[Ansteorra] Tent ridge poles

[Miles Grey]

  I'd recommend a style of pavilion that doesn't have a ridge pole.  From
Panther, there's the "Center Pole Marquis" (page 20 of the current
catalog), the "Carousel Pavilion," the "Round Marquis" (both on page
25), and the "Regent Pavilion (page 28).  These styles can be set up by
a single person, while tents with a ridge pole usually require at least
two people.  Yes, I've heard of people setting up a pavilion with ridge
pole by themselves, and I might give it a try if it was necessary, but
it would be a challenge and is probably more than a lady alone wants to
attempt.

  Of course, the center pole will still need to be a two-part pole,
leaving you with the same concerns about how to construct it.  There are
arguments for and against oak as a material, but I'd probably eschew oak
because of the expense.  Whether you go with a round, octagonal, or
square cross section, you really should have a stout, rigid sleeve
covering the entire overlap and extending beyond it.  At a recent event,
I saw a carousel pavilion that stood up under very strong winds in a
severe thunderstorm right up until the wind (more than 60mph) reversed
direction during particularly heavy rain and snapped the center pole. 
The pole failed at the point where it was overlapped and fastened
together - the hub was acting as the sleeve but it didn't cover the
entire overlap.

  Because it's difficult to get cast iron pipe in larger sizes these days,
it's probably best to go with a welded sleeve.  There are probably some
folks in the barony who can help with that.  If you have access to the
tools (table saw or router table), you could make an octagonal sleeve
using narrow oak planks (the length of the sleeve you want) and epoxy
with the "bird's mouth spar" technique used by some wooden boat
builders.  I read about it in "Wooden Boat" magazine - a cross section
of the concept can be found at:
http://pragdata.com/philboat/PlanBirdsmouth.html

  This website doesn't go into the details, but the "spar" is held
together with large hose clamps while the epoxy sets (test fit it a
couple times before applying the epoxy - wear some sort of rubber gloves
- it can get messy).  You tighten the hose clamps until they start
crushing the wood at the eight high points.  When done, you can round
the outside or knock down those high points with a hand plane or a power
sander to give a nice-looking 8-sided piece.  It doesn't take big pieces
of oak to end up with a large-diameter sleeve, and this type of
construction depends on both the strength and gap-filling ability of
epoxy.

  Miles Grey


Tina Michael wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am going to build a new pavillion and need some info on the best way to
> construct a ridge pole. Now, I have gone to Panther  Pavllions and priced
> their 14 ft pole and they want $116.00 ! Yikes! I know I want to make it
> in sections so it can be put together easily and taken apart for packing.
> Has anybody made their own ridge pole? What did you use for the pole? What
> about the sleeve? Since I am a lady alone it needs to be easy for me to do
> without a lot of help. Any ideas???
>
> Tina
>