Another boat frame question

[JuneC]

How the heck do you get those inside eye ends to stay inside the bimini poles?  There's no visible rivets or set screws to hold the eyes in.  Is there actually a machine or tool that will compress the pole enough to hold the eye end in place?  I'm talking about stainless here.  I'm sure it's easier with aluminum. 

June

[Lynn]

hi June,
I think there is a crimping tool (I know there is one for aluminum tube) to do it. Just not sure where you'll find one. More likely Stateside than Canada.
Lynn

[Mike8560]

I've not seen a stainless frame with internal eye ends I've got the crimp
tool that dimples each side of the tube but I've seen frames. Aluminum that had a complete ring depresed in the tube but I've never seen the tool to do it it would probly have to be a power / hydraulit tool.

[PDQ]

A good quality centre punch will do the trick.

[JuneC]

I'm adding tension poles to replace the straps on the bimini on our own boat and the original frame from Formula is made with inside eye ends.  Absolutely no mark, indentation or anything to suggest how the eyes are held on.  I'll take some close up photos of some of the ends from all angles and see if we can collectively see how they're fastened.  The amount of pressure in a crimp tool would have to be phenomenal to "shrink" 7/8" stainless. 

June

[PDQ]

Maybe they are of the type that are held in place by rubber grommets.

[SHHR]

I usually see just external eyes on stainless with set screws. I did have a customer once want internal fittings so I used a good marine quality epoxy to hold them in and it worked great. If you have a drill press you could drill half way through the tube and fitting and install a stainless sheet metal screw. Just be careful and drill your hole slow and slightly larger than it calls for otherwise you may twist the screw head off .
Kyle

[Mike8560]

I never rely on a set screw with SS. I always install a SS rivit. this is after I had a customer have a eye end slip off and the tube end camaged his gelcoat.
June ive never seen no visible means of securing a eye id like to see thoose pics . take a wide angle to I love Formulas Ive had  2 over the years.

[JuneC]

Ok, had a nice day on the water.  But.... can you figure out how these eye ends are attached????  Enquiring minds want to know.






The pics are pretty big.  You should be able to zoom in nice and close.

June

[fragged8]

hi June

they look like they are rolled in,  that ring about an inch up from the
tube end is the give away. Its a compression of the tube by machine

some tube fittings have a groove in them so if you insert them and machine roll
the tube the compressed ring grips into the groove on the fitting. similar to
center punching to hold fittings in but all the way round the tube.

with the compressed ring the fitting can still turn in the tube
and still wouldn't come out which, wouldn't always happen if compressed with dots

only way i can think of removing them is to cut the tube off at the ring
or spend ages drilling and reaming from the fitting end.

Rich

[rustyeod]

Hey June
I believe Rich is right.  They are assembled at a factory and they use a machine to "crimp" it.

[Mike8560]

hes right id like to see how they do it.
ive removed then with a chop saw cutting the ring then ory the fitting out past the burr inside from the saw.
What I meant was to only cut the pipe not completely through

[Darren Henry]

I'm with Rich. What I have done is take my dullest cold chisel , mark where the groove in the fitting will be, and give the tubing a good smack on opposite sides once I install the fitting.

[Can-Vas]

This method might also work - (I would try this on a piece of scrap first..)  - You could reinsert the fitting in the new tubing (after calculating where the fitting groove will be - then using a tubing cutter make a few passes putting the 'groove' into the fitting crimp...

[Darren Henry]

 ???  ???  ??? In Stainless?