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I have 4 steel pipes installed in a square pattern, 11' tall in my backyard. I want to install steel cable (wire rope) between the pipes to attach the shade sails.

I want to drill a hole straight through the middle, at the top. (I probably should have drilled the holes before installing, but too late for that now.) ;-). I want to install a 5"-6" eye bolt.

I would like to create a jig that I can carry to the top (with me on a ladder). I would secure the jig to the pipe with a strap (or some other means), and with the holes clearly marked (and, predrilled in the jig) drilling the holes I need would be a quick, and easy task.

I have a couple of ideas for a jig, I'm just not sure if there is an easier way already available.

isherwood
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Rick B
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  • Have you looked at those attachments that turn a hand held drill into a drill press. Drilling into steel on top of a ladder does not sound like fun or safe. Maybe someone else would know if any of internal clamp(like for pickup bed pockets) type holders will work well. If must use a ladder, check out the darwin awards. – crip659 Jul 21 '23 at 18:16
  • What is the pipe diameter – Traveler Jul 21 '23 at 18:37
  • A ladder is much safer than shinning up the pole with a drill. – Rich Jul 22 '23 at 06:02
  • Although, if you are going to go to all this faffing, it's maybe easier to rent a trestle ladder, or indeed a cherry picker. – Rich Jul 22 '23 at 06:09
  • When you say "through the middle" do you mean through the diameter? – Huesmann Jul 22 '23 at 12:25
  • 11' tall is useless information when trying to design something that clamps onto the pole ... what cross section size and shape is the pipe? – jsotola Jul 22 '23 at 16:17
  • have something soft under the ladder for when the drill bites and throws you off the ladder. or better rent a scaffold, – Jasen Jul 22 '23 at 16:35
  • Isherwood, did I make any insulting comments? You scolding is out of place. – Rick B Jul 22 '23 at 20:57

4 Answers4

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Having failed to plan, do it another way that is functional, but does not invove drilling holes 11 feet in the air. Pipe clamps with threaded holes (usually used to hold the pipe up, but you can use it how you like) are a stock item.

Pipe support clamp image

Image from https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1h8llRFXXXXcUXXXXq6xXFXXXA/70-76mm-3-304-Stainless-Steel-Sanitary-Pipe-Clamp-Clips-Support-Tube-bracket.jpg and not only do I not endorse them, I tend to advise avoiding aliexpress for anything you want to last. Just for an example picture.

The part that this example is standing on is threaded. You put the clamp on your pipe and thread your eye-bolt into that tubular nut. Other forms of this type of clamp include cast iron versions and ones where the nut is hexagonal.

Ecnerwal
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  • Get another piece of pipe just large enough to slip over your existing posts.
  • Weld a cap on it so when you slip it over, it doesn't just plunge 11' to the ground.
  • Weld a piece of pipe whose ID is the same size as the drill bit you're going to use to make your hole.
  • Using a drill press, drill through the guide pipe and jig pipe
  • Climb your ladder, drop the jig on the post, go to town with your drill.
    • Maybe hold the jig in place with some duct tape to keep it from spinning while you're flailing at the top of the ladder trying to hold a drill while drilling through pipe sturdy enough to keep wind sails shade sails from uprooting the whole shebang and ending up in the next county.

Bloody useless Gen-Xer staring at you like a deer in the headlights wondering why you wouldn't have drilled the holes first.

FreeMan
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I'm going to challenge your plan a bit. For one thing, you don't need your eye bolts to go through both sides of the pole. Just put them in one side. Either tap for the threads or reach in and install nuts.

Then it becomes a simple matter of dimpling the pole for your bit so you can drill one hole. With a dimple it's easy to drill without walkout. A nail set and one good whack would do, or purchase a spring punch.

To get square (oriented directly at the adjacent pole), pull a string between them and measure to center.

isherwood
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Are they hollow? If open at the top then just hook something in, or in any event make up a sleeve that will slip over and support an eyebolt or something.

Any attempt to drill those poles now will break any protective coating- galvanising, paint, hot-dip or whatever- and leave you with a worse mess than if you took them down now and started over.

Mark Morgan Lloyd
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