BIG clamp pads

[Dan Gill]

This is a project I did for my company. One of the things we do is test utility poles and towers. These clamp pads are to hold composite power poles horizontally and shield the poles from our steel stanchions while we apply loads to the tips of the poles, measuring the load applied and the stress on the pole. Some of these tests end in spectacular failures, when they push the loads up to 135% or 150% of designed load.

These are built from 2 x 12 stock. They're 4 feet long and 28 1/2 inches wide. Held together with glue (about a quart each) and deck screws (about 2 1/2 pounds each). Each pair of boardss had a different bevel, and each piece was then tapered using my tapering sled. I don't do this for a living usually, but got the nod to do this because I am known as a woodworker and I had the tools. It was a different kind of project, but it was hard work. Those puppies are heavy!

That's Mike, our crane operator on the pic.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dan I'll bet those were "interesting" to make. Quite a mechanical load to work with!

[Jim Becker]

Not your average weekend woodworking project! Interesting!

[Tyler Howell]

Can never have too many Clamps?? Wow!

[Dan Gill]

One of these days I'll post a couple of pictures of our facility and some of our tests. We assemble and test some really big utility towers, wood poles, concrete poles, etc. The ones that fail most catastrophically are the concrete poles. They basically explode, spalling off big chunks of concrete.

We have also tested such things as cable attachments for helicopters, big scaffolds, and many types of utility components. We have these huge 200 foot towers called reaction frames that we use to apply the loads. People are always stopping by to ask, "What do you do here with those things?"