Make an Ultralight Long Carbon Fibre Tarp Pole (54g)

This project is one of two for a Carbon Fibre Tarp Pole Set and is the lighter and shorter version of the Long Aluminium Tarp Pole Project.

Warnings

1. This project saved just 6g in weight compared with the actual pole that it replaced. It cost about 3 times the price and is probably 2-3 times as strong...

2. Before you even consider this project please read Carbon Fibre Tarp Pole Set notes. Carbon Fibre is not a material that you want to be working with as a first project. This project may also need access to a drill press. A domestic drill will not be safe or usable...

3. The finished pole is 86cm - it is a direct replacement for an Aluminium pole that I use. You will probably need a different pole height....

4. The pole section lengths are based on what will fit in the shortest pack that I use. Longer pole sections will weigh less for taller poles due to the weight of the fittings.

Overview

This pole has been designed to be modular. It includes 3 basic pole concepts:

1. Top Pole - This has been fitted with a 4mm tip that is long enough to fit into a rivet or a guy-line.

2. Mid Pole - The mid pole has a pocket at one end and an exposed section at the other end.

3. Base Pole - The base pole has a sealed plug on it to protect the end of the pole from the ground and from abrasion.

It should be clear that I can make a longer pole by adding mid-poles to it and shorter by removing mid-poles.

In practice I think I wouldn't use more than 3 pole sections to form a single pole and that I would probably use a heavier-grade of tubing in the lowest pole-section.

Materials

• 84cm of 10mm Poltruded Carbon Fibre Tube.
• 18cm of 12mm Aluminium tube (I was low on stock, use 20cm)
• 2cm of 10mm Aluminium rod
• 2cm of 4mm Aluminium rod
• Epoxy resin glue

NB: Industry-standard seems to be to use 8-9mm carbon fibre tubing for tent poles. This seems in practice to be far too small for tarp poles where stiffness and not flexiblity is required. 10mm tubing is pretty strong but even so for pole lengths over 1m I'd be very tempted to use at least one 12mm pole section

Construction - Top Pole

1. Cut the Carbon Fibre tubing into two 42cm sections. I used a Dremel with a cutting disk rather than a hacksaw.

2. Check that the Aluminium tube will slide over the Carbon one without much resistance. If it does not then you will need to drill it out using a 10mm drill.

3. Cut a 4-5cm section of the 10mm Aluminium tube.

4. Drill the center of the 10mm Aluminium rod to a depth of just under 1cm with a 4mm drill.

5. Cut a 1cm plug off the Aluminium rod.

6. Insert the 4mm tubing into the 8mm rod plug

7. Insert into the 5cm aluminium tubing section using epoxy resin.

8. Lightly coat the end of one carbon fibre tube with epoxy and slide the 5cm tubing section onto it until it locks into place.

Construction - Mid Pole

3. Drill the center of the 8mm Aluminium rod to a depth of just under 1cm with a 4mm drill.

4. Check that the 8mm rod will fit inside the 10mm aluminium tubing and drill out the tubing if required.

5. Cut the 10mm tubing and the 8mm Aluminium rod in half.

6. Fit the drilled 8mm plug into one end of one piece of the 10mm tubing and then fit the 4mm rod into it to create the top of the pole. Use epoxy resin.

7. Lightly coat one end of the carbon fibre tubing with epoxy resin and slide the Aluminium tubing over the top. [This creates a good strong tube at the top and encourages load transfer through the tube.

8. Fit the remaining 8mm plug into the remaining piece of 10mm tubing using epoxy resin. I've not glued this to the carbon fibre tube but instead left it as a friction-fit. This will allow me to use the pole as a modular component at a later date.