Thanks to everyone who responded to my inquiry about freeing seized antenna
parts. I received many good ideas and in response to someone who asked that
I post a summary, here it is:
Put stainless steel hose clamps on both pieces as a place to fasten your
pipe wrenches--they grip better than plain aluminum.
Use ammonia to dissolve the AlOx--it's what bicycle repair use to free stuck
seat shafts.
Use heat on the outside piece and cold on the inner--one mentioned using dry
ice which seems to be a very good idea; that's about as cold as you can get
practically.
Use ratchet straps (or some other means) on both ends to put tension on the
joint, then use a combination of heat/cold, twisting, tapping to loosen the
parts.
It may require cutting slots along the swaged area to relieve some tension
and allow better chemical penetration.
Some mentioned using penetrating oils like XP Blaster or Kroil but others
felt they were of limited or no use when dealing with alox, especially on
large joints.
Soaking the joint isn't practical in my case, since the joint is in the
middle of a 3" diameter 32' long boom.
So far, I'm just trying to get ammonia into the joint, but it's pretty
tight. Next step is to put lengthwise tension on the boom and try the
heat/cold, twist combination.
I just hope my next question isn't how you splice a boom after cutting it in
two with a hacksaw!
Thanks again,
Chuck Teague
NN7U
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Chuck Teague
NN7U
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