On the subject of things to make dials from, or should it
be things from which to make dials, I have recently made
a vertical declining Hours to Sunset dial (with a lot of
calculation help from Mac Oglesby I must add).
I used a material trade named (in the UK) Traffolite. This
is rigid 5 ply
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
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
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
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
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
Dear All,
From my time at Kew Gardens I picked up a couple of bits of information
which might be of interest...
Alder, often found growing near river banks or in damp places (at least in
England!), was used for lock gates and also for clogs since it resists the
effects of getting wet and drying
Tom, Lignum Vitae
So far no one has volunteered any information on Lignum Vitae.
Have you any knowledge of its properties, or any experience
in its use?
I've used it for making musical instruments (recorders and shawms) when
it turns like brass and takes on a natural burnished finish. It
