I have read quite a number of threads on here lately. I have found much of the input on the threads very informative. I fancy myself as a very good grade checker/setter. I would like to start this thread with the hopes of picking up some new tricks when setting grade/checking grade. I guess I will start it off with gear. Personally, I prefer to use an oak whiskey stick over packing a tape measure. I typically carry a 6' stick about 2" square or if round about 2" in diameter. I prefer the square stick though. I mark one side upside down from tip to center starting at 0 going to 3' at the center and 2 sides are marked at 0 to 6'. One side is unmarked but I screw 3 small string bubble levels to this side. I typically clip large paperclips (about 4) to the stick. I tend to use this stick especially when slope staking. I have found it useful for booting due to upside down numbering for cut booting but the stick serves another purpose. When climbing up steep slopes, I stick it between my legs and "climb the pole" up the stick, get footing and continue up the slope. I carry 2 sets of bags, one "everything set" and 1 light setup. My light setup is part of the "everything set" but I use it when it is unnecessary to carry all the bells and whistles. This light set consists of a 1. Bridle lip chain also known as a curb chain. I mount this on the back of my jeans. This is a chain commonly found in feed stores for a few dollars. It is attached to a bridle and goes under the lip of a horses mouth. It has 2 leather buckles on each side and a chain in the middle. I attach this to the belt holding my pants up. 2. Through the lip chain goes my mattock pick . I like this particular pick. I have no need to carry a hammer anymore. The flat side serves as a hammer. The wide digging side I keep sharpened with a grinder. I can easily chop lathe into 1 or 2 foot pieces or I can even chop points on lathe. I have a digging tip to loosen dirt or to jab into the ground to pull myself up a steep slope or to make a foot notch to stand on the slope. You can pothole easily for hubs, I also lash spare ribbon to the handle if I think I will need it during the course of a shift. This is the most valuable piece of equipment in the arsenal of equipment. 3. On my right hip I carry a ribbon holder. I fashion my own ribbon holder. I prefer to get a 4" ring and attaching a small chain to it. Slipped over the 4" ring is a 3" D ring (In the event I need to hold a hammer. The chain is about 5" long with a gate clip mounted to the chain. When not in use, you can clip the clip to the ring and keep your ribbon on the holder. At the bottom of the holder connected to the ring is a dog collar which I strap around my leg to keep the apparatus from swinging and hitting you in the family jewels. Ribbon used to be a problem with getting all wound up around the chain. To solve this problem I take a Bic lighter and heat up the side of my ribbon, getting it just hot enough to melt then take the tip of the lighter and run it down the side of the ribbon to "melt" a line on the ribbon which goes from the tip to the center of cardboard. Each "pull" of ribbon will break off at the melt line giving you a near perfect length of ribbon for booting wood and it doesn't become all unraveled chasing you down the grade. 4. I quit using markers a long time ago. I tend to reuse wood 3, 4, 5 times. I use a carpenters pencil which I keep in a holder on my hardhat. It is typically for notes or doing math on the wood. I do carry a marker but rarely does it ever come out of the hip pocket. 5. I carry my trusted Kuker Raken in its scabbard on my left side. I like the slower oil bubbles with a hood like the Kuker. If you have a Seco with a hood, you can put a Kuker oil bubble in it and can get that slow bubble action. I wrap a piece of ribbon over the bubble of my Kuker to cut down on the suns glare. I usually use blue ribbon. 6. Behind the Kuker, I have my trusty double right angle prism. I will occasionally leave this with the "everything set" or run a stringline through it and hang it around my neck. They are easily damaged, so if you don't mind breaking a $100 tool, put it in a compromising situation or better yet, leave it in a safe place. 7. In my hip pocket I keep a utility knife. Makes handy work of cutting sharp points on lathe and sharpening your pencil. With these few tools, you can perform most tasks on a job site. The everything kit is typically a bucket with one of those pocket liners that you can buy at Home Depot. Within this bucket has all kinds of little odds and ends. I also have several smaller tool bags and take out of the "everything kit" what I need for the job at hand, so the bag is a bit lighter and easier to maneuver. 