OUR POLES COME PEELED AND DRIED
If you purchased poles from us, they will come peeled and dried. Once you receive your poles, we recommend that you smooth out any remaining rough surfaces. Use medium-rough sandpaper or a hand-held electric planer. Do not be alarmed if you see shallow splits in the wood. Cracking and “checking” of the wood lengthwise is perfectly normal in tipi poles and does not affect their strength or longevity.
Treat your poles with a commercial wood preservative such as Superdeck, Olympics ‘Maximum’ or your own solution of 50% boiled linseed oil and 50% turpentine. Two coats wet on wet would be best. For faster application you can use a rag, but please use gloves and protect your ground from excessive dripping. Whenever you take your cover down, it is always a good time to retreat your poles. A set of poles will last more than 15 years if properly cared for.
The thickness of your poles will vary a little, but all your poles will be the same length. Choose the two thinnest poles as your smoke flap poles and cut them at the tips to a length that is 2 ft. longer than the stated diameter of your tipi. As an example, a 20 ft. tipi will need 22 ft. smoke flap poles. Long smoke flap poles are very difficult to handle and become a tripping hazard.
