It's a whopper - MLD super mid pole.

Make your own gear? Talk about it here!

Moderators: Bearbonesnorm, Taylor, Chew

Post Reply
User avatar
Bearbonesnorm
Posts: 23905
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:53 pm
Location: my own little world

It's a whopper - MLD super mid pole.

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

I was tasked with making a pole for an MLD super-mid after the supplied one failed. The result is something of a whopper but I believe mission accomplished. For those who don't know, the super-mid is a 4 person pyramid shelter that stands nearly 2m high, so there's a massive loading potential.

Standard pole was 14mm OD roll wrapped carbon. New one is 20mm OD woven carbon. Standard spigots were 12mm OD pultruded carbon with a 1mm wall. New ones are 18mm OD woven carbon sleeved, so they now have a 2mm wall.

Total weight is 230g which sounds a lot but given the size and potential strength is quite reasonable. Here it is next to a standard sized pole.

Image
May the bridges you burn light your way
rudedog
Posts: 628
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:00 pm
Location: Lothian

Re: It's a whopper - MLD super mid pole.

Post by rudedog »

What’s the process for making a carbon pole?
User avatar
Bearbonesnorm
Posts: 23905
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:53 pm
Location: my own little world

Re: It's a whopper - MLD super mid pole.

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

What’s the process for making a carbon pole?
It kind of depends but generally ...

1/ Decide on diameter and wall thickness.
2/ Decide on folded length and cut required number of sections and grind ends square.
3/ Decide on the type of spigots - internal, external, solid or a combination.
4/ Cut spigots to length.
5/ Measure clearance / fir between sections and spigots - you may now need to grind the inside of either spigots (if they're external or inner ID of sections to achieve desired fit.
6/ Rough all parts to be bonded then thoroughly clean and leave to dry.
7/ Once dry check fit one last time and bond everything together. Clean each part as you go along as the resin begins to harden quite quickly.
8/ Leave to cure overnight. Check fit / length once again and adjust if required.
9/ If aluminium tips are to be fitted, grind appropriate sections square (you've fitted a sleeve inside the section to hold the tip when you fitted the spigots).
10/ Give everything a polish and then assemble.

There's more work in something like the one above as the spigots themselves are also sleeved, so you're kind of doing the job twice.
May the bridges you burn light your way
User avatar
Alpinum
Posts: 2603
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:38 pm

Re: It's a whopper - MLD super mid pole.

Post by Alpinum »

Bearbonesnorm wrote: Thu Aug 18, 2022 6:01 pm Standard pole was 14mm OD roll wrapped carbon. New one is 20mm OD woven carbon. Standard spigots were 12mm OD pultruded carbon with a 1mm wall. New ones are 18mm OD woven carbon sleeved, so they now have a 2mm wall.

Total weight is 230g which sounds a lot but given the size and potential strength is quite reasonable. Here it is next to a standard sized pole.
Mhhh... looks lovely :-bd

There will be a time... when I come begging for one too :grin:
My girlfriend and I often use a ca. 175 mm tall mid. Some day...
Post Reply