Sundials

Back in March, an article was printed on Sundials, and I was wondering whether ME were going to run a series on it if not does anyone know where I could get hold of some plans to manufacture one. Not just a "basic" looking one but something a bit "ornate". I fancy the challenge!! 

I know our weather is not really ideal for them!!

 

DaveM

Hi There

No series at moment.

We have a moondial article in the near future.

regards David

I am planning to make drawings available for making my Sundial, which appeared in ME No 4347 and 4348, available in the near future. Please keep an eye on my  website www.theclockworks.me.uk or you can email me direct.

 

Roger Bunce 

I will keep an eye out for that. Thanks Roger.

There are lots of references to sundials in the indices found at:

 

   this site

 

even restricting the search to Vols. 121 to 202 there is an absolute plethora of articles.

 

HTH

 

Mike Gray

Just to get you started:

 

Phoeboscope  Vol 163 #3860 p558 

Equinoctial Sundial  Vol 167 #3900 p19

Portable Sundial  Vol 169 #3935 p782

Universal Equatorial Sundial  Vol 172 #3962 p174

Pocket Sundial  Vol 177 #4031 p583

 

I am sure there are many more, I seem to remember a sundial made by a young lady in Australia which had a neat representation of the equation of time and which she had had the opportunity of testing, not just in the Antipodes, but also in Singapore with success.

 

Mike Gray

Hi

 

I am trying to generate the G code for an astrolabe for cutting on a CNC engraver.  I have the 'Shadows' sun dial generator programme from Cadrans Solaire and it will generate a plethora of dials for any latitude and longitude.  I am also interested in some of the old and beautiful dials.  The Heliochronometer was I believe used in railway stations to set the clocks.  I first saw one of these many years ago as a garden ornament being used as an air rifle target!  Polished up and lacquered they sell at Christies for £6000 approx. I have managed to get some pics. of the internals, but it needs a maths 'c...d...'  to generate the appropriate cam for the equation of time.   I could always do with a bit of help.  I can generate DXF files of the sundials and plates of the astrolabes but lack the s/w and experience to convert them to G code.  The star pointers could just be done off the top of the head with the g code as they are just a few curves.  The National Maritime museum has many on line pictures of astrolabes.

The East German sundial appeared on e bay and I snagged a few pics.  If I am correct it is an equinoctial dial with the plate in the plane of the sun's path and the shadow is generated by the circle of plastic rather than relying on a gnommon (pointer).  I live in Bedford

Hi Hawker John.

If you need some g-code generating, then send me a message and I'll have a look for you.

 

Martin.

John Hawker Hello there If you are innterested in Astrolabes contact the University Museun of Science, Broard Street, Oxford -  The Museum has numerous astrolabes, Diploidascopes etc.  If you convince the Curators that you know a thing ot two or are serious about learning  they may well have the one of the things out to examine it, measure and photograph it. 

They even sell paper models of asrtolabes and nocturels.  

BTW  You are not far away, but Oxford hates the motor car and detests the motorist.  That is a good reason for leaving

If The University museum of Science will not play try the Pitt-Rivers Museum in the same city I think they have some as well. 

   

one way of copying flat metallic objects is to photocopy them. the photocopys make easy full size plans.

however you are sometimes plagued by glare reflection obliterating detail on the copy.

find a clean thin white plastic shopping bag of the supposedly detestable type given away by shopping centre occupants.

place a single layer of this thin plastic film crease free on the photocopy glass.

then sit the object to be copied face down on the  plastic, close the lid and take the photocopy.

it may take some experimenting but I have taken blemish free images of shiny stainless steel items by using this dodge.

 

the item was a DC3 load and balance sliderule made here in western Australia.

it was engraved polished stainless steel.

Hi All,

 

Anyone who is interested in sundials should join the sundial forum.  There are professional and hobby sundial enthusiasts and makers who contribute and they will point you to numerous websites which show the fantastic range of sundial designs which are possible and the basic knowledge to build them.

 

There are paper models that can be built (free downloads) start at the NASA site and search.  You can also look at the NASS site which is a treasure trove of sundials.

 

Terry

I have tried to upload a couple of DXF files today and some more photos with no success, perhaps the s/w is sulking.  My wish is to make a fabulous astrolabe and sundials.  Shadows will generate DXF files which will not load into my TurboCad and also crashed my D2NC programme.  With luck I should be able to create all the circles off the top of my head with G code.  However to emulate the engraving with say multiple down strokes on a thick (bold) side of an italic letter is difficult.  I have managed to snag a high speed engraving head for my cnc, but am not keen on spending a fortune on an engraving package unless it will work to produce an excellent result.  In hand engraving the slow withdrawal of the tool looks superb and would be tedious to emulate on every letter.  Those engravings with an effect like acid etching do not match up to the best hand engraving.  There is a Swiss guy remaking these instruments, but the look of the engraving is poor.  This does not stop him charging a fortune.  He is on the web.  I have many photos of some regular and very strange sundials a lot from Germany especially the excellent Deutshes Museum in Munich which takes days to look around, has not been dumbed down, allows photography and even has a Stirling engine from a full sized submarine.  To my knowledge Oxford does not allow photography, but has some pictures on the web.  Often though one needs close ups and not large artistic pictures.

 

 Another problem is g code generation for Arabic script and the symbols used for the stars, roman characters are available from the wizard in Mach 3 and the outer divisions can be written in a few lines of code by using subroutines.  

 

Thanks for the forum info 

 

A friend of mine Sawston Steve has recently put his old Burgess electric hand engraver on his cnc and had some excellent results.   This was great for division circles especially

 

John 

 

 

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