OK, I admit to being a scavenger…I’m especially fond of unique (read odd) one-of-a-kind things.
Found these last weekend. Don’t really know what I’ll do with them, but had to have them. Not sure what they were… the hash marks would seem to indicate water level of some sort. Some were not in as good of shape and showed their bones… I’ll bet a third of the weight is is rebar inside.
Although they aren’t precisely like Egyptian Obelisks, I like them, and convinced Pam we needed them. Maybe stand ’em up at the end of our driveway to make the neighbors wonder…
Anybody recognize them? What would you do with them? All ideas considered… no experts in our neighborhood, as far as I know, so wild stories could probably pass for truth!
PJ
Whatever you can do or dream you can,
Begin it
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe
Edited 6/29/2004 6:46 pm ET by Peter J
Replies
projectiles from a really big crossbow..
failed attempts of ICBMS
creative parking bumpers
scale models before the Wash. monument was erected ( actually they WERE the monument, until someone pointed out that Geo. Wash. was BIGGER than his pic. on the dollar bill..archy went " uh..my bad"..)
Seroiusly..I once made one about 10"x10" at the base and maybe somtin like 12' tall..a long time ago..it was for a sign post..if that helps
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
So that's what happened to the missing Stone Henge pieces!
Kevin Halliburton
"The Greek comic poets, also, divided their plays into parts by introducing a choral song, ... they relived the actor's speeches by such intermissions." Vitruvious, (Book V)
Column cut offs. The hash marks are for depth monitering.
They're usally pounded into the ground for piers...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Ancient phallic symbols worshipped by the heathen.
Precision measurement standards.
They're for calibrating the black diamonds.
Jon Blakemore
Peter, the items are fence posts - the hash marks fit woven wire fence, so it won't slip - -
let your imagination be your guide...
I concour with David . Saw the lines were the fencing has worn into the stone . They look more like limestone than concrete from the picture. The drive will be a good spot for them.
I must have looked at the picture differant than you . Course I need better glasses for monitor work . I'll have to take another look.
Aye, mates, they're good ol' concrete... and full of rebar....and weathered. Some looked muddy...and some damaged. The hash marks are divided into two spacings...narrow on the bottom wider on top.
I found the mother lode of these things, but only returned with four. Should I go gather the rest for fortunes unknown? Will good favor follow us if we surround our house with them?
Tell me, ye sages of BT, where I might sell them. I'm unemployed and never thought of getting into obelisk sales. You'd think the market would tap out early on, but who knows!
Aren't those the markers they use to use for identifying land boundries?
Aren't those the markers they use to use for identifying land boundries?
Not around here. We have concrete monuments marking the (c. 1825) state road in front of our place but they are square and squat. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
In a way they are . But the fence that was hung on them was more effective.
Some old woven wire had closer spacings at the bottom to restrain the smaller animals .
Just curious, but how many do you have access to and how much would they run you?sobriety is the root cause of dementia
Well, rez, I would guess there are 50 more of these things. Paid $10 each for the four you see. My guess is I could get the whole lot for something less than that. 10 hours roundtrip to the obelisk farm from here.
Should I snag 'em? Anybody want one for their front yard? I can see it now...."Obelisks are Us". I'd Ebay 'em but the shipping would be a killer!PJ
Whatever you can do or dream you can,
Begin it
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe
How much ya want for 52 delivered to Columbia, MO???
SamT
Dude, he's in IDAHO..got a flat bed?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
SamT, if you're serious, I'm enterprising enough to figure out a way. Let's assume they weigh in at 300 lbs...I don't think they're any more than that...maybe less.
So we have 52 x 300 = 15,600 lbs. Tractor trailer can handle that...probably run about $2000-3000 (that's a guess). I gotta drive 650 miles, buy them ($520), rent a forklift ($125), load 'em on pallets($15 per pallet), strap down and send 'em your way. My truck gets 7 mpg (premium fuel) pulling trailer for pallets ($210)....and I'd like to make a nickel. Couple of meals and a bed and I think we're in business at the $4500-5000 range. FedEx a cashiers check and I can start real quick.
A friend looked at them and said "military compound, electric wire on bottom, concertina wire on top, keeps the baddies out (or in)". What do y'all think? Maybe a little correctional facility in the back yard...PJ
Whatever you can do or dream you can,
Begin it
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe
Idaho.
Unh hunh.
In that case i was jest funnin.
Sorry ta bother ya.
Maybe I'll see what a mold will cost.
I really like the idea of those around the front of the property though. Maybe with some wild Rose on the wires to give the fence some bulk?
SamT
You still didn't say how long they are, especially the portion above ground. If I found one of those in my area (CT) and could get it home and into the ground, I would opt for a pillar sundial. I have a 20 ft radius 'circle of stone' and property is direct NS/EW and this would make a fabulous sundial I could see from the kitchen window.
Other uses; end of driveway for markers that snowplower could go between, corners for veggie garden + wire fencing to keep critters out or to enclose a compost heap, markers for your property lines to replace surveyors wood blocks that disintergrate with time, posts to set a table top on for outdoor projects in warm weather, sign posts (like the ones that have towns/miles) pointing in all directions but with other words......
Hiya Penny, I like the sundial idea! There might be a spot in our front yard for it... visible from kitchen and living room...what a conversation piece...fun for grandkids to learn about, too. Well, now that I think about that, they would probably think it's corny, but hope springs eternal.
