I must admit that I love to find an old axle corner. I might even be a bit more prone to holding an axle over a flimsy conduit pipe, when necessity calls. Especially when working off an old deed that calls for irons or staubs.
That all changed today. I've been collaborating with another PLS on a boundary in a rural area of NC Blue Ridge Mountains. He's a great guy, with amazing records and local knowledge and has practiced the profession in the this location for almost fifty years. As is often the case when two surveyors meet, we got to talking about everything under the sun. At one point I brought up how great it is to find old monuments particularly stones and axles. He agreed, then went on to say that that was the reason he still sets axles.?ÿ
Apparently, he knows a fellow with a seemingly endless supply of old cars, trucks, tractors, and heavy equipment. My acquaintance went on to say that the older the vehicle the easier it was to get at the axles, so he tended to gravitate towards them. He has set ninety year old axles in the last year.
NC requires "metal stakes or their equivalent" to be set at all corners. They do not have to be capped or tagged.
Can you imagine going to court and having to convince a judge or jury that the Model T axle held by the apposing counsel's surveyor might have been set last week??ÿ?ÿ
Yup. Surveyed a junk yard, near downtown, where that was the case. Axles at the corners, and easy to find too. ?ÿ
