HOW TO BUILD ANTENNA TRUSS

(Page 3 of 3)

November/December 1982
 
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If you're building simple truss, your first length will now be finished, but those who intend to form a tower need to bend up two more sections of diagonals. Then, in order to piece together the three-tube models, you'll use a jig that consists of three rods slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the E.M.T., attached to form the desired triangle. One of these jigs is inserted into the trio of E.M.T. on each end, and then the bent rod can be laid in place and bonded. (Be sure to stagger the joints so that the welds aren't too close together on any one tube.)

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MULTIPLE SECTIONS

In instances where more than 10' of truss is necessary (our 60'-high windplant tower is an example), we simply insert rods into the tubes at the joints and then weld the three pieces together. (The pins, as they're often called, should be at least 6" long for security.)

Of course, our windplant tower consist of three legs made of triangulated sections, which further increases its strength. In addition, each section of the tower is—itself—triangulated through the use of tensioned cables . . . and we braced the assembly with guy wires as well. Short of making some very elaborate calculations, we judged that the best approach was to be very conservative in building the structure, and so far it's taken the worst that Mother Nature has dished out.

Besides the windplant, we've put together a Savonius rotor tower, a dock, two trailers, supports for a methane digester, and numerous form reinforcements for concrete and cordwood construction (including the round pattern for the stackwood dome) with antenna truss, and we've been thoroughly satisfied with our homemade material's performance. Who knows . . . maybe sometime soon we'll even build an antenna with it!

EDITOR'S NOTE.: You'll find another approach to tower building in the article on page 63.

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