Aluminum Monument

Does it have Rebar under the cap? Good looking monument.

No it's an aluminum pipe with cap. There is a magnet under the cap that is held in place with a metal cage.

You dig a hole then flare out the flanges at the bottom.

My former employer had some but I never used them over there. We set a lot of rebars with aluminum caps. Also we had a whole crate of 2" galvanized pipes with matching brass caps so we set some of those in concrete. They even had a couple of pallets of 1-1/4"x4' long rebar, I kid you not (those are monsters, hard to carry and hard to drive)!

Then right before I left we cleaned up the warehouse and found at least 10 boxes of those aluminum monuments. When they ordered stuff at that department they did it as if they had 10 survey crews doing all boundary when they only had 4 at the most and less than two in the last 20 years or so. So my former co-worker that took over my job started using them. He said he drove them in but technically you are supposed to dig a post hole, flare the bottom out and bury it. They are really stable once you tamp the native dirt back in around them.

We don't have 10 boxes but we have several boxes so I'm using them in situations where I want a little nicer monument than just a rebar and cap.

Years ago I was working with an LS that was also a Mining Engineer. He came up with this "brilliant" plan to save the time and labor of setting the straddles, digging the hole, flaring the bottoms and re-tamping the dirt....He drove the pipe straight in with a blasting cap at the bottom and the wires running up the outside. Tried it once ...sent the monument about 300' in the air and blew the cap off. Needless to say, we didn't do that anymore! (It DID flare the bottom tho':-) !)

-JD-

I think he just wanted to have some fun watching the stupid monument get launched into the air. 😉

The mining engineer that worked for me was an expert in explosives and he knew how to get the forces to do what he wanted. Those guys know what happens when you confine the explosion in a certain way. He had the Blaster's Handbook on his shelf although we never use explosives in our work.

Nice monument. The only improvement I can think of would be to put the LS on the left side of the line, the registration number on the right, and the year below. That would make it a little more obvious what was what, instead of having the line divide the number.

Bill

that's a good idea, I'm going to implement it. I could've added the T&R but it was late and I was tired. Any surveyor should know what T&R they are in but it is pretty common to see that around there.

I didn't like how that came out too much. It almost looks like my number is 78492011.

Critique

Since you posted it Dave I'll offer my critque. Monuments of this type are quite common in my line of work and I try to stay close to the BLM Manual in markings because in my state we are under the State Board of Registration Rules and Regulations that state we must use the BLM Manual as a guideline. Since the monument appears to be a point on line there is a considerable amount of space taken up for the POINT ON LINE comment on the monument. Any surveyor would probably know if you would have just stamped P.O.L. on the cap, that it would be a point on line. I would think if this is a P.O.L. then it becomes a WC i.e. witness corner no matter how far from other controlling corners. The cold chisel used for the line could have made better use of the cap space with one stamp with the cold chisel and the point mark in the center. The T and R should have been on the cap normally on the upper portion of the cap. Below the double chiseled section line put your LS no. without the line running through it and the year below the LS number. Stamping the monument ahead of time there are no excuses for not making a very clear and unambiguously marked monument. I believe a part of professionalism is the art of setting and marking a monument. Now I realize in California you can provide a Record of Survey or Corner Record establishing constructive notice and more or less explain the monuments creation, existence and markings. My markings would have been
I don't know if this will show up correctly on my post but here goes...

T XX N R XX W
W C
I
S12.S7
I
LS XXXX
2011

Pablo

Critique

Pablo: He's in two different Ranges so RXXE east and west of the line is proper. If it's to be a witness corner then a distance and arrow pointing to the witnessed corner, although I think the book only calls for the arrow not the distance. Also the monument should be labeled just like the corner that is witnessed.
I think making it a line point is fine as long as it isn't too close to one of the corners. Isn't there a rule of thumb about that?

Critique

Thanks for the comments.

It is on top of the ridge about 900 feet south of the northwest corner of Section 7.

This is for Foresters to use so I'm not certain how familiar they would be with abbreviations.

Okay, at the risk of starting WWIII here...

I am ASSUMING (based on the second photograph) that you are re-monumenting an existent “point” ON the SECTION Line between Sections 12 & 7, based on physical evidence that you recovered. I would further ASSUME that this “point” is NOT an aliquot Corner to either Section.

So...UNLESS this is an entirely NEW “point” (something that you computed where the Section Line crosses a Road, Trail, whatever)...then I would mark it as an AP (Angle Point). The first reason being that I ASSUME that you want it to control the Section at THAT POINT, the second reason being the fact that it PROBABLY does impart slight “angle” in the Section line (UNLESS you had McMillimeter set it for you).

🙂
Loyal

I use aluminum caps over rebar, and the look good. Instead of dirt I paint the top and wipe away the surface and the letters standout in whatever color you use. Looks very George Clinton.

Critique

> Now I realize in California you can provide a Record of Survey or Corner Record establishing constructive notice

Digressing from the topic a bit, neither a ROS or a CR establishes constructive notice in CA. Technically, maps and Corner Records are filed, not recorded. If it's not in the Official Records, it doesn't impart constructive notice.

we do the same because a rebar with aluminum cap makes a fine monument but we have boxes of those aluminum monuments so I feel we should use them. Especially when the digging is easy 🙂

BLM and Manual would mark a POL as a Witness Point or WP, definitely NOT angle point.

- jlw

Critique

Finally back to my manual. Over 10 chains distant from the corner-then it's a Witness Point- Should be marked W P

Jerry,

Well in the case of Scenario No.2:

“... an entirely NEW “point” (something that you computed where the Section Line crosses a Road, Trail, whatever)”

Then YES, I would concur on the Witness Point designation.

However, in Scenario 1:

“ASSUMING that you are re-monumenting an existent “point” ON the SECTION Line between Sections 12 & 7, based on physical evidence that you recovered.” i.e. a Line Tree (with a distance in the official field notes), a fence corner called out in the official field notes, or any other physical “point” referenced in the official field notes as being ON the Section Line (as run) that is NOT an official corner, or described in the official field notes as a Witness Corner, Tract Corner, or Reference Monument. Then I would go with AP (Angle Point). The Manual DOES envision a “Line Tree” as an Angle Point (see 4-19), but I have recovered a number of “other points” (worth monumenting) that I would consider as “Angle Points” in under the BLM definition thereof.

Loyal

Edit...Thanks Jerry, you are RIGHT (as usual)...

Witness Point

That sums it up...I agree Mighty

See "Winess Points" 4-18 and 6-29

Loyal

Witness Point

Yeah I found it in the 1973 manual today. W P or witness point. Paragraph 4-17.

Although this does not involve BLM in any way so the monument does what it is supposed to do which is get the Forester onto line.