Oh, those "pony clamps", I have a shop full of them, but I don't quite yet get
how to use this tool to pull up a section of mast which is nearly 2 inches in
diameter, although I do see how such a device might be something related to the
problem, I will have to think about this. Maybe put this clamp on a 15' piece
of pipe down to the ground and use that ratchet section somehow...?

Other related tools around the farm: the "tractor" jack, you know the kind of
jack you use to lift the side of a building from the outside, or that same jack
with a short twist of chain used to pull up old metal fence posts out of the
dry ground. These jacks are heavy and about 4' tall, but theoretically there
could be a way to employ it to yank up a section of the telescoping mast, but
the whole image of this seems awkward to me.

Another related, antiquated, and obscure tool would be a type of jack that is
used when pulling a long pipe out of a well. It clamps around the pipe as it is
being pulled up and has a rachet so that the pipe cannot slip back down the
well while you adjust your grip for the next pull. Each 20' section of pipe is
pulled up and disconnected so the next section can be pulled up. Unfortunately
I sold this at a local flea market years ago thinking I would never need it
again. Truth be told, I didn't even know what the thing was at the time, it was
something in the barn when I bought this place in '74, so when I cleaned up the
barn I unloaded a bunch of stuff. The old timer who bought it at the flea
market told me what is was for.....D'oh!!!! One man's junk=another man's
treasure..... maybe I can track him down and buy it back....it is probably
lying around in another barn somewhere.....


Meanwhile that 2HP electric submersible pump down 240' has been working for at
least 40++ years! Had to have it pulled up once to replace the wires. They
don't make things like that anymore!...you should have seen this thing, all
brass pump section 4' long, and then the 2hp motor section which seems
indestructible, knock on wood....

Still have the old wire (which was replaced) out in the barn, three 240'
lengths of solid #10 insulated copper (with a few places where the insulation
broke down)....now there is an antenna project waiting in the wings.....either
that or some nice pennies at the recycling yard....


Bill K6TAJ

Brian Kelly wrote:

zeno wrote in message ...
Hi Gary,

Thanks for the thorough instructions. I am not sure I understand the pony
clamp, but I agree that I can see a problem trying to lift up the
combined weight of the last 4 of the 5 sections after the first 10 foot
section is in place. Where can I see an image of such a "pony clamp"?

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...1.LZZZZZZZ.gif

Home Depot.

w3rv

Hi Bill

I was using the Pony Clamp as an example only.
It is a woodworking tool used to hold boards together for gluing or
whatever.
The way the Pony Clamp device grips the pipe on the floating end is
roughly similar to the way the twin grips grip the mast for more
secure lifting than using a pair of gloves and brute strength.

A fellow ham used a similar technique, He made a small platform at the
top of the lowest mast that supported a simple hydraulic jack.
The piston of the jack was used to elevate the upper masts about 6 to
8 inches at a time, also using a holding device on the upper mast
being raised similar to the Pony Clamp holding device.

However, to make them removable, instead of being a few pieces of
steel plate with a hole in them. They are more like a pair of "F"
shaped plates that lock on top of each other.

The idea is to be able to hold the mast being lifted securely so it
doesn't slide back down.

An alternative of course is to THREAD each section of the mast and
install external pulleys and internal glides and make it a crank up
tower.

TTUL
Gary