Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Haese
That looks very well made Clive. What is
your wall thickness?
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Cheers Paul,
I worked on the principle that the stiffness of a beam is
proportional to the cube of its height. (Height, as in equivalent diameter)
So, by putting the skin on the outside of the bolt pattern, the wall thickness
can be reduced significantly (to 3mm) whilst actually improving stiffness
over the traditional pier design. It's equivalent to a solid steel rod 6 or 7
inches in diameter, or something like that.
The laminated top flange, viewed from the underside:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...006_160605.jpg
shows how close the pilot holes are to the walls of the pier. By
minimising this distance, the bolts holding down the equatorial head
become directly coupled to the pier (skin) via tensile load.... so the
need for thick steel here becomes completely redundant.
Also... you can see the inside of the pier here:
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...021_141848.jpg
best
~c