Ultralight Self-Leveling Form Stake

Abstract

A form stake having a narrow vertical shank body terminating at its upper end in a wider, flat driving shelf whose outer ends extend far enough from the shank body to provide grasping or hooking surfaces on the underside of the driving shelf spaced from the shank. At least a rearmost edge or surface of the shank is aligned flush with the rearmost edge of the driving shelf, allowing the entirety of the stake to be driven smoothly down into the ground adjacent the face of a form board. In a preferred form the stake includes reinforcing flanges extending from the underside of the driving shelf to an upper end of the shank, the flanges terminating short of the outer ends of the driving shelf.

1 . A form stake comprising a narrow vertical shank body terminating in a wider flat horizontal driving shelf, the shank body having a rearmost vertical edge or surface tangentially aligned with a center portion of a rear form-facing edge of the driving shelf, the driving shelf being perpendicular to and centered over the vertical shank, the driving shelf having a flat, uniform upper driving surface overlying the vertical shank, and the driving shelf having outer ends spaced from the shank body such that fingers or a hooking tool can be placed on either side of the upper end of the shank body for removing the stake from a driven position.  
   
   
       2 . The form stake of  claim 1 , further comprising a pair of force-transferring flanges, one flange on each side of the shank body, the flanges extending from an underside of the driving shelf at an acute angle into contact with an upper end of the shank body.  
   
   
       3 . The form stake of  claim 2 , wherein the flanges have a thickness less than the front to back depth of the driving shelf, such that a finger or hooking tool can grasp or hook the underside of the shelf between a forward edge of the shelf and the flanges.  
   
   
       4 . The form stake of  claim 3 , wherein the flanges extend on the underside of the driving shelf only partway toward the outer ends of the driving shelf, such that at the outer ends of the driving shelf a finger or hooking tool can grasp or hook the entirety of the underside of the driving shelf at the outer ends.  
   
   
       5 . The form stake of  claim 1 , wherein the entirety of the shank body is located underneath the driving shelf.  
   
   
       6 . The form stake of  claim 5 , wherein a frontmost vertical edge or surface of the shank is tangentially aligned with a center portion of a front-facing edge of the driving shelf.