Over the decades we've accumulated over 50lbs of aluminum caps that are not usable as they are. Retired or deceased surveyors, mis-stamped caps, stamped caps that weren't used for one reason or another.
So, we now have a 5 gallon bucket and a 30 gallon trash can almost full of aluminum caps that can't be set as they are.
Either we stamp over them, or grind them, or sell them for the aluminum.
Called the recycling place and aluminum is $0.44 per pound, guess that options out.
Melt them down and make new ones . Get a radial arm scanner scan them first. Then print a 3d mold. Melt and make new ones. lol.
I actually looked into something kinda sorta related briefly; a tabletop laser engraver to use instead of a stamp set. I've got a PC who seems to be amazing at smashing his fingers when he's trying to stamp caps, so I don't doubt it would save him a lot of pain.
Anyone here used anything like that before?
It is going to cost more in labor to try to repurpose them than it would to just buy new. Here in Oregon you could put them out to the curb on garbage day to be recycled. And they should be recycled, not thrown out. IIWY I'd donate them to some deserving kid who will be glad to schlep them to the recycler and collect the $20.
@bstrand I might have smashed a few fingers myself back in the day. I saw people use the hole in bed of truck and just beat the truck to death. I had a block of wood and had it drilled out so cap would set in it flush and not move around. Here no caps are hardly ever set unlike when I was in Colorado. We even set and stamped caps for most control. I bought my guys here that round holder for stamping on a USACE project where caps had to be set. No smashed fingers. I have never used an engraver except a hand one I used to place initials on my hand tools many years ago. Santa Clause brought that to me back then.
First, the cap anvil is a great solution for when monuments need stamping. For the most part I just buy them pre-stamped and rarely need to break out the stamps. As for not setting caps, that must be non-recording state thing. Every state out this way requires them. Even if it is not required it seems a little unprofessional and a little cheap.
On a slight tangent, I find it interesting that, as far as I know, Oregon is the only state that lets you use your corporate name on a stamp rather than the surveyor's number. Especially so since the Oregon board does not require companies register with them. It makes it way easier to buy in bulk. I cannot tell you how many times I've found the right monument with the wrong cap set buy a firm with multiple surveyors. I know it happened often at my old firm, where we had multiple LS's caps to keep in the truck.
We hired a surveyor, he had worked for a different local firm. We would find his cap on newer surveys from the local firm and ask him about it. More than a few times he hadn't even worked on the project. They set his caps with his number after he left.
Many of the caps we have in the pile are his some, in this state and some in another.
I can't think of any that don't need additional stamping. All subdivision caps need lots stamped on them, all PLSS corners need a diagram of the corner, if it's a control point I want that on the cap. It's a rare cap that just gets the PLS #.
The anvils are nice and I've seen wood block versions of the same thing for sale at the conferences here, but you still need to put fingers between the hammer and the anvil which is the problem. I think it would be awesome if you could just have an attribute block in cad for the PLSS corners and engrave all of the caps in the comfort of the office.
More than a few times he hadn't even worked on the project. They set his caps with his number after he left.
There's a place that has some of my caps too and I wonder about this. What's the right way to handle that... ask for the caps when you leave the company? Ask them to throw them away? Assume they threw them away? The caps usually have the company name on them so maybe they'd be worried about the same type of fraud.
After what he went through, I would be proactive.
We gave him a bunch of grief about it once it came up.
But the owner of the other company got cancer, died not long after.
Not anything he could do about it.
There are a handful of Metes and Bounds states that allow a corporate cap. For the reasons noted above, I prefer the corporate cap when the business may cycle through PLSs. I agree that it's cheap and somewhat unprofessional to set a corner without a metal cap or tag on it but, in certain areas, any chunk of metal or wood puts a smile on my face.
Be neat to melt them all down and cast them as a really big cap with your business name and use it as a company sign outside your offices.
Don't forget the dimple.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Take three of the mis-stamped caps to Ebay. Hawk them as rare, mis-stamped survey caps from (date and place.) Beautifully finished and in excellent condition and a must for any den. Great conversation starters, ready for mounting in the frame of your choice.
$75 each or $200 for all three. Wire Paladin, San Francisco.
I don't think it's a good idea to promote the sale of survey marks on eBay, regardless of where they come from. It encourages bad actors to go out and harvest ones that are actually marking a point.
Points given for the Paladin reference. Not too many are old enough to remember that line.
When I started my business, I wanted to use the tag line 'Have Gun, Will Travel'. My SO let me know the errors of my way.