Hello dial makers: As soon as I sent my last post on easy-to-make metal gnomons, I thought of some additional comments. I'll also try to answer questions and comments by Michael Koblic and Anthony Cordasco.
Anthony's three suggestions are all good. He said to use rubber cement instead of white glue, to use a metal punch instead of a nail, and to use a metal backing when drilling to avoid burrs. The only things I might add are that if you do get burrs around the drill hole, the same Dremmel cutoff disk will remove them. Also, you should use the high speed setting on your Dremmel when cutting and you should wear a face mask and protective glasses! Michael Koblic wrote: >1) How do you attach a 1/16" thick gnomon vertically to a dial plate? >Presumably you must bend the gnomon at the base somehow first. Although my string gnomons are quite different, I have made traditional triangular and rectangular gnomons for other dials. I attached these gnomons to the dial plate by sandwiching the gnomon in-between two 90 degree angle pieces and bolting it to them with two bolts. This give an upside down "T" shape when viewed on edge. The flat bottom of the angled pieces can then be easily bolted to the dial face. > >3) I like to do the final shaping and smoothing of the gnomon on a belt >sander using 120 grit paper (the finest I have been able to get locally - I >have seen knife-making supply shops advertise finer grit in the US). The >straight edges are great and one can get he gnomon angles just right. I then >buff away the 120 grit marks using a felt wheel and an aggressive buffing >compound on my bench ginder. Good point. I also use a belt sander with very good results. Both Dremmel and Delta make small very inexpensive belt sanders that also have built-in 5" disk sanders. > >4) For marking out holes for drill bits I suggest using a proper marker >punch - nails tend to have rather unpredictably irregular points. Yea, I use a punch also. The only reason I suggested a nail was because I didn't know if everyone knew what a punch was and nails work ok when I lose my punch, which happens frequently! This method of metal cutting can make an inexpensive, respectable and sturdy gnomon, but if you want a REALLY nice professional metal gnomon, buy one from Tony Moss. happy dialing, John Carmichael 925 E. Foothills Dr. Tucson Az 85718 USA tel: 520-6961709 http://www.azstarnet.com/~pappas
