timber bollards

[BETAQDAVE]

    I've found conflicting information on late 19th century timber bollards.  While most bollards were simply bare topped timbers, some had metal or leather caps apparently to provide protection from end grain rot.  For one example, in the whaling industry there was a large vertical bollard that the cutting in gear was secured to that usually had a metal top applied to it.  It may also have served as an anvil for the ships carpenter.  Has anyone else come across any info. on this?

[wefalck]

I gather one would need to know what kind of ship we are looking at, also whether it was commercial or naval.

 

Rot would be probably less an issue, but splitting under strain or other damage.

 

On small commercial vessels that operated on low margins, there would have probably not enough money around to pay for fancy metal cappings ...

 

On museum pieces and historic ships I have anything, from nothing to fabricated sheet metal caps to cast bronze caps. However, I have not seen any leather caps and would doubt that it would work - the ropes would quickly tear the leather to pieces, I think.