Tony. I notice on the hand spike photos Rob posted, that the machined, tapered end goes quite some distance into the steel pipe. At least to the 9 inch mark, or a little further. Seems held in place by two pairs of rivets: one set at the 9 inch mark and a second set 90 degrees offset, closer to the end. I suspect these inserts needed to be far enough up the tubes to cover the point of maximum torque on these hand spikes to avoid kinking the tubes in difficult situations.
The brass end caps would not be so critical, with just one pair of rivets retaining them. These are probably at the mid point of the brass bit that fits into the tube.
David
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