What do you think about plumb bobs? :plumbbob:
Well, in this post apocalypse era I reckon they are still a great tool with many uses.
I use mine for grabbing those intrusive (when sighting) branches that are too high to reach.
Just hang tight to end of chord and let fly. It wraps itself around the offending branch and then just pull and tie off.
I used the brass pear ones. Never learnt how to use those other masqueraders.
Other use is to slip a Leica plastic sightings card with reflective tape stuck on it, to Plumb over places not able to get a pole and prism. Wire fences or under diagonal stays.
Then they still useful for pounding in tacks and fixing a paling fence after dismantling to get at something.
Still odd 'bush picket' gets plumbed. But that's a rare occasion these days.
Then there's the pleasure of old memories and the many good times out surveying.
They were part of the anatomy.
Who can forget the cartoons where someone forgot the legs and the precious theodolite is perched on someone's backside plumbed over the mark by way of the crown jewells:-D
I used mine today. There is a place for it on my toolbelt.:plumbbob:
I am a solo guy, and I do not have a robot, so when I set up the prism with bipod for a shot (lined up on the tip of a certain cedar tree branch), SurveyPro said that I needed to go back 5.67 feet and left 0.06 feet. I stood behind the prism, lined up my plumbob string with the top center of the prism pole target and instrument which was about 300 feet away, stuck a screwdriver through the end of my roll-up tape measure at the pole, and got a distance and good enough line to move the prism back to get within a few hundredths of my point.
This technique was developed from the School of Hard Knocks in the Been There-Done That Lab:-D. I am sure that there are better methods out there, but this one works OK for me. That was the last point, and my battery drained empty just about that time. Duh, I forgot to charge the other one, and my 12V charger kept blowing fuses. But I got the field work finished, plat delivered today on Friday, and got paid! It's almost Christmas! Good Luck smiled on me and Santa came early! 😀
I don't leave the truck without it! I have had one and only one 14 oz plumb bob since 1970 that I call mine.
And I am steadier with that and a peanut prism than I am with a pole & big prism.
And for accurate angles, a plumb bob string is a much better target that a pole. And if it is a long shot, the gammon reel is a better target than a pole.
> What do you think about plumb bobs? :plumbbob:
Asking an old surveyor what he thinks about plumb bobs is like asking an old carpenter what he thinks about hand saws.
Only the real artists know how to use them.
🙂
Don
Gosh Don, we are on the same page there.
LONG LIVE THE PLUMB BOB!
N
Had to use one the other day to plumb down a line in two parts of an exposed beam to set offsets for a hospital addition x amount of feet parallel to the beam. Worked like a charm.
I still have one and use it occasionally. When you need it, there is nothing to replace it. 24 ounce for this kid! Used to have a 24 retro-fitted with the tip for a 32 ounce, never broke one of the big tips!
I don't feel dressed without it.
Still useful for offsetting points where a pole can't be held, such as face ties on a building, pole or tree.
I will be the young buck who states the opposite. We have a pair in the truck but rarely use them. Last time was to set a pair of tacks in a door frame to level pole bubbles. I had a heavy plumb bob once, but it was used so little that I gave it to a form man friend who was building foundations under houses. He still uses it and loves the little sway in the wind.
We just received a box of swag from the local reprographics / survey supply company. Hand levels, tape repair kits, plumb bob holsters and other items that never sold. Items are being taken to various New England Association Conventions for auction items.
Sorry, I won't be carrying on the plumb bob tradition. I'd like to hear from other PLSs under the age of 40 for opinions regarding the future of Bob because it does look bleak.
I haven't had time to calibrate mine.
It keeps pointing to the local direction of gravity; I would like it to point to the center of the earth.
At one time, a few years ago, I thought it was a real deal to be the instrument man and wear a plumb bob on the belt.
It was a big deal!
Keith
I carry one....I don't use it everyday, but i've used it as a plumb bob, to make scratch marks, to sight on line, as a hammer, as a mini pry bar and for just about anything in between....definitly a useful thing to have.
You can use a plumb bob as a pendulum, and a sundial or a pair of stars as a time reference, and derive a standard unit of measure based on time and gravity, without having to carry around a reference.
The Saxons developed the 16.5usft measure we know as the rod this way, using a tall tripod and a sundial. The Celts apparently did their own "megalithic yard" of 2.72usft using a handheld pendulum and a pair of stars.
You wind up with a length of cord that you can use to calibrate other cords and do layout.
Plumb bobs are good for dowsing, too. And if the weather isn't cooperating you can stay home and map-dowse.
> What do you think about plumb bobs? :plumbbob:
We keep one in the truck at all times, but generally use prism poles and tripods for most of our work. I doubt if our bobs have been plumb for months.:-)
Nope! Got a few in the garage I suppose. As a completely solo operator, they are pretty much useless for me.
Do you mean my gravity powered vertical indicator?
Ditto what RPlumb said.
What's a plumb bob? 😉
I'm glad I'm not the onl one here who will not be carrying Bob through my career.
Used the Plumb Bob on the last job to tie in an iron behind a fence. Apparently the Gammon reel has more line that the prism pole has extension. Worked just fine.
