Etching washers

Yes I have been thinking the same thing. I use stainless steel washers and every thing I have read on the metal stamping kits says not for use on stainless steel but a friend owns a set and I did try it and it works but sort of timely and a little hard to read because it is just indented into the washer. Maybe a way to paint it but than the paint fades. I wonder how surveyors do it?

There's this option. But they aren't cheap, and you have to order quite a few with the same thing stamped on them. Maybe just USATF/RRTC.

http://www.berntsen.com/Survey...shers/Survey-Washers

I use letter stamps, and stamp the event initials across the top, and the split identifier across the bottom of my washers.

Yes, it is time-consuming, but it helps to identify the location, especially where there are multiple courses in a park. I don't do it for every course, but I should. Sometimes I just don't have time to do it between notification of a course to measure, and the measurement. Of course, I only do it where I am measuring in asphalt.

Also, it takes a Number set, in addition to the Letter set.

I borrowed a stamp set from somebody to give it a try and was surprised how well it works. I thought the steel might be too hard.
I was told they make enamel crayons that you can wipe over to make the letters easier to read, but I don't know if anything will hold up to the elements.

Some of my washers rust over time, so on asphalt, they become very difficult to see from any distance. Using an enamel crayon on them is likely wasted effort, but for the first time the event uses the course, they would likely look good.

Are your stamps still readable after the rust?

Vaguely. If the washer has been rusting for two years, it is very difficult to read the stamped letters/numbers.

These washers seem pretty cool. I'm just trying hard to think of a course where I could use them-- lots of courses around here seem to need tweaking almost every year. I would end up paving the streets with stamped washers.

Another question: Do these nail-and-washers present a problem for snow plows, i.e. do they stick up and possibly get caught in a snowplow blade?

Bob, I have had washers disappear over the winter, and have others survive plows just fine. It depends on the plow. I watch some plows keep the blade just off the pavement, and others that have sparks flying. Curvature of the road surface likely has the most impact as to whether particular nails are pulled. I try to flatten my washers to the road as much as I can, as they curl up a bit when the nail is driven as deep as I can get it.

I never use washers for that very reason - just PK nails pounded as flush to the surface as possible - even then I've had one or two ripped up by a plow. I know Pete Volkmar uses them - don't see how they survive a winter in Eastern CT.

Washers look great and I use them.
The big problem as Jim notes is Snow Plowing.
Around here they run the plows right on the road and throw the edge guards in the trash. When a snow plow cutting edge hits a nail & washer, the nail usually is pulled out. PK nails suffer the same death. One saving grace is that PK nails can leave a pretty big scar in the roadway that can be located.

We chop a 1-1/2-in dia x 1/4-in deep hole in the road surface and put the nail and washer in the hole. Works in New England. I have a sketch (that I have included on some maps), but can't figure out how to attach it.

For concrete, we chisel a 3/4-in dia hole about 3/4-in deep and fill it with paint.

Also, I haven't forgotten the PK Nails. I'll get them sent, I promise.