California Surveyors Forums

Please... If your line of business is monument preservation do not use 2" mag nails for spikes. Twice this month I have found a nice brass tag and a loose mag nail holding it in place. I won't go into the one or two remaining swing ties around manholes in the same area (I can only imagine someone had a flat tire with an ID. Use a durable spike to place the monument!

You should countersink them 3/4" too so they don't get scraped out by equipment working in the area.

Monument Preservation? What City(ies) require that? A 2" Mag nail would be a blessing, hell a C-Nail would

I've been setting the MAG nails after pavement rehabs for the past 5 years or so, but I think I'll switch to a larger spike. Although most are still holding in there, I have found a few that have popped out, leaving a hole and an impression from the washer.

I also think PK nails hold better than MAGs. The flutes are more aggressive on a PK. There are instances where too long of a spike just won't go in without hitting concrete or the original tagged pipe.

spike that's called a "Mag Spike". Several lengths starting at 3 1/2 inches long. They sit better on the washer. They hold and look impressive. Usually i have to drill a pilot hole in the pavement then drive the mag spike and washer in. Just make sure the pilot hole is good cause once these things are almost driven in flush, they are tough to reposition.

I used to set 1 1/2 inch mags with washers and thought it was fine till I revisited a site and found that they do in fact "lift up" some how or another. Who would of thunk it?

There is at least one firm here in the OC that sets inch and a half mags or pks with washers and they don't always stay in in the ac. Oh well.

The heads will break when not struck properly just like the head of a gear spike will break if hit too many times or hit a little off center.

I normally make all attempts to avoid setting swing ties in the AC. I would think a large spike would be needed and then it could be confused with the monument being tied out (LA County). In Ventura County we only set 1-1/2" pipes or standard monuments for centerline, so in that case swing ties can be spikes or nails. But even a spike or nail in the AC, I would not consider very durable around these parts. Not sure what they use for centerline monuments in Orange?

I much prefer to set swing ties in the top of curbs or at least some nearby concrete. Here in Ventura County monument preservation is an after thought after the original monument was destroyed when the street was repaved.

bruce hall wrote:spike that's called a "Mag Spike". Several lengths starting at 3 1/2 inches long. They sit better on the washer. They hold and look impressive. Usually i have to drill a pilot hole in the pavement then drive the mag spike and washer in. Just make sure the pilot hole is good cause once these things are almost driven in flush, they are tough to reposition.

I used to set 1 1/2 inch mags with washers and thought it was fine till I revisited a site and found that they do in fact "lift up" some how or another. Who would of thunk it?

There is at least one firm here in the OC that sets inch and a half mags or pks with washers and they don't always stay in in the ac. Oh well.

The heads will break when not struck properly just like the head of a gear spike will break if hit too many times or hit a little off center.

Perchance would a "gear spike" actually be a cotton picking machine spindle?

Or to state more plainly, a spindle from a cotton picker(machine type, not human type)?

they are one and the same. Gear spike or Gin Spike

Same thing, different terminology in different parts of the country. In some areas (where there is a lot of cotton grown) you don't even have to buy them.

If you survey in several different states, as I do, you have to keep up on the different local terminologies, aka colloquialisms.