Thanks for this. I'm familiar with and have used the modern round line pins but in a few mortar joints near the corners of my early-50's brick house there are these thin pieces of rusted steel that look just like the tip of this line pin stuck in the mortar. I bet they're the cut or broken-off tips of this type of stamped line pin. Every summer I keep meaning to chisel them out and patch the mortar but now that (I think) I know what they are I'm going to leave them for posterity.
I'm leaving all home repairs for posterity. I see myself not as an occupant but as a curator. An archivist of rot and partial collapse. These dangerous eyesores are my gifts to future generations.
It takes me so long to complete household projects that my wife actually believes interior doors and lumber have to sit in the living room for 2-3 years while they "acclimate to the household humidity or they'll warp."
Would this be a "line pin"? (Just learned the term) I picture it being used as wedge to locate a stone vertically, like tile spacers? Speaking of home renovations, I'm not a mason or a tile guy...
When building block masonry, masons start with the corners then stretch a string line from corner to corner to use as a reference as they fill in the wall to the center. Line pins stick into a mortar joint at each end, then the string is tied taught between them (that's what those divots are for, to hold the string loop). They can also be used to hold a plumb bob. Of course, laser levels are replacing the string nowadays but string is still used on small jobs.
I should mention line blocks too, which are non-invasive and serve the same purpose but they rely on friction so don't tend to stay in place very well.
8 comments:
Thanks for this. I'm familiar with and have used the modern round line pins but in a few mortar joints near the corners of my early-50's brick house there are these thin pieces of rusted steel that look just like the tip of this line pin stuck in the mortar. I bet they're the cut or broken-off tips of this type of stamped line pin. Every summer I keep meaning to chisel them out and patch the mortar but now that (I think) I know what they are I'm going to leave them for posterity.
I'm leaving all home repairs for posterity. I see myself not as an occupant but as a curator. An archivist of rot and partial collapse. These dangerous eyesores are my gifts to future generations.
It takes me so long to complete household projects that my wife actually believes interior doors and lumber have to sit in the living room for 2-3 years while they "acclimate to the household humidity or they'll warp."
Would this be a "line pin"? (Just learned the term) I picture it being used as wedge to locate a stone vertically, like tile spacers? Speaking of home renovations, I'm not a mason or a tile guy...
When building block masonry, masons start with the corners then stretch a string line from corner to corner to use as a reference as they fill in the wall to the center. Line pins stick into a mortar joint at each end, then the string is tied taught between them (that's what those divots are for, to hold the string loop). They can also be used to hold a plumb bob. Of course, laser levels are replacing the string nowadays but string is still used on small jobs.
https://www.wonkeedonkeetools.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/11LP-Line-Pins-David/11LP07/11LP-7-1.jpg
These stamped-steel ones were probably cheap enough to just cut off if they hardened into the mortar, which I believe was the case with my house.
I should mention line blocks too, which are non-invasive and serve the same purpose but they rely on friction so don't tend to stay in place very well.
https://www.oneprojectcloser.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DSC_0108.jpg
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/lot-19-cement-masonry-line-pins-504087891
They appear to have been promotional items as well as functional.
Possibly given out when bricks etc. were bought?
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