Question about plumb bobs.

[AMCguy]

I was out for a walk the other day and found a plumb bob lying in the road. It's made of solid brass and weighs about a pound. It looks old and appears to be of high quality. It has a cap with a hole through it that unscrews to attach the string. It also has female threads at the bottom but the screw in tip is missing.

I'm going to make a tip somehow, probably by finding a bolt that fits and just grinding it to a point. So I started looking at tips on the inter web and see that some of them have a tiny horizontal hole through them.

Can any of you (smarter than me types) tell me why that little hole is there?

Thanks, Glenn

 

[davewo]

You may stick an object into the hole to use it as a wrench to tighten the tip to the body.

 

[jakemac]

You may stick an object into the hole to use it as a wrench to tighten the tip to the body.

 

[AMCguy]

Brilliant. Of course.

I couldn't help but think it was there for some kind of marking purpose.

Thank You, for the quick response.

 

[Roberts210]

Replacement tips are available for some plumb bobs.

 

[ssdave]

Go to a survey equipment company such as Allen Precision or Selbys Esco and they will sell you a replacement tip. They are hardened correctly, and fit to the plumb bob.

 

[drink]

Have you figured out what brand it is?

https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/1116-90832