Читать книгу Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys - Joseph H. Adams - Страница 34

Of all the weather-vanes that have ever been made, the balanced arrow is undoubtedly the oldest and most popular; it is the universal type of its class, and, from the simple arrow that a boy can whittle from a shingle to the beautifully gilded vane that crowns the pinnacle of some great building, it is everywhere in evidence. Fig. 5.

The arrow-vane can be made any length to suit the height at which it may be placed, but for the house, barn, flag-pole, or tower not more than fifty or sixty feet high, it should be from twenty-four to thirty-six inches long, with the blade from five to six inches in width.

The most substantial vane is made in three pieces, the point, shaft, and blade. The shaft is made from hard wood, three-quarters of an inch square, in the ends of which cuts are made to receive a tin or sheet-metal point and blade. These are held in place with steel nails driven through the wood and clinched on the opposite side. The arrow is balanced and a hole is then made in the shaft through which the upright pin or rod will pass.

A ferule or ring is driven on the upright rod to hold the arrow in the proper place, and below it two rods should be arranged at right angles, at the ends of which the letters N, E, S, W are soldered. These rods may be of brass or wood, and if the wood is used it should be of hickory or locust, half an inch square or round, and slit at the ends to receive the letters of tin or sheet metal. These latter are held in place with slim steel wire nails driven through the wood and metal.

At the top of a flag-pole these arms should be mounted above a gilded ball, and they should be, if of brass or copper, held securely in place with wire or solder. If they are of iron, it would be well to have a blacksmith weld them, so that they will be rigid and stay in place.