Anyone remember 3' wooden snow sticks?

January 26, 2014 1:06 PM

I have a "snow stick" that was my mothers. It's an extended yard stick - about 39". The numbers going up the stick are in red and green and at the top it says "snow stick" and has a hole under that to hand it on a nail. I've been trying to find them for some Christmas presents for next Dec. but the only one I found was on e-bay for $38.00. It also says on it - made in Durham, N.H. I'd be looking for probably about 15 of them. I remember seeing them in hardware stores years ago for cheap money but I'm hoping someone still them out there and are reasonable. Any help would be appreciated. I also tried googling Durham for them but to no avail.
posted by maursam to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

These are similar, but it appears that they are intended to be stuck in the ground and left there rather than something that you'd hang on a nail and take outside to measure the snow.

You could also go to a sign shop and have them make a vinyl decal for you, then you could apply it to the wood to make your own.
posted by Ostara at 1:47 PM on January 26, 2014

Why not make your own? They'd be a pretty simple DIY project, and probably cheaper than anything you can find. You could customize them with the family's last name or another fun touch.
posted by barnone at 2:09 PM on January 26, 2014 [2 favorites]

Do they have to be longer? You can get custom branded yard sticks
for about $0.75 if you buy in quantity. Sounds like you could seriously undercut the sole etsy source ...
posted by phearlez at 2:30 PM on January 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

A meter stick is a bit over 39 inches ...
posted by Songdog at 2:46 PM on January 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

Sounds more or less like a normal metre stick. Maybe you could just buy something like this and modify them?
posted by Flashman at 6:53 PM on January 26, 2014

I typed "snow measure stick" onto Pinterest and got this page. There are a few amidst the other stuff there... if you are open to diy it might be fun to start collecting regular sticks that are not perfectly straight and wood burn or paint or carve or dremel the various heights on to it... anyway that's what I'm going to try. I have a handyman that I usually get to help me with my diy projects...you probably have a friend or neighbor with tools if you want to go diy. If you want straight sticks they should have something in that trim wood aisle at Home Depot/Lowes type stores. I'm off now to look for sticks. Thanks for a great idea!
posted by BoscosMom at 11:30 PM on January 26, 2014

If you didn't/couldn't want to make it yourself, you can ask the local high school ship teacher to make a batch for a donation to the school.
posted by saucysault at 4:54 AM on January 27, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for you answers. Would have answered sooner but ended up in the hospital so just getting to read these now. I am not the crafty type but do know someone in a school craft shop that maybe could be a project. Never thought of it. Great idea. Thanks again.
posted by maursam at 6:14 PM on January 31, 2014

You really don't have to be too crafty! Get a length of board, some stencils for the numbers, measure out the gradations, and go from there. You can use a paint pen for any lettering. Varnish the whole thing in a spray clear shellac and it'll be good to go. I think it's a great first craft project.

Hope you're feeling better now.
posted by barnone at 12:23 PM on February 2, 2014