They are about 8 1/2' long, square bottom is about 2', so we would have 6'or so above ground. I'm guessing that would be something less than 20' diameter, but, hey, what do I know of sundails? I'd like to research the idea some more...any place you'd point me to gather construction info?PJ
Whatever you can do or dream you can,
Begin it
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe
Sundial - don't underestimate kids...... just get a compass and find your NESW lines. Be creative and put something on the ground for the shadow to hit - rocks, boulders, paving stones (you could even put them down into the ground so you can mow over them,) or even low growing evergreen plants (summer/winter interest) with annuals in between (different colors in each quadrant.) It would also be a way of teaching your grandkids about the summer/winter sun and the arcs they form. Take photos of them each season standing by one of the shadows (same spot each season) so they can see the length of the shadow (the pillar and their own shadow.)
Have fun! Perhaps your misses would like to add some Holiday decorations to it - you know like spiral up some Christmas lights, hang some indian corn with a noose, or the kids might like to use it to make a straw scarecrow in the Fall - a big scary one! If you put ones at the end of the driveway plant some vines that will grow up it, or paint on your house numbers or a unique name for your 'lodge.' At 6 feet above ground could you make an arch of steel between the 2 driveway pillars?
The only downside I see to all this fun is what birds are going to perch on them!?
Might make a nice fence row in the front yard to make it hard for wild automobiles to careen into the side of your house.
If I had a pile they'd still be sitting there with me trying to dream up what they could be used for to warrant the expense and trouble of handling them.
Cool but not that cool.
Now if they weren't tapered like that...
sobriety is the root cause of dementia
Edited 7/4/2004 12:51 pm ET by rez
Well, did you go get 'em? lol
Not yet.
You been thinking what you could do with 'em, haven't ya'?
Heck, drive on out and we'll do a junkin' tour!
Bring the big truck.PJ
Whatever you can do or dream you can,
Begin it
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Goethe
Oh man, I don't need no more stuff.
Gotta go pick up a couple dozen metal tree clothing racks on casters and try to dream up something practical I could make out of them. Fairly durable stands.
Bet I end up giving them away. Roar!
I did get a good score on some 4 identical Andersen windows the other day. Tall doublehungs with a half circle on top still in the boxes for $100 a piece.
We need to start a thread called 'Good Deals'.
Edited 10/7/2004 9:47 pm ET by rez
rez
Its only a good deal if you can use it!
OHH! Not so!
Go ask Pete Dragnic!
Yea I read his thread. Just luck! :)
So what is luck?
Persistence and Opportunity?
This guy knows what to do with them! You carry them around all day looking for romains to fight.
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"Sir, if you were my husband I would poison your tea"
"Madam, if I were your husband I would drink it." Sir Winston Churchhill
How long are they?
They look a just like concrete posts in my neighborhood used to string traffic lights and such. If they're not that tall, then I don't know!
They look like concrete fence posts to me. Used to see a lot of them but not much anymore. If the marks on them are closer at the bottom than the top that would indicate hogwire.
>> Used to see a lot of them but not much anymore.
Used to see a lot of them where?
The only place I've ever seen them was in western Montana. That was thirty some years ago, and they were old then. The fence was around a pasture that had been swallowed by a growing town.
I still say they are pilings
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Concrete fence posts? I've seen them everywhere I've ever lived, some fancy most plain. I'm in southwest Florida now and have removed quite a few from houses around here.
I don't think these are nearly big enough to be split limestone posts as would have used in the prairie states. Those posts were 6 or 7 feet long and weighed about 450 pounds each, and since they were split with feathers and wedges were basically straight. At the time they were used they cost 25 cents each delivered to the fenceline. A freight wagon could carry maybe 6 or 7 of the post. Can you imagine what they would cost today?
Used to see a lot of them where?
they are common in the midwest - during the 'golden age of farming', the 1890's thru 1916 or so, fence was a big deal, and people thought in terms of 'permanent' - wood posts rot and metal posts rust - concrete posts could be manufactured on the farm, a good way to keep youth busy - - if you examine them closely, you may find handprints, chicken tracks, initials, etc - - most fences are gone now that ag has changed, dad and I salvaged some that g-grandpa made and used them to anchor a support trellis for dwarf apple trees - they are still handy in the right application..."there's enough for everyone"
I think the items are fence posts. On the prairie, it was often impossible to get wood. The non-chamfered portion would be the part intended to be buried. The lines could be to hold barbed wire at a specific level.
I have seen these used for street signs. That has been in older communities that date from the from early 1900's through the twenties. The lettering was applied vertically. They would make good driveway markers.
If they're tapered, how could you use them as fence posts--wouldn't the fence lean in? And the corners would be totally screwed up.
Well, about a month and a half back I built one of those once in lifetime fences. Buffalo proof and whatnot. We made four columns stick built on little slabs and footings, sheethed in treated ply. Later, the idea was to cover them with cedar lap and dress 'em up, but for the week they sat naked, the neighbors were aghast I'm sure. Little lot in the city, monliths out by the curb. I lobbied hard for a change in direction to Easter Island Heads but the customer just wouldn't bite.
well, ya buy 'em right and then turn them to Piffen - tell him they are rare Maine cemetery fence posts..."there's enough for everyone"
Easter island heads with barbed wire stretched between them? Classy!jt8