# Weather Station



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

*And away we go...*

Now that I finished the Japanese Garden Bench I had the chance to begin a project I've been noodling about since Christmas. This is exactly how I like things to go. Always have a book to read, always have a project on the bench, always have a project set to go. BTW, the book, Atlas Shrugged. 1,100+ pages. The most relevant book I've read, I highly recommend it, but I digress. In the pictures you can get a sense of what I'm shooting for. A Galileo Thermometer flanked with four other instruments; a clock, standard thermometer, hygrometer, and baramoter. I purchased two sets of each and added two clocks from woodcraft. In the next blog I'll show the templates I made to line up the dowls. And away we go…



Just couldn't get away from the bench!









And a slightly different view.


----------



## JohnGray (Oct 6, 2007)

newTim said:


> *And away we go...*
> 
> Now that I finished the Japanese Garden Bench I had the chance to begin a project I've been noodling about since Christmas. This is exactly how I like things to go. Always have a book to read, always have a project on the bench, always have a project set to go. BTW, the book, Atlas Shrugged. 1,100+ pages. The most relevant book I've read, I highly recommend it, but I digress. In the pictures you can get a sense of what I'm shooting for. A Galileo Thermometer flanked with four other instruments; a clock, standard thermometer, hygrometer, and baramoter. I purchased two sets of each and added two clocks from woodcraft. In the next blog I'll show the templates I made to line up the dowls. And away we go…
> 
> ...


What sized drill bits did you use to drill the holes for the instruments and and where did you get the bits? The reason I'm asking is that when I made clocks for Christmas last year some of the hardwoods I used would not let me drill the 2 3/4" holes I need so I had to do a redesign.
PS - I've followed your series and you did a great job and save.


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

newTim said:


> *And away we go...*
> 
> Now that I finished the Japanese Garden Bench I had the chance to begin a project I've been noodling about since Christmas. This is exactly how I like things to go. Always have a book to read, always have a project on the bench, always have a project set to go. BTW, the book, Atlas Shrugged. 1,100+ pages. The most relevant book I've read, I highly recommend it, but I digress. In the pictures you can get a sense of what I'm shooting for. A Galileo Thermometer flanked with four other instruments; a clock, standard thermometer, hygrometer, and baramoter. I purchased two sets of each and added two clocks from woodcraft. In the next blog I'll show the templates I made to line up the dowls. And away we go…
> 
> ...


I used a 1 1/2" Forstner bit for the Galileo tube and (I think) a 2 3/4" Forstner for the large holes. I didn't have any problem drilling them out, but I think tiger maple is quite a bit softer than rock maple. I think all you have to do is take your time, let the drill cool off, and clear out the shavings.

You could also use a router with a guide bushing and circular template. The Wood Whisperer used this technique on his Christmas clocks. Actually now that I think about it, he first drilled out with a forstner and used a router to cut the hole to size. You can buy circular templates at Woodcraft and Rockler (he got his from Rockler, I think). Another option is to get a circle cutter for your drill press and make your own template.

I didn't like the look from the back with the large holes drilled all the way through the piece so I left an 1/8" or so and drilled a smaller hole in from the back with a smaller forstner.

Thanks and hope this helps.


----------



## JohnGray (Oct 6, 2007)

newTim said:


> *And away we go...*
> 
> Now that I finished the Japanese Garden Bench I had the chance to begin a project I've been noodling about since Christmas. This is exactly how I like things to go. Always have a book to read, always have a project on the bench, always have a project set to go. BTW, the book, Atlas Shrugged. 1,100+ pages. The most relevant book I've read, I highly recommend it, but I digress. In the pictures you can get a sense of what I'm shooting for. A Galileo Thermometer flanked with four other instruments; a clock, standard thermometer, hygrometer, and baramoter. I purchased two sets of each and added two clocks from woodcraft. In the next blog I'll show the templates I made to line up the dowls. And away we go…
> 
> ...


You didn't say where you purchased your 2 3/4" Forstner from MLCS cut fine, the 3 1/2" I bought from MLCS cut everything (Poplar, some of the Hard Maple, Mahogany, Redwood, some of the Red Oak) but refused to cut some oak and Maple. The said I could return the 3 1/2" for a refund but I never did as it will cut the softer woods.


