a lot more careful next time!
WEAK-AM
Classical Music and More!