Marking Out Stakes

[wytco0]

I am almost embarrassed to ask this question as it seems very simple but I have not be able to come up with a good solution.

I want to get hold of some marking stakes to mark out the outlines of some garden projects including sheds that I am planning.

I need are some decent stakes but I can't find them anywhere. I assume that most people just make their own but my attempts have not worked well.

So what do you do for marking out stakes? I need about 50+ so I don't want to spend very long making them and I would prefer to buy them if possible.

 

[pred]

You guessed right, I usually cut up a baton, then string line for any straight lines and place rope on the grass to mark out wavy borders, you know how to get 90' right angles using 3,4,5, yes?

 

[wytco0]

You guessed right, I usually cut up a baton, then string line for any straight lines and place rope on the grass to mark out wavy borders, you know how to get 90' right angles using 3,4,5, yes?

Yes I know about 3,4,5 and wavy lines

Its just stakes I am having problems with, I end up with them being loose in the ground or moving sideways or breaking when I hammer them in. Maybe I am using the wrong size stakes, I have been using batons about 20mm which was about what the builder who built my house used.

Do you just cut them once with a single angled cut or do you try and make a point with a number of cuts? I tried a point but using a hand saw its difficult and takes too long for the number I need and the single cut ones just don't seem to seat well mine always end up loose.

 

[^woody^]

http://www.yorksurvey.co.uk/marking/profile-boards/6/500mm-timber-survey-pegs-25.html

 

[pred]

20mm? that's less than an inch!

depends how hard or soft the ground is as to the length but 2-3ft should be ok, the only time I cut twice to get a point is for leveling through a trench prior to pouring concrete in, any wood saw, whatever comes to hand, I do use a lump hammer or sledge to tap the stakes in, if you use a toffee hammer you'll have to hit the stakes that much harder so damaging them..

 

[pred]

http://www.yorksurvey.co.uk/marking/profile-boards/6/500mm-timber-survey-pegs-25.html

FFS woody! You recommend a poster pays £15 for some wooden stakes but an extra £2 for superior stainless steel wall ties is a waste of money according to you.

You don't add up mate, someone said you should stick to digging holes, I'm not going to argue with that!

 

[maltaron]

I think most builders merchants stock them.

 

[^woody^]

The poster said that he would like to buy some ready made, and could not find any. I did not make a recommendation, I just linked to somewhere he could get some from stock. Now he knows he can search surveying supply companies for these, not the places he has been searching previously. Its really simple

As a bonus, the picture also shows the OP how to make them - with four cuts, not two

 

[pred]

The poster said that he would like to buy some ready made, and could not find any. I did not make a recommendation, I just linked to somewhere he could get some from stock. Now he knows he can search surveying supply companies for these, not the places he has been searching previously. Its really simple

As a bonus, the picture also shows the OP how to make them - with four cuts, not two

My profound apologies.

 

[wytco0]

20mm? that's less than an inch!

depends how hard or soft the ground is as to the length but 2-3ft should be ok, the only time I cut twice to get a point is for leveling through a trench prior to pouring concrete in, any wood saw, whatever comes to hand, I do use a lump hammer or sledge to tap the stakes in, if you use a toffee hammer you'll have to hit the stakes that much harder so damaging them..

Just measured the ones I used they are 3 x 3 cm approx and about 30cm long, I suspect I should have hot them harder

 

[wytco0]

http://www.yorksurvey.co.uk/marking/profile-boards/6/500mm-timber-survey-pegs-25.html

FFS woody! You recommend a poster pays £15 for some wooden stakes but an extra £2 for superior stainless steel wall ties is a waste of money according to you.

You don't add up mate, someone said you should stick to digging holes, I'm not going to argue with that!

Thanks for the link, now I know what I am looking for "Survey Pegs"