Members Dials

An occasional series of posts where members provide a quick summary of dials they have made. How occasional? Well, new dials are always welcome…

Moon Dial by David Brown

: Webmaster

This dial was designed with the intention of being principally a moon dial. It is over the doorway of a house extension and is a partner for a big vertical sundial I made for the client some years ago. It is direct east facing, made in Witton Fell sandstone from Yorkshire. The nodus star is based on that on Albi Cathedral’s direct east and west-facing dials. The spot of light passing through a hole in the centre of the star indicates local apparent time and date. Use of the Equation of Time given on a correction chart inside the porch below the dial enables mean time to be worked out, but an additional chart allows the much bigger lunar corrections of hours and minutes to be made for one week each side of full moon. The silver-painted moon on the dial has some of the larger craters and maria marked out.

If you would like to share details of a dial you’ve made with an international audience of enthusiasts, please send pictures and a brief description go webmaster@sundialsoc.org.uk.

A Spring Sundial in the first sunshine – Julian Lush

: Webmaster

Thursday: Plumb-line in water and board to mark solar noon and wall declination…53deg East of south

Friday: Select and prepare a composite oak board 55 x 45 cms, 4 cms thick

Weekend: Design on Shadows Pro to correct size and declination.
Choose a gnomon height (140 mm) for the design to fill the board.

Monday: Transfer design print-out to board using carbon paper.
Select an oak piece 6mm thick and cut gnomon with base to give accurate height.
Route out all lines, including gnomon base slot.

Tuesday/Wenesday: Use soldering iron to scorch out all lines (except half hours)

Thursday: Ladder and pulley to position sundial above front door with long retaining screws.

Friday: Brilliant sunshine…. ECCE SUNDIAL

If you would like to share details of a dial you’ve made with an international audience of enthusiasts, please send pictures and a brief description go webmaster@sundialsoc.org.uk.