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

newTim said:


> *And away we go...*
> 
> Now that I finished the Japanese Garden Bench I had the chance to begin a project I've been noodling about since Christmas. This is exactly how I like things to go. Always have a book to read, always have a project on the bench, always have a project set to go. BTW, the book, Atlas Shrugged. 1,100+ pages. The most relevant book I've read, I highly recommend it, but I digress. In the pictures you can get a sense of what I'm shooting for. A Galileo Thermometer flanked with four other instruments; a clock, standard thermometer, hygrometer, and baramoter. I purchased two sets of each and added two clocks from woodcraft. In the next blog I'll show the templates I made to line up the dowls. And away we go…
> 
> ...


Sorry. I got the bit from Woodcraft. It wasn't very expensive as I recall. IOWs, I didn't get a real expensive one. The instructions that come with the clock or instruments usually state the hole size needed. I double checked with a dial caliper. I don't have the instructions with me at work so I can't remember the exact diameter but 2 3/4" sounds right. Interestingly each of the four instruments has a different mechanism for holding it in place. Two have rubberbands, one has a flexible fin, and one has spring clips. Also one of them, the hygrometer I think, requires a deeper hole than the others, 3/4" v. 5/8". I got the Galileao Thermometer, Hygrometer, clock, and Barometer in a kit from Klockit. I got the dial thermometer from Woodcraft. I decided to add the digital thermometer so I could compare its reading to the Galileo and to add balance to looks of the piece.


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

newTim said:


> *And away we go...*
> 
> Now that I finished the Japanese Garden Bench I had the chance to begin a project I've been noodling about since Christmas. This is exactly how I like things to go. Always have a book to read, always have a project on the bench, always have a project set to go. BTW, the book, Atlas Shrugged. 1,100+ pages. The most relevant book I've read, I highly recommend it, but I digress. In the pictures you can get a sense of what I'm shooting for. A Galileo Thermometer flanked with four other instruments; a clock, standard thermometer, hygrometer, and baramoter. I purchased two sets of each and added two clocks from woodcraft. In the next blog I'll show the templates I made to line up the dowls. And away we go…
> 
> ...


Correction. I used a 2 3/8 forstner for the clock holes. The clocks themselves are 2 3/4" diameter.


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

*Its a bird... its a plane...*

No. Its a highly engineered, precision instrument capable of lining up the parts of a Weather Station so accurate holes can be drilled for a perfect fit. In other words, a jig.


----------



## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

newTim said:


> *Its a bird... its a plane...*
> 
> No. Its a highly engineered, precision instrument capable of lining up the parts of a Weather Station so accurate holes can be drilled for a perfect fit. In other words, a jig.


Cool!


----------



## JohnGray (Oct 6, 2007)

newTim said:


> *Its a bird... its a plane...*
> 
> No. Its a highly engineered, precision instrument capable of lining up the parts of a Weather Station so accurate holes can be drilled for a perfect fit. In other words, a jig.


Nice!!! Very nice.


----------



## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

newTim said:


> *Its a bird... its a plane...*
> 
> No. Its a highly engineered, precision instrument capable of lining up the parts of a Weather Station so accurate holes can be drilled for a perfect fit. In other words, a jig.


What would we ever do without the inspiration and the building of jigs… Looks good!


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

*Fitting the instruments*

I thought about these next steps all day today. This is another great thing about woodworking. I always have something to think about, something to plan, something to look forward to. This is turning out to be a fun little project. Next step is to figure out the style of base and top. I'm debating whether (pun) to do a pivoting top or a hinged top like a box lid. In either case I'm thinking about adding small magnets to hold it in place. It will give me something to think about…


----------



## DavidBethune (Feb 9, 2009)

newTim said:


> *Fitting the instruments*
> 
> I thought about these next steps all day today. This is another great thing about woodworking. I always have something to think about, something to plan, something to look forward to. This is turning out to be a fun little project. Next step is to figure out the style of base and top. I'm debating whether (pun) to do a pivoting top or a hinged top like a box lid. In either case I'm thinking about adding small magnets to hold it in place. It will give me something to think about…


Nice job.. I have an engraver and I made these weather stations..









This one I gave to my brother and he nailed it to a tree and hung a rock in front of it..LOL

Left side says "If Rock is….."


----------



## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

newTim said:


> *Fitting the instruments*
> 
> I thought about these next steps all day today. This is another great thing about woodworking. I always have something to think about, something to plan, something to look forward to. This is turning out to be a fun little project. Next step is to figure out the style of base and top. I'm debating whether (pun) to do a pivoting top or a hinged top like a box lid. In either case I'm thinking about adding small magnets to hold it in place. It will give me something to think about…


I was wondering what that big hole in the top was for… Great idea!


