If you were just starting out as a structural steel fabricator, it wouldn’t be long before you saw a tie rod, hanger rod, or cross brace assembly called for on a building plan. Typically, these assemblies are used in conjunction with a clevis, or more commonly two clevises, and a turnbuckle. While we go into depth on tie rods, clevises and turnbuckles in other articles, today we are focusing on a particularly unique clevis rod order that The Steel Supply Company fulfilled.
A normal clevis or turnbuckle rod order The Steel Supply Company receives calls for a number 2-1/2 or 3 Clevis, and a rod with a diameter between 3/4 and 1-1/4 inches. Rod diameter will dictate Turnbuckle diameter. The average weight of one of the assemblies is usually between 50 and 100 pounds.
Recently, however, The Steel Supply Company received an order for a clevis rod assembly that called for number 8 clevis and a 3-1/2” diameter rod. Each clevis alone for this assembly weighed 90 pounds, and the full assembly of each clevis rod was 650 pounds. Take a look at the image to the right to see a comparison between a number 2-1/2 clevis, and the number 8 clevis in the assembly for this order.
Clevis rods are usually used as part of a hanger assembly to support structural steel under purely tensile force, which is what the pin connection accomplishes. These incredibly large clevis rod assemblies are being used in an aquatic center project in Hicksville, New York. As we learn more about their specific usage in this project, we will keep you updated!
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An order like this is representative of the specialization that The Steel Supply Company is capable of. Daily we receive requests from fabricators who are confronting challenges. Not only with threaded products but Shims, Slide Bearings, Neoprene and Elastomeric Bearings, Wedges and anything else that may come their way. We were thrilled to take this order, and we’ll post updates as we learn more about the project these clevises will be used for.