I'm sure I remember a thread ( maybe on the old Joustericon forum) by Peter Laidlericon where he made mention that the metal end caps were removed to reduce the chance of water / moisture becoming trapped and causing rot.

Am I dreaming it or did anyone keep a copy ?

On another forum I occasionally visit there is a thread in which it is stated that these metal endcaps were installed to stop rot, and that the woodwork was varnished to seal the grain and stop the ingress of moisture. Again - I'm pretty sure that Peter made some comment about this actually sealing in moisture and actually exacerpating (spelling ?) rot.

Funny how there are such diverse opinions, If Peter did say the above, I'd rather go with his version as he was 'on the ground' at the time.
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