Patent ID: 8733145

Claim:
A method of making a pole, comprising the steps of: placing first and second metal sheets on a pair of spaced-apart die bars of a bending device, each of said first and second metal sheets having a thickness, with one of said first and second metal sheets overlying the other, such that the other is an underlying sheet, wherein each of said sheets has a width dimension and a length dimension, wherein the width dimensions of said first and second metal sheets are substantially equal, and wherein the length dimension of one of said first and second metal sheets is substantially longer than the length dimension of the other of said first and second metal sheets; wherein said die bars are at least as long as the longer of the first and second metal sheets, and wherein each of said die bars defines a valley which has the thickness of the other of said first and second metal sheets and which receives the other of said first and second metal sheets along the full length dimension of the other of said first and second metal sheets; and then using said bending device to apply force to both said first and second sheets at the same time between the spaced-apart die bars, thereby causing the overlying and underlying metal sheets to form a set of mating bends, and repeating the simultaneous application of force to both sheets as needed to make as many sets of mating bends as needed to form a first elongated pole segment and a first saddle segment snugly wrapping around the outside of said first elongated pole segment, each of said first pole segment and first saddle segment having first and second elongated lengthwise edges and top and bottom edges; and welding along the elongated lengthwise edges of the first elongated pole segment and of the first saddle segment and welding the top and bottom edges of the first saddle segment to the first elongated pole segment.