Pb Substitutes

[rmaher]

Has anyone found a good substitute for lead when setting the ubiquitous nail and tags in curbs and other concrete surfaces?

Quickcrete? Sugru? Epoxy?

Just curious if anyone has had success in moving away from lead?

[Jim Frame]

The Berntsen 1" copper disks are faster to install and are lead-free. I haven't set a brass tag since I began using them.

[btaylor]

The Berntsen 1" copper disks are faster to install and are lead-free. I haven't set a brass tag since I began using them.

Ditto.

This should link to them

https://www.berntsen.com/Surveying/Conc ... itemID/405

[rmaher]

Do you epoxy or just use the insert plug?

[Peter Ehlert]

Rich: I googled "malleable metals" and found this list... food for thought.
https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-7 ... e8247668ee

BTW: be cautious when glueing down with "epoxies" ... the stuff used to glue down Botts Dots aka RPM is real good.
The household kind and stuff sold at plastics stores degrades with the UV rapidly, measured in Months.

[btaylor]

Do you epoxy or just use the insert plug?

No epoxy - just use the plastic sleeve once you drill the hole.

They have a nice bit if you want to buy theirs, which allows you to countersink the disk.

https://www.berntsen.com/Surveying/Conc ... itemID/406

[Jim Frame]

Do you epoxy or just use the insert plug?

I use the polyethylene plug that they come with, along with the (pricey) Berntsen countersink bit. It's a very quick install. Shielded from sunlight by the disk, I expect the plugs will last as long as the concrete.

Shortly after I began using these some years ago, I goofed and set a couple a few tenths out of position. I tried to remove them by knocking them loose with a hammer and chisel, but couldn't get them to budge. I ended up drilling through the cap with a stem-size bit, then covering the recessed stem with quickset mortar. They're very tenacious once installed.