Tilt Tower Base - Photo

[Dave B]

I can only take credit for the paint, concrete work and install but the real credit goes to Dave and his talent at his local welding / fabrication shop. That's all 1/2" steel with my "hinge pin" being 2 1/4" diameter solid steel stock. It's 4' deep concrete / rebar with 1" x 21" long anchor bolts. Plenty more being engineered at this time with more photos and detail soon to follow. Dave B.

[DanG]

1st, I'm struck with basic tower base envy!

With that kind of expense and commitment, why not price out getting hot-dip galvanizing treatment for the brackets? If not I'd surely invest in high-zinc cold galvanizing spray paint and apply xactly as directed for a primer... Beware though, with the concrete pad height as shown that is a "ground contact" installation, it wouldn't be long untill the turf around it collects enough duff to turn the concrete top into a semi-puddle, even if the ground is ramped down & away around it. Another place to keep the grass trimmed back Also, I wouldn't fill the gap under the steel with paint or caulk. Allowing it to air dry through the gap gives longer service then trapping water underneath - a good example is steel lentle plates in masonry buildings. I know it may be late in the planning to be 'critiqueing' but could bring returns down the line...

Again - looks good!

[Experimental]

      Really nice dave,

     And, it looks like it should last forever !!

    At my age, I build everything to last, 20 years -- I figure, after that I won,t be around to think about it-- but I still have a habit of "overbuilding" -- I find it easier to sleep at night, espically if the wind is 30 knots or so !!

    As I recall, your mill, was on a temp stand, of 10 feet -- what is the final heigth ??

    Very nice work, and look foreward to you future posts....Bill H....

[Dave B]

Thank you for the comments. It's hard to see in the photo but the grade does slope off on all 4 sides nearly a foot and I know the fill will settle besides. I've got oil based rustoleum type primer and final finish coats on this base complete and plan to add several more now that the bottom is covered also and it's at least temporarily installed. After it's all permanent I'll probably hit the anchor bolts and nuts with gobs of the paint also (for now they are lightly greased to avoid rust). Not sure of the total height yet, we'll see how it all lays out. Not enough time to play.  Dave B.

[wooferhound]

>  "hinge pin" being 2 1/4" diameter solid steel stock

Now there is a few pounds . . .

[kitno455]

for all that work, there sure isnt much bearing area under that pin. what kind of vertical load are we talking about here?

allan

[harrie]

looks great Dave, I installed one similer to what you have there, useing a 4" dia 60 foot long tower. As I started to winch it up, I was surprised to see it take off to one side. needless to say, with the length of the pipe, and enormous leverage, it actually turned the foundation in the ground. Hard to beleive, but thats what happened. we had alot of rain about that time, and I guess the backfill had not set up yet. Anyway, just thought I would bring it to your attention, so you may want to keep it tied off to each side as you lift it, like I had to do when I got everything strightend back out. I was just lucky that there was a tree that stopped it from going to far.

Great fun, Harrie

[Dave B]

The pin does not need to rotate and may not. The bearing that will need to move is a horizontal pipe section welded to the bottom of the tower which goes the width of the pin. Might have 1500 lbs. vertical load on this and at 1/2" steel plate and gussets with the 2 1/4" steel pin I really don't believe there's any problem with holding that load. Going to have very serious guy anchors also and plenty of steel cable (wire rope I guess is the term). Can't wait to get more of this completed with more photos to follow. Dave B.

[kitno455]

i should have said- not much load bearing area. 2.5 inch steel pin thru a .5 inch plate only has 2 square inches of surface contact (IF the pin is a press fit, and i am betting yours is not).

two circles are only touching over such a small surface if they are not the same size- you will get localized deformation of the 1/2 inch plate if the rod is harder. even with that deformation, i am betting you only get 1 square inch of contact on each side.

the deformation will destroy your coating, and the tight gap will be a wick for water.

remember that you not only have a dead weight of 1500 lbs, but you also have the entire cable weight, and the fact that the tightened cables are attempting to push the tower into the ground. i am betting on up to 6000 lbs under heavy winds.

now, that said, 3000 psi compression is nothing for steel, and this thing should have a long service life, but if it was mine, i think i would want another 1/2 inch section welded to the inside of the existing one, and some sort of lip seals and grease fitting just to keep the water out.

you wont have any problems, i am just a fan of good design

allan

[Dave B]

Thanks for the additional thoughts and suggestions. I figure all the better if the pin gradually forms itself into the supports to spread out the load. I think I'll be pretty old by the time it squashes down a couple inches to worry about it. A friend of mine has a similar set up with a smaller diameter pin and 100' of at least 8" diameter well casing as a tower and a 300+ lb mill on top, talk about a load. I'd think different about it if it was an axle always in motion, knowing me then you'd probably see a train car bearing set up or similar. Thanks for the help, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Dave B.

[Darren]

Hi guys looks like you have done a great job with the base of your tower.

Are you planing to tilt from the base?

I have built a 65' tilt up tower which you can laydown anytime by disconection one gide wire and lay it down with a boat winch.

Its a very easy quick to laydown about 1 minute.

Ive attched a few pictures, I can take a lot more detailed pictures if you would like.

I feel if you go to all the trouble to build a tilt tower you should be able to do it easy. No tractors or trucks just buy hand.

Please let me know if you need more info.

Darren

[Dave B]

Looks very interesting and thanks for the photos. I guess I can't really figure out how yours works or where the pivot is. Seems tricky with only 3 guy wires for stability. It would be great to see photos of it during tilt. What size & weight mill is up there ? Dave B.