1. I have form nails, the double headed ones used in securing concrete forms to concrete stakes. With these, I can nail these into a slope or offset a stake in the dirt. I will take a piece of white ribbon (here is where the marker comes into play) and stick the nail in it driving it into the ground and writing the offset or what the cut transfer is from said nail. This can also be done by using the California boot method of staking. IE, if you want to offset a stake for the blade, you can quickly swing it off 6x6 with your whiskey stick and put a yellow/red ribbon in it. Or if you want a bit longer offset, say 10', I use an 8' color usually one of the neon colors the surveyer uses and add whatever color. Should one not understand what I am saying about the Color code it goes like this; Ribbon color = # of feet. IE Blue = 0, White = 1, Red = 2, Yellow = 4, Green = 8. So if you want a 3' boot or offset, you would put a Red and White ribbon (2+1=3) together. If you want a 15' its Green, Yellow, Red and White. Easy right? If needed, you can make up a 16' color. I have only done this once on some real big slopes. 2. I keep concrete nails in the bag too, they will drive into rock where a form nail wont. 3. I keep a 100' cloth tape (typically for pulling stations back in. Very unnecessary on finding pad corners if you have invested in a good double right angle prism. 4. I have a 5# sledge hammer and an Eswing California framing hammer. (Cause driving hubs with a mattock pick is just plain insane) 5. I have a bunch of whiskers 6. I keep a brunton which I use to orient direction of stakes or points from plans, and to check to make sure my slopes are going up or down correctly. 7. I keep several small engineer scales 8. I keep a blueprint wheel 9. I have a calculator 10. A logbook for recording stationing (another reason for the pencil) if needed in your light setup you can slip it in your jeans between you skivies and jeans and it's not in the way. 11. I carry a pair of suspenders Not only are they good for holding up your pants but they also double as a great lathe holder. I generally slip lathe between my back and the suspenders and carry the lathe that way. I don't like packing a big scabbard around. 12. I have a bull ***** in the bucket 13. A plumb bob (never know when you will need it) 14. A bunch (usually 4 or 5) busted 5' sticks of tape measures held together with a couple of the clips mentioned above. I use these pieces of broken tape measures (I snap them off on the 10' to 15' mark and 20' to 25' marks) to clip to a stake when transferring grade uphill. This way I can run upslope and have up to a 10' mark to shoot from. I clip these to the stake I am transferring from, then recover them later. 15. Oh, spare pencils 16. a couple 25' engineers retractable tape measures 17. a pocket rod 18. a torpedo level 19. a bucket (under the bucket with tool pouch) 20. a roll of duct tape (very usefull when stacking stakes, you can even put kickers on them and tape them together. Way better than lashing them with ribbon and much faster) 21. spare ribbon 22. clothespins (painted in red and blue, I use the wood color as white) 23. spare markers 24. a mirror (a lot easier to get the attention of a piece of support equipment than using a phone) 25. a spare hand level (in the event you break yours or if you have green help) 26. a tack ball with tacks (because I prefer to set my own control) 27. a roll of 50# fishing line. I prefer fishing line over string line because it doesn't sag like string line. It's also cheaper And last, the kitchen sink.......not really, but it kind of seems like it huh? I am curious by making this post if there are any ideas to lighten up my load or if there are some tools that I should have. Are there any tricks for making what I have better? Am I missing something?
How about this when booting lathe>>>>Say the stake says F=1.70, I can measure up to 1.70 putting the bottom of the tape measure at the 1.70 mark and let the tape retract then scratch the wood, then flip the tape upside down holding the base of the tape at my mark then extend the tape out to 1' and scratch the stake then 2' etc. Pull that ribbon and boot em up. Quick and efficient!
The fishing line thing sounds like a good idea.
It's great for setting hubs and string lining grade. Easy to pull and twangs like a banjo every time when you pull it tight. If you are working off of wires, you can also string across your grade with no help. Hook on one side hung on the wire, pull tight across the wire on the other side holding the roll and string line your grade. If you try this with a string, you can make your wire bow. Kind of unproductive but if you are unsure or the bubble in your ass isn't working right, it might be a good payoff to have the piece of mind.
Durtmvr Great thread! You have some great info there that should be required reading for grade checkers. I haven't carried bags for a while, but it is how I got started. I may come back to this thread when I have some time to add some things I learned.
