Stephen Edholm uses aluminum Venetian blinds
Last year I cut up an old license plate. It’s a bit on the heavy side though and I used a jig saw.
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I have a probably 4’ x 8’ aluminum plate/sheet from a printing press. I’ve been cutting pieces out of it for various projects for years. Not sure the thickness but considerably more than a soda can. Hmm, just how thick are those? Ten minutes later after going down that rabbit hole it looks like they’re typically around .004" thick.
A quick search on Lowes website turns up a roll of flashing that’s 10" wide by 10’ long for just a bit over $10. The flashing is .087" thick. Probably enough so to require an engraver or a stamp/impression set. Definitely more time/effort but the results are IMO worth it.
I’ve mentioned on another thread here in the past, I use a stamp set and then paint the entire thing bright yellow. Then draw inside the impression with a black acrylic paint pen. The paint may only last a few years but the “tag” itself should last for the life of the tree…
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If you want to get really fancy you can rub some gilders paste into the impression. I’m not sure how well it holds up long term though. I would think it would be as good or better than paint.
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I made a bunch of tags from aluminum pop cans. Hung them from branches at about eye level. Deer chewed every one into an unintelligible crumpled mass, if they didn’t make off with them altogether. Should have made an orchard map at the same time.
Got 'hold of some discarded 4 ft aluminum venetian blinds with baked on enamel finish - brown on top/white on bottom. I cut 3" sections, write name in pencil on the white side, scribe it into the brown upper side, then affix one to the tree with a small aluminum nail, and bury one at the base of the tree on the North side.
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Last fall i dug up a blackberry plant for a friend that was moving. It was a triple crown and was planted around 2010 or so they said. So in the ground for 10 years. On the crown way below soil level there was a tag still on it. It looked like this label… professionally done and in a band. It looked as good as new.
So i know that these can be buried for over 10 years.
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Yes, but if it is above ground, exposed to UV rays, the plastic will fade, print fades, and sometime the tag gets brittle.
I use the aluminum tops from tins of sardines. They are free, big enough for plenty of info, and come with a healthy dose of omega 3’s.
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These are certainly not free, but I took a cue from a suggestion @Naeem had made:
I purchased a used Dymo 1011 stamping label maker from eBay and used it today for the first time, and I am thrilled with the resulting labels.
I used old, salvaged aluminum blinds to make labels and Sharpie oil-based paint markers for writing. A paper hole puncher goes through the aluminum blinds with no issues. The corners can be rounded with regular scissors.
(Amazon.com : Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Markers, Medium Point, Assorted & Metallic Colors, 5 Count - Great for Rock Painting : Artists Markers : Office Products ).
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Too much trouble. I buy aluminum tags with reinforced holes and copper ties from A.M.Leonard.
I would like to get my wife a label machine, she cans a lot throughout the year. And custom labels would be a nice touch for her.
I might be asking for something that doesnt exist but is there also a label maker that I could use for tree tags? Preferably the same label maker.
I’m not looking for something cheaply made that will break in a year and can’t be repaired.
Thanks
I bought a vintage label maker (Dymo-mite -tape writer) off ebay late last winter… for 60.00.
I got the aluminum tape for it from the place shown in the pic above.
It works great.
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I am on my 5th box of these. I use leftover wire from my trellis to hang them and stiffer wire to set in the ground near my brambles. I accidently girdled and killed a tree with the wires that come with it. My mistake.
Worth every penny… $15 for 50
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I’ve used - and am still using, on occasion - the Impresso/Embosso type tags. BUT!!! the thin little wires will break if the tag flaps in the wind, and If in a location where deer can access them, they will remove them or chew them into an unreadable wad of aluminum foil.
Best ones for me are made from an old set of aluminum venetian blinds, with baked-on enamel coating - brown on ‘top’ side, white on the ‘bottom’. I write on the white side with a graphite pencil, and scribe the name/info into the paint on the brown side with a nail. I can tack a label to a tree with a small aluminum finish nail, and bury one at the base of the tree, on the north side, so that if the visible tag is lost or removed, I still have a way to make an ID.
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Thanks for posting. I searched ebay and found a nice looking one. I like old american iron tools, was $57.59.
Curious if you tried the stainless tape?
@JesusisLordandChrist … i have not tried the stainless tape.
The aluminum tape tags I put on this spring are showing no signs of wear here at the end of the growing season.
Looks like they should last many years.
One thing I would highly recommend with stainless or aluminum tape… is that you fold the tape over to double the thickness where you punch the hole for your wire to attach to the tree.
TNHunter
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Looks like copper wire through the label and around the limb? Copper<->Aluminum and “galvanic corrosion”, I wonder how long it would take for that to be an issue. Hopefully beyond the life of the tree…
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do you have an updated link for this?
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@wdingus …
It looks the same here in November as it did back in March.
I bet they will last.
TNHunter
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