set of six chain pins
Date: late 19th-early 20th Century
Inventory Number: 1998-1-1653
Classification: Surveying Stakes
Subject:
Maker: American ?
Cultural Region:
Dimensions:
each: 38.4 × 6 × 0.6 cm (15 1/8 × 2 3/8 × 1/4 in.)
Description:
A set of six long steel (?) pins with a loop at one end. A red cloth flag is tied around each loop.
Signedunsigned
FunctionFor use with a surveyor's chain in measuring horizontal distances. The user stretches a surveyor's chain from his starting point in the direction of measurement, then drops a pin at the end of the chain. He drags the chain forward, using the pin as his new starting point, and drops a second pin at the (new) end of the chain. He continues to his destination, then calculates total distance based on the number of pins used and the length of the chain.