Weather vane

[ChrisJ]

I feel confident enough to have a go at a weather vane now, I can get an idea of what materials I need but am wondering if there is anywhere I can buy the N,E,S,W letters?, I dont have a plasma cutter and thing its gonna be pretty impossible with an angle grinder

 

[Paul.]

Brindleys sell them
http://www.brindley-steel-forging.co.uk/acatalog/Laser_Cut_Letters.html

Most companys that sell scrolls and standard gate / railing components etc. will have them.

 

[chunkolini]

letters? you are best off buying them, I tried making my own once, skipped them.
As said above they are easy to buy, probably not worth making your own.
Letters are the kind of thing people look at and expect to look 'proper'.
Last thought, when you erect it have a compass, it drives me crazy when I see weather vanes set up wrong.

 

[ChrisJ]

ooo cool thank you, so basically you set them upto magnetic north?, all i need now is a cutting list heh heh

 

[ChrisJ]

just found these on fleabay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....akeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

 

[chunkolini]

Thats a good price.
Last thought, dont forget the letters point to where the wind has come from, not where it is going.

 

[ChrisJ]

ummm lol run that by me a again, I'm feeling a bit thick today

 

[chunkolini]

The pointy thing needs to point to where the wind is coming from, there is a weather vane near me that points the wrong way.
ie North wind comes from the North, East wind comes from the East.
Now I am getting confused.

Lets try again, the pointer thingy needs to point to where the wind has come from, not where the wind is headed

 

[ChrisJ]

I think I got it, too much Westons cider I think....

 

[wyn]

Another tricky bit is which way do you stick the letters on.

Do they go on so it looks right as you walk around it clockwise or anticlockwise.

Does the diagonal bit on the "N" slope inwards or outwards?

 

[ChrisJ]

Oh blimey, I think I will try something easier like spiral milling...

 

[chunkolini]

Wyn, you bast'.
I remember trying to explain to a customer that her cut out letters sign would not read the same from either side.
Bonkers.

 

[wyn]

I think in the end you just stick the letters on so they look right from the place the weather vane is usually seen from.

I'm sure i read somewhere that they should be put on so they read right clockwise.
Looking at pics on the net though, they are put on all different ways.

 

[chunkolini]

Sounds right, find the spot where it will mostly be seen and put them that way round.
or agonise about it for ever.

 

[ChrisJ]

Friggin eck, and I thought the hard part was cutting the ******s out

 

[strada]

Friggin eck, and I thought the hard part was cutting the ******s out

I was interested in one of these my self,but i seem to be more confused now
Chris dont give up ,just so i can pick your brains when you have finished.

 

[ChrisJ]

Heh heh I never give up, I may get dispondant, but never ever give up, and if you can find my brains your more than welcome to have a pick lol

 

[JPW]

I cut the letters out for mine using a jigsaw.

I looked at buying them but couldn't find them much cheaper than about £12 for the set. I had the steel free - and as a hobby, my time was free too! I didn't go for a fancy font, both to make cutting out easy and so that you could read them easily.

The frame that the letters attach to have a collar with a bolt clamping it to the pole. That way I could fix the pole first and then move the frame with the letters to line them up with north ( just to make things even more confusing "true north" is very slightly different from magnetic north shown by a compass).

I made sure that the letters could be read from the yard - where most people will see the weather vane.

Paul

 

[MattF]

Clockwise. It's generally classed as bad luck/form in several instances to walk widdershins around certain objects or buildings, so superstition/folklore would suggest clockwise being the correct walking direction for viewing the letters.

 

[wyn]

Clockwise. It's generally classed as bad luck/form in several instances to walk widdershins around certain objects or buildings, so superstition/folklore would suggest clockwise being the correct walking direction for viewing the letters.

The "E" only looks right viewing it anticlockwise so it's all a bit tricky.