[50mhz] cushcraft question

[Bill W5WVO]

Carl KM1H wrote:

> Galling is common with stainless steel hardware. The coating compound
> procedure has been around for deacdes, nothing new. Several antenna
> companies even include a small tube of it.

That is all true, including the fact that a number of antenna companies
actually supply it with their antenna kits. Good idea! Cushcraft, however,
is not one of those, unless they have changed their ways in the past couple
of years. And they do not (again, unless they have changed recently) mention
the phenomenon of thread galling in their assembly instructions and/or
suggest how to prevent it.

While thread galling is definitely more common in stainless steel than in
other fastener materials like zinc plate etc., it is also true that certain
formulations of stainless steel tend to gall more readily than others. There
are a few papers available on the Web that document the galling tendencies
of different grades of SS in quite a bit of scientific detail. See
http://www.estainlesssteel.com/gallingofstainless.html for an excellent
overview paper; google "stainless steel thread galling" for many other
resources.

Finally, a number of hams have told me that they have experienced galling
with Cushcraft's SS fasteners more frequently than with other antenna
manufacturers' SS fasteners over a period of many years. This, of course, is
anecdotal evidence, and is not scientifically meaningful -- but there it is,
FWIW.

Bill W5WVO

>
> Ive been using Penetrox for about 30 years, buy it at electrical supply
> houses.
>
> Carl
> KM1H
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Bill W5WVO" <w5wvo at cybermesa.net>
> To: <Greenacres113 at aol.com>; <50mhz at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Friday, July 07, 2006 4:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [50mhz] cushcraft question
>
>
> > Metal galling (seizure) seems to be a common problem with Cushcraft
stuff.
> > I
> > suspect it has something to do with the quality of metal they use in
their
> > fasteners and other non-aluminum parts. Having been badly burned by this

> > on
> > a Cushcraft antenna (had to cut all the u-bolts off with a hacksaw), I
now
> > always use an anti-seize compound on all threads, especially on
stainless
> > steel fasteners. Penetrox is good, and is available from many ham radio
> > dealers. Copper-based anti-seize compounds available in most auto parts
> > stores has also worked fine for me, though I've heard some people
> > recommend
> > against using a copper-based compound around aluminum. Be careful on
> > SO-239s
> > that you carefully restrict it to the coupling threads, and don't let it
> > get
> > into the body of the connector, as it is conductive.
> >
> > Bill W5WVO
> >
> > Greenacres113 at aol.com wrote:
> >> i'm considering the Cushcraft  3 el.
> >>
> >> i've had two of their 11 el. 2 mtr fm antennas. both my dads  & mine
> >> suffered coax connector seizure after a few yrs.  you can't get  the
> >> pl259 off any
> >> way. i cut the coax & fabricated a new plate with a new  s0239. it
> >> was the only easy answer. i wonder if using 'no alox' or the common
> >> electricians metal conduit helper will prevent the seizure.
> >>
> >> i've not had this problem on other antennas
> >>
> >> bob k9il
> >> Moderator: Ray Brown, KB0STN
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> >
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