Pioneering Stakes Hickory

[howarthe 42]

I read somewhere that I ought to have pioneering stakes made from hickory. I'm assuming that is a hardwood. I asked at my lumber yard, and they have only Douglas Fir, spruce and hemlock. I think those are all soft woods. What I read said that I was definitely not to rely on tent stakes, not long enough. Pioneering stakes should be 30-inches long. What do you think? If I keep looking around, can I find hickory? Should I try? Has Douglas fir worked for you? Have tent stakes worked for you? What do you use for pioneering stakes? Thanks for the help.

[Twocubdad 665]

When you say stakes I assume you mean the anchor points you drive in the ground, not staves or spars you would use to build the actual project. Any hardwood should be fine. Honestly, not many people can tell the difference between oak and hickory after it's been cut. Strength has more to do with the size of the stake and the quality of the particular piece of wood (no knots, cracks, etc.) than the species.

 

This recommendation probably goes back many, many years when woodsmen had intimate knowledge of each wood and knew the best wood for any application. Hickory would have been recommended for it's strength and resistance to splitting when you pound it into the ground. To me, I would probably use dogwood for the same reason and because dogwood trees don't get much larger than the size I would want for stakes. You're going to have to cut hickory to the size you want.

 

Most commercial lumber yards aren't going to have what you need. Any hardwoods at a lumber yard are probably going to be expensive cabinet grade and are unlikely to be in the thicknesses you want. Maybe they have some old pallets they would give you? Pallets are usually make of hardwood and the cross beams may be good for this purpose.

 

Better yet, you need to find a friendly land owner who will let you -- um, your Scouts --cut the timber they need. This discussion on which trees to use and cutting the stakes for themselves is part of the experience.

[qwazse 4346]

By tent stakes, I'm assuming you mean something of the longer stakes you can buy in your camping supply store. No, they won't work. If your talking what the circus uses, that's a different story.

30" rebar (steel) works. Some people have that more ready than wood stakes. If you have a landscaper among your parents, he/she might be able to make a generous donation.

 

But the general ideas was to go out in the woods, size up the plot of land, find the hickory trees with suitable branches (easy enough if you're somewhere with harsh winters and plenty of deadfall), and hack away.