You sure do give us some great information, thank you!
I started out grade checking as well, perhaps it should be required before you hop in the seat as you sure learn in a hurry what you are trying to build! Nice thread durtmvr!
I agree. I decided to post this after setting grade for a few days while my blade was in the shop. They know I can and will run anything they've got. I went to another blade operators job to set curb. He is a really good operator, I have been impressed by his operating between the curb when we have worked together in the past. He is fast and efficient. HOWEVER, I quickly learned that he can't read grade to save his life. I didn't put all those ribbons on lathe for my health in 100 degree + weather just for him to ask me what the hell those were for. For some reason he knows what 9" down from the curb is but can't seem to match up or get the concept that the white ribbon is 1' above grade and the red is 2' above grade. I think they would be better off sending him back between the curb where he can make them some good money cause he isn't doing it on this job. Anyhow. Thank you all. I have started to take some photos and will start posting them soon. Hopefully, even if no grade checkers read this thread, we journeyman operators can pass these tips and tricks on to those boys and make their lives easier and ours!
I suppose with GPS, etc. that grade setters and eventually equipment operators will be obsolete. It is a shame because the need for seeing what a job is supposed to look like in the "minds eye" will diminish. As an operator I have often looked at grade and said to myself that something is wrong, at which time I stop and check the grade and plans to see if I am not understanding what we are building, or if there was an error in the grade setting. Occasionally it was neither and the plans were incorrect. It has always been a joy to watch a project come together.
I took some photos of a rig that I use for my light setup. It is used EVERY day when I check or set grade. You can build it for about $10. I never leave home without it. It's #3 on my original post above. Also note the burning of the ribbon which was also mentioned in #3 above. Note the mattock pick. They are like $16 at Home Depot but PRICELESS if you are a grade checker/setter.
I like the fishing line idea! beats the heck out of piano wire and definitely string.
Engineers tape measures, I take it you prefer to work in tenths like the surveyors rather than inches then, correct? The torpedo level, is it a regular one with only the bubbles, or is it one of the new ones with digital readout and/or a laser?
Good information... some of which I would use, like the mattock. Another thing I used to carry was at least one screwdriver to hold the end of a tape measure by stabbing in the ground. I also used a small fanny type pack for my ribbon with openings in the top for the ribbon to dispense through... I hate having ribbon streaming around in the wind as it unwinds when I walk. For a rod, I used the square furring strip 2" x 3/4" or a piece of 1" P.V.C, it's cheap, easier and faster than a tape measure. I also would have a twenty five foot fiberglass rod available, it's handy when you want to measure off of the reference point with a helper at the bottom of a small to medium cut or fill, to verify horizontal or vertical. Good quality carpenter nail bags are a good investment to comfortably carry all my gear in also.I also would carry a Camelback 3 liter water bag on my back to stay hydrated, especially in the summer! A shoulder slung lathe bag worked good for me. You can improvise with an old golf bag, if you want or can't afford a $40.00 lathe bag. I would also have a 8# 'single jack' sledge for driving hubs... they don't tear them up as much as smaller hammer. This is if you plan on doing quite a few. I became a much better operator when I was able to read grade stakes and blueprints, just like reading music makes you a better musician.
Great thread durtmvr. I think all of the things you mentioned are important to a grade checker. You certainly will be ready for whatever comes your way with that list of tools. I don't do much of the kind of grade checking you are gearing up for anymore, and I certainly miss it. It's kinda cool to pull a big slope down or set a long flyline and look down your crow's feet and see 'em all match up... Anyway, the tools I carried were: Lathe bag with pockets at the bottom for cans of orange spray paint marker kuker ranken hatchet two rolls of ribbon (red for cut and blue for fill) calculator loggers tape (i think this would be the same as your engineers tape. it has a hook on the end and is retractable) this I clipped to my belt loop so I could hook it on a lathe and start walking) A 6' wooden grade rod I usually stuffed a 100' tape in the pocket on my lathe bag too. That's all i usually carried and if I needed anything else, I'd just walk back to my pickup to get it..... This happened rarely though and it usually wasn't too far away. And if it was, then it was about time to move it closer to where I was working. haha Again, great thread durtmvr.