Mast Hound

Is it the out of round holes you are worried about, or is the tang bent sideways?

there is still a lot of steel there that shows no sign of corrosion.
If the tab is bent, for what it's worth two people at Murrays told me you could bend it back without problems. Bending aluminum results in quite a bit of strength lost, a mild bend in SS not so much.
I have never replaced those kind of rivets, I believe they are monel, the strength of those rivets if replaced would be more important than the out of round holes. Make sure you get the correct ones. I have heard that monel rivets can be hard to pull, I don't know if your $20 bargain bin puller that is fine for aluminum rivets will do the job.

Edited by Edchris177 on Dec 11, 2010 - 03:35 PM.

The out of round holes are my concern. The apparent bend is just a bad camera angle; the hound is straight.

I don't know but I'd think anything that can pop SS rivets can handle monel.

I'll leave it as is and keep an eye on it once the season starts up. I've got enough other projects at the moment.

It is definitely something to keep an eye on, but it probably took a long time to get that worn and steel is pretty forgiving. I know my hound has some serious wear but is just ovalized not even close to being worn through. As long as you don't see any stress cracking in the metal you are likely fine for another season. I would put it on the todo list for next season though. Pretty easy to replace, probably wouldn't take more than a half hour with a cordless drill, some sealant and a wishbone rivet gun.

Regards,
Dave