I worked on a leveling project once where we hammered some steel pins into the ground to set the rods on when taking measurements. I've tried googling leveling pins but nothing is coming up. These things had a cap on one end which covered a sort of nipple that the rod would sit on. Do these things sounds familiar to anyone and know what they are called? I'm trying to track down a picture of them to show coworkers.
I use a turtle as a turning point. Also known as a leveling plate. I have seen the pin you describe.
Historic boundaries and conservation efforts.
@not-my-real-name Yep, I've used those too.
I found the thing I was thinking of, no idea why it didn't show up during my initial google attempts:
https://www.hixonmfg.com/product/level-turning-pin-15-pin-wdriving-cap/
This pin is made to NGS specifications. Kind of expensive though. My turtle only cost $28.
I was posting this while you were doing the same. 🙂
Historic boundaries and conservation efforts.
A large screwdriver would serve the purpose very well.
@norman-oklahoma Phillips or flat head?
... and is it NGS approved?
Historic boundaries and conservation efforts.
Get some turtles if on hard pan. Now the con is the level rod holder’s which should be your brightest folks and not the non smartest folks like usually happens. The person holding the level rods should be your best folks. Now what happens is that even them seem to pick them up when they should not. But if you get everyone in sync and work through the hiccups you should be able to eventually accomplish on average 5 miles a day and in almost any terrain. But at first there will be some one that picks up the turtle when a BS is still needed. It happens. I have done it and anyone who has done long level lines has. Unless I am the dummy lol. But once you get a team in say they will blow through every thing.
Get some turtles if on hard pan.
We were working in soft ditch dirt so I don't think turtles would have worked very well. And 5 miles sounds about right. We were doing 1 mile loops and we got 2 loops a day, but we had some special prep we had to do each day that ate up enough time to rule out a third loop.
Many years ago we were running levels at two Air Force bases in Nevada. We did the first one (very large) in brutal heat. Our third guy basically fetched water and ice cream bars all day.
We leveled through a disk in the door sill of the Thunderbirds hangar, that was the shiniest disk I have ever seen, probably there was an airman whose job was to keep it looking nice.
That night two of us went out to a bunch of bars and clubs.
The next day we went to another smaller base, and I was somewhat hungover. I typically was the instrument man, and I picked up the instrument several times as the rodman walked by me from the BS to the FS. Had to keep starting over. Our escort was wondering if we were a bunch of amateurs. So it is not always the rod man who messes things up!
First time I ever saw a Reaper drone, which were not yet known to the public.
NGS approved turtles are neither light nor cheap…. And are universally hated by rodmen…
I have walked many miles carrying the turtle. And a 3 m invar rod, heavier than a regular rod. I can attest that the turtle gets heavier as the day goes on
NGS approved turtles are neither light nor cheap….
That price is crazy high for a lump of cast iron.
I'm not the cheapest skinflint surveyor in the world, not by far. I believe that quality tools are cheap in the long run. But I don't believe in spending money just to be spending money.