Re: Wood for dials
I have used teak for the base of my sundial. Pictures are on my web site. It is nice to work with but does need care. Wood, if available to the public will end up with John loves Mary engraved in it. If I were to want a durable exterior wood I would choose Koa. Hard to work with but very durable. It is used on the bed of trucks and is the prefered wood for that purpose. It is really quite a beautiful wood as well. Not sure if Koa is available in Europe or elsewhere. I believe that its native habitat is Hawaii. Dan Wenger Daniel Lee Wenger Santa Cruz, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wengersundial.com http://wengersundial.com/wengerfamily
Re: Wood for dials
On Fri, 18 Dec 1998, Jack Aubert wrote: IMHO, the bottom line on wood-for-sundials is that wood is basically an unsuitable medium for this purpose, however there are some synthetic panels which have woodlike properties and may contain some wood that could work quite well. I once stopped to watch a sign being installed over a shop. The sign was one of those things where the letters are deeply incised as if they were chiseled into wood. I asked about the material and was told that it was a type of plastic. It was quite light, and seemed to have about the same workability as wood. I don't know what this stuff is called, but it might make an excellent material for a sundial. At least one of these products (sorry, I still don't know exactly what to call it, or ask for) is composed of recycled HDPE(?) milk jugs or the like. It's made into planks of various widths, and used in exposed conditions like playhouses... Dave
Re: Wood for dials
I once had a professor in Design school who said wood is good, and I agree. I use it for prototypes as well as finished products. I know of very few materials that can actually stand up to freeze/thaw for very long periods. Even concrete will fracture, and most outdoor statuary people recommend bringing pieces in or covering them with a tarp for the worst part of the winter. Here in Cincinnati, Ohio we have very extreme cycles...I have seen it 60 degrees and saturating rain one day, and below zero the next day. My rock retaining walls around the house do not respond well to these conditions, and are a testament to the power of the forces of nature. If you think about it, most of the worlds best preserved outdoor antiquities are in places that do not experience this type of abuse. If you are really bent on using non-tropical wood outdoors, I suggest experimenting with the new marine grade epoxy systems...I use a resin called epon by Shell Chemicals. I have not used it in an outdoor setting as described, but I do turn vases and cups/goblets out of various woods and use it to line the interior. Constant exposure to water then has little or no effect, and in fact, the epoxy resin actually migrates into the wood below the surface and forms a polymerized new material. However, UV radiation will eventually degrade the surface anyway. But you may wind up with a piece that will last your lifetime at least... Jim Tallman, FX Studios.
Re Wood for dials
A bit tongue in cheek this because I know absolutely nothing about wood and its properties for dials. There is a dial at Downside Abbey (in Somerset, England) which was made a year or two ago by one of the monks from the wood of an old science laboratory bench used at the Abbey School!! This has been carved and oiled (no paint) and when I saw it earlier this summer it still looked fine - however it hasn't been up long enough to know if it is really durable. It is certainly very attractive and unusual though. I can e-mail a picture if anyone's interested. Not sure what sort of wood is involved in old lab benches though :-) Patrick
Re: Re Wood for dials
Patrick Powers wrote Not sure what sort of wood is involved in old lab benches though :-) Very often teak again - especially in older laboratories when it was more plentiful. My garage doors are made from Iroko, often referred to as 'African Teak' or even 'teak substitute', salvaged from more recent laboratory bench tops. Tony Moss
Re: Cast concrete?
Jack Aubert wrote, I have been wondring how hard it would be to cast a dial out of concrete ...Has anybody tried this? It should be possible to get something that looks somewhat like stone without the difficulty of stonecarving. Although I haven't seen it for some years there is/was an excellent product called CimentFondu - a high-alumina fine-grained product which is excellent for casting. If cast in a smooth mould the resulting dark surface could be mistaken for patinated bronze (at a distance) and should be excellent for dial making. I remember it being used as a cheap bronze substitute for casting life size figure sculptures. It has one major problem which may account for its reduced usage i.e. unless the mixing is done with the exact amount of water specified by the manufacturer it will 'rot' in time and simply return to powder. At least one new school in Northumberland had to be demolished and re-built because one-site mixing for structural elements wasn't properly supervised. As with many casting processes entrapped air bubbles can be eliminated by pre-coating fine detail e.g. with a brush before final filling of the mould. Vibrating the mould/mix while filling is essential. Tony Moss
