Aluminum- The aluminum is the common extruded type (T6061). It comes in 12 ft. bars. You will have to find a source for it in your area. I purchased mine from Schupan and they dropped it off at my house. By the way, the stakes are 1/4 x 5/8 (not 1/4 x 1/2 as mentioned above). Cutting to length- The 12 ft. bars can be cut into 9 pieces for short plant stakes (16 inches tall), or 6 pieces for tall plant stakes (24 inches tall). I use a band saw to cut the aluminum to length and cut a point on the end that goes into the ground. The name plate is 1/8 thick x 1 inch high x 3 1/2 inches long. A 12 ft. bar will make 40 name plates. You can cut them to length with a band saw, using a stop, which will allow you to make them all the same length. Drilling the holes- The next step is to drill the holes in order to fasten the name plate to the stake. I drill two 1/8 dia. holes through the name plate 3/4 inches apart. Then I contersink the holes using a 60 degree countersink tool like this.The holes need to be countersunk to the right depth so that the rivet head is flush when it's installed. The countersink can be purchased from a local machinery/manufacturing/industrial supplier, or from a source on-line. The same holes need to be drilled thru the stake. A small drill press is ideal. I have a jig (fixture) which allows me to drill all the holes thru the name plates and stakes with the correct location and spacing. Assembly- To attach the name plate to the stake, I use two solid aluminum rivets. The rivets are 1/8 inch dia. x 1/2 inch long and have a flat head with a 78 degree angle. You can purchase the rivets on-line from www.rivetsinstock.com (as shown here) or www.mcmaster.com (as shown here). There is no special tool required to install the rivets. You simply insert the rivets thru the holes in the name plate and stake and peen them over on the back side. Final step- The last step is to bend the top end of the stake on a 45 degree angle so you can read the label when you use them in your garden. I hold the stake in a vise and bend it with a rubber mallet, about 2 1/2 inches down from the top. That's it. If you want to see a stake, I can send one to you. But you would have to return it. Send me an email if interested. :)

For some reason your "search" isn't clickable, Lizzy. Not sure why--it looks like it should have worked to me! Here's how I do it--see if this makes sense to you! ~ a href= insert URL ~ insert description */a* Replace the two "~" with and replace the two "*" with Then where it says "insert URL" paste in whatever URL you want to link to, and where it says "insert description" type in whatever description you want to use. So, starting with the above code, if I do this: ~a href= http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rmgard/msg0900324011862.html?14&rnd=Xf8i0 ~ Plant Marker Thread! */a* and replace the two ~ and the two * it will show up in the post as: Plant Marker Thread! I can't remember all that html code stuff so I just keep a copy of what I pasted above (WITH the , which are what makes the computer recognize it as a link) on a Word document and when I want to imbed a link I copy it and replace the URL and the descriptions with whatever I want. That's the brain-dead way to do it for the Intellectually Challenged! But I use copy/paste links all the time since it's quicker! And with the links you did in your post above, if I highlight them, then right click on them, I can click either open or open in a new window without actually copying and pasting them into anything. I don't know for sure if you can do that with all browsers--I use Safari. The clothespin idea you linked above is kind of cute, but that seems like it would be even more expensive than most of the "real" tags you can buy, and I don't see how you could reuse them since you're "permanently" writing on them--unless you use them for the same thing every year. And, like you already said, the rest look pretty time consuming. The bead one looks like it would be a great project with kids for folks who garden with their kids. Skybird

I love your signs and your system!

carbon has an half life of a couple million years ... if the plastic does not accept such.. use some sand paper to roughen the surface ... but the labels should be inserted so that the name is angled down.. so the elements dont physically wear it off ... inserting the marked part int he ground.. removes that insult.. but pulling thme in an out.. is like sand paper ... and can rub it off ... i also used to garbage pick mini blinds .... and make markers out of them ... but these days.. you can buy a small set at wallyworld for a few bucks ... and i have some marked with paint pens over 10 years old.. which simply brings me back to what plastic are you using ... could you snap a pic .. a total fail safe would be plastic knives with a scratch all ... cant see the name at distance.. but it will be there for thousands of years ... ken