How to make a weather vane with your own hands
Before you take on the manufacture of a wind vane by yourself, you need to study its device. Clearly, this is not the simplest design, if you remember the original functions of the device - at one time it was one of the most necessary for seafarers and was actively used for its intended purpose.
It's worth noting immediately that when you manufacture a wind vane your own hands can not do without welding. If welding is not at hand and it is not possible to get it, use a brass spike.
Drawing weathervane with your own hands
Before you get started, prepare a drawing of the future product. Drawings of weathercocks are easy to find on the Internet, as well as photos of weathervanes made by own hands, you need only choose the suitable model.
The main elements of the weather vane are the axle( support) and the body. It is from the combination of these elements that determines how your self-made weather vane will behave. The principle of the device is that - inside the housing there is an axle bearing, which rotates the wind rose fixed on the cover of the housing.
As an axis for a weathercock, a steel rod with a diameter of about 15 mm and a length of 5-12 cm is usually used. For such a support, a bearing of 2 cm in diameter is usually taken. Based on the dimensions of the bearing, it is necessary to select a pipe for the casing. That is a pipe where we will have to score the chosen bearing. For this purpose, a piece up to 13 cm long and a little less than 2 cm in diameter( about ¾ inch) is suitable. Now that all the basic materials are ready, you can start working.
We make the weather vane with our own hands
- First of all, we will deal with the hull. In the lower part of the pipe segment, intended for the body, we drive the bearing. It is necessary that the bearing enters with a noticeable resistance, otherwise it will be necessary to increase the diameter of the bearing using a soldering iron and try to score it.
- After that, in the upper part of the body we cut the thread, which is needed to fix the cover of the case.
- When the body is ready, we begin work with the support. According to the factory parameters of the bearing we have chosen, a 9 mm diameter rod should serve as the support for rotation, so carefully turn the support to the required dimensions with the help of turning tools( or, for want of such, rough emery).
- Having prepared the axle and the housing, you can take for the wind rose and the housing cover. Cover can serve as a cap for a pipe of our diameter, which is easy to find in the construction market. To this plug you need to weld cross-wise two thin metal bars up to 20 cm long, which after installation of the finished product will indicate the direction of the wind.
To do this, at the ends of the rods, weld the letters of sheet metal( not thicker than 1 mm), indicating the sides of the light. From the same metal, make a protective circular visor to protect the body from water and weld it directly over the lid. - Tighten the housing cover with a previously welded wind rose. Place the prepared support in the lower part of the case and check if the housing rotates well. If there's no problem with the rotation, you just have to decorate your homemade weather vane. Usually, images of cats, cocks or ships are used as figures for decoration. The selected figure is cut out of sheet steel, welded to the axis and if desired, paint in the desired color.
