tower with "sloping" legs...

[hwy8]

Years ago, I bought an approximately 20' tower with legs that were intentionally "sloped/bell-shaped". It came from the Duplex Mfg. Co. in Superior Wis. that way and I'd like to build one, since I sold the original. It had a gradual curve that was a real pleasure to look at and would have been great with the original vaneless Duplex on it. Can anyone point me to some reference material that might be used for a plan? I think I have just the right metal worker that can bend the angle in his machine and I can have them hot-dipped after that. I don't even have a photo of the one I owned so anything would be much appreciated!

[hwy8]

Well, I went through my shoe boxes of photos from the 70's and found a photo of my old tower when it was in place about 1916. It was taken in Wisconsin about 40 miles from the Duplex factory. I'm working on a Duplex right now and have been looking around for a tower/tower top about 20'. (I sold that bell shaped tower in the late 70's and always wished I hadn't) Anyone have a idea how those legs were made? Could I take a winch and pull the ends of a 20' piece of angle against a fulcrum to bend them? Doing it so they were identical might be another trick. Anyone have a tower like this for sale?

[Wayne]

I have a Hummer and a Duplex and there stup towers are what I called kinked at the bottom both came from the factory that way. So it gives you a wider spread at the bottom. Wanted to do that for twp towers I was building so I cut my angle iron and took the pieces to a machine shop with a press and they kinked them for me. Try to do what your saying might be hard to get all the same but with there press they could. Then you just add your longer legs. I'll take a picture later and show you what I mean.

[hwy8]

Wayne, I'll be very interested to see a photo of your stub-tower. Your explanation is very helpful. The 'kink" you put into the angle would start the curve and the longer legs could be spread even more with lengthened horizontal braces. (I'm guessing it is 1/8" material) I was wondering how they were shipping curved angle iron when in fact, they were probably straight. I bought that tower 40+ years ago and in a couple of days, we will be driving past the old farmstead: I'm hoping the angle iron is still sticking out of the ground so I can get a measurement for the base. It will require some pretty good luck! Burt

[Wayne]

I'm posting an original 10 ft Duplex and two others I had kinked using a leg from the Duplex as a pattern. Each leg 0n the Duplex is 62 inches. The other two are 7 ft as one is for a 12 ft Eclipse and the other a 12 ft Axtell.

[Bryon]

To make a tower with "sway" in it like in the photo, you don't need to bend the corner posts. Put the tower together, corner posts, top girts, and bottom girts. then about half way up the tower (or where you want the sway) make an X with 2 come-alongs from corner post to corner post. Pull them in as far as you like, then start measuring and cutting the other girts and X-bracing and bolting it securely to the tower. When finished, remove the coma-alongs.

[hwy8]

Thanks for the input. It's interesting to see the stub towers and also to think about the come-along approach. "Sway" is a good word trying to describe the curve in the legs. I had wondered how it was done because I can't imagine how it would be sent from the factory in a boxcar. I had thought about putting the legs and top/bottom braces together and then forcing a large diameter, Model-T sized tire, down from the top and then cut the braces, etc. It would be close to ridiculous, but it just might work. Like I said, we are traveling up around Superior, Wis. this weekend and I'm hoping to spot some Duplex towers and machines.