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So far I’ve found mostly old college books on intro to surveying. Talks about the setup and some formulas. They’re a good start. Have Blacks Law, local ordinances and the Acts all on PDF. Some books on reading plats and plans. Checked around and am not finding anything else on the list. Local book stores, library and internet included. Not finding any local groups to partake in. The books I’ve been unable to track down so far are
Boundary Control and Legal Principles
Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location
Global Positioning System: Theory and Practice
Guide to GPS Positioning
Surveying, 9th Edition; by Francis H. Moffitt and Harry Bouchard
Water Boundaries; by George M. Cole
Elements of Photogrammetry; by Paul R. Wolf
Analysis and Adjustment of Survey Measurements; by Edward M. Mikhail and Gordon Gracie
Writing Legal Descriptions
I don’t know how critical it is to have these exact books for studying for the tests. As I mentioned before I do have a few books on the subjects, just not these specific ones. The Writing Legal Descriptions is the one I can’t find any equivalents.
I spent 5 1/2 years working for the State and while I didn’t make bank, I did have good insurance and benies and it was far and away the best 5 plus years as far as professional advancement I could have gotten anywhere. The time I spent working there gave me more opportunities to learn and far less pressure to meet some profit driven deadline than I would have ever found in the private sector. I’ve encouraged a lot of guys to spend some time there if they can get their foot in the door because the kind of experience they’ll get exposed to is really difficult to find in the private sector. Who in the heck gets to map 300 plus miles of Alaska coastline from a helicopter flying a hundred feet off the surf? Beats the h$ll out of dipping sewer inverts.
WillyThe 1969 edition of Boundary Control and Legal Principles and the 1962 edition of Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location can be had on Alibris.com for around $5, plus shipping, and are perfectly valid for the entry level student of Surveying.
For things like GPS and Photogrammetry I think i might want later editions of the available texts. The technology is advancing rapidly. But at the entry level stage I’d go for an edition of Elementary Surveying that is not too old. That book has extensive chapters on those subjects. Until you have fully digested all it contains those more focused texts will be of no use to you.
There is loads of stuff on line for the downloading. Almost every state DOT has some form of Surveying Manual. This from the Washington State DNR (scroll down to find the links to various guidebooks) for example.
I’ve got no idea if this site is valid or not but they say they have a copy for under $70: https://www.buildersbook.com/writing-legal-descriptions-in-conjunction-with-survey-boundary-control.html
Ebay also has one for $95.
I’m just one of those evil GIS people. Bwah-hah-hah! Seriously, I do coordinate systems and transformations at Esri.Look for “Land Survey Descriptions by Wattles.
Also “Advanced”
former employer had the “other” Wattles in the library. It seems to me it was a typewritten book.
@mkennedy This site (that I also linked to above) is valid. I have purchased the Wattles book from that website.
Joki,
I can lend you any of these books, if you send them back to me once your done with them.
Kevin
Does it come with a New York – English dictionary?
There is another book on descriptions that serves as a good primer. The title is Land Survey Descriprions. It is by William (rather than Gordon) Wattles.
Build your library slow and steady. Go to conferences and watch the auctions. Stalk Ebay but only buy the screaming deals.
Lastly, never loan a book you may need. They rarely come back to you. That doesn’t mean don’t lend or be generous, just don’t plan on seeing it again.
Goid luck
@kevin-olson
Thank you Kevin, that would be great. I could make PDF’s and send them back.
I would like to read all of these books. There are a few I can’t tell what they are from the pic. Starting from the left: blue book next to Boundaries, tan book next to Wattles, white book next to A History, white book next to GPS, and tan book next to The Global Positioning System.
The ones for sure I would like to read are any of the ones on boundaries and GPS/GIS, The History, Wattles, Errors in Practical Measurement, and The Mathematics.
I don’t plan on doing any work in Texas, though who knows what the future holds, so probably don’t kneed to read the ones specific to the State.
That book is also available on the BuilderBooks site which has been linked herein as a source for Writing Legal Descriptions. A mere $36.
@stlsurveyor – That’s not expensive… I gather you haven’t visited a bookstore for quite some time.
Boundaries and Landmarks by A.C. Mulford. It won’t help you on the exam, but it’s a neat book to have and read. You can read it for free online, but I like having a hard copy.
Re: Wattles, a classmate of mine had it and I copied a bunch of pages in the library that would help with the specific assignment we had. It was helpful for writing the description. It is expensive, which is why I didn’t buy it.
Re: GPS surveying. Much, if not all, of Van Sickle’s book is online from the Penn State website.
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog862/node/1405
Re: library, did you ask the librarian for help? I wanted the book Clark on Surveying, and it was over $200 (right now amazon shows it over $300), and so I asked our local community college library. They got it for me another state (I am in California, they got it from Nevada). I kept that book for nearly three months, as they were able to extend the initial loan. Libraries, even regular public libraries, have a fairly sophisticated and wide network of inter-library loan systems, and my experience has been that most librarians will do what they can to help you. I’d try and request the books you want, the effort on your part is minimal, and see where it goes. The Brown books for sure some library will have them.
Good luck!
@jamesf1 I have and do. I looked at Amazon and they have it listed for nearly 300 dollars. The other websites listed in this thread seem to be more reasonable.
I know I’m late to the party, but I thought I’d contribute with this: it appears you can just order from the publisher (Wattles Publications) directly. I recall a couple Caltrans guys in a state-specific review course brought up that they got Wattles CHEAP, and dug through my email to find this:
Here is the order form I was telling you about. The only thing is that the sales tax was changed to 7.75% You can either email it to Jacob F. (Jim) Rems PLS: jfrems@wattles.com or call him: (714) 832-5711, to place your order.
He has the “Writing Legal Descriptions” book for $40 as well as the “GW’s Workshop Exercise Book” (I think this is the one you showed us that had legal description practice problems) for $15 plus $10 dollars shipping.
I know it seems kind of sketchy but the form/ publisher is legitimate. I personally ordered the “Writing Legal Descriptions Book” from him as opposed to getting on Amazon for $170+. It was brand new and I received it about 2 days after I placed the order.
Hope this helps
I’ve attached the order form for everyone to use. Enjoy!
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