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

newTim said:


> *Fitting the instruments*
> 
> I thought about these next steps all day today. This is another great thing about woodworking. I always have something to think about, something to plan, something to look forward to. This is turning out to be a fun little project. Next step is to figure out the style of base and top. I'm debating whether (pun) to do a pivoting top or a hinged top like a box lid. In either case I'm thinking about adding small magnets to hold it in place. It will give me something to think about…


There's a little blister of glass, probably from the filling process, that is sticking out so I had to fashion a groove adjacent to the top hole to provide clearence. So far so good…


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

*Initial Glue Up*

I thought the piece needed a little pizazz so I added ebony strips to the top and bottom. Ebony and maple look great and I think it added alot to the overall look. Next came sand, sand, sand… then a fairly straighforward and uneventful glue up, except one little thing. Check out the next blog entry to see a major screw up. Besides tape I also used a countersink bit to bevel the edges of the upward facing holes to help control squeeze out. It seemed to work pretty well and by the looks of the glue that pooled up I think it really helped.


----------



## Partridge (Jul 27, 2007)

newTim said:


> *Initial Glue Up*
> 
> I thought the piece needed a little pizazz so I added ebony strips to the top and bottom. Ebony and maple look great and I think it added alot to the overall look. Next came sand, sand, sand… then a fairly straighforward and uneventful glue up, except one little thing. Check out the next blog entry to see a major screw up. Besides tape I also used a countersink bit to bevel the edges of the upward facing holes to help control squeeze out. It seemed to work pretty well and by the looks of the glue that pooled up I think it really helped.


The black band is a nice touch


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

*I am repelled...*

So here's a little advice. When you are working with matching sets of magnets, great care should be taken to make sure to set them in place so that the poles do not… Oooooops! Dag-nab-it! #$%^$#&*! Yup, you guessed it. How embarassing is that? I glued the magnets in backwards so they repelled each other. What to do? What to do? How am I going to fix this mess? Should I throw it away and, gulp, make a new part? Is there a way to reverse polarity? Turns out there is, sort of. Here's the solution I came up with. How would you have solved this?

First the problem. The top is designed to pivot to allow access to the hole that receives the Galileo Thermometer. It is supposed to be aligned and held in place by two sets of magnets. The magnets are supposed to attract each other, but what happens if they repel each other? A funny thing happened when I went to close the top.



So here's my solution. I happened to have a plug cutter that was just big enough to circle the magnet.










I also happened to have some 1" diameter dowel stock so after popping out the plug and magnets with a screw driver I enlarged the hole to 1" using a Forstner bit.










Then I sliced a couple of disks off the end of the dowel, applied some glue and tapped them in to place. Then sanded them flush.










I realigned the drilling template using the pivot hole and re-drilled for the magents. Before making the same mistake twice, actually four times, I attached the magnets in the proper order and marked the glue side with an X before glueing them back in place with gap filling CA glue. Since the patch is on the bottom of the top it will not show unless it is removed and flipped over. But nobody will think to do that, right?


----------



## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

newTim said:


> *I am repelled...*
> 
> So here's a little advice. When you are working with matching sets of magnets, great care should be taken to make sure to set them in place so that the poles do not… Oooooops! Dag-nab-it! #$%^$#&*! Yup, you guessed it. How embarassing is that? I glued the magnets in backwards so they repelled each other. What to do? What to do? How am I going to fix this mess? Should I throw it away and, gulp, make a new part? Is there a way to reverse polarity? Turns out there is, sort of. Here's the solution I came up with. How would you have solved this?
> 
> ...


Oh yeah, the true craftsman shows his colors when it comes to solving problems.

Good Save!


----------



## Woodenfisherman (Mar 13, 2009)

newTim said:


> *I am repelled...*
> 
> So here's a little advice. When you are working with matching sets of magnets, great care should be taken to make sure to set them in place so that the poles do not… Oooooops! Dag-nab-it! #$%^$#&*! Yup, you guessed it. How embarassing is that? I glued the magnets in backwards so they repelled each other. What to do? What to do? How am I going to fix this mess? Should I throw it away and, gulp, make a new part? Is there a way to reverse polarity? Turns out there is, sort of. Here's the solution I came up with. How would you have solved this?
> 
> ...


Ouch! I have done that too. Great save! i will try to remember this lesson next time I do it. 

Remember it's all good in the wood!


----------



## jimp (Feb 7, 2008)

newTim said:


> *I am repelled...*
> 
> So here's a little advice. When you are working with matching sets of magnets, great care should be taken to make sure to set them in place so that the poles do not… Oooooops! Dag-nab-it! #$%^$#&*! Yup, you guessed it. How embarassing is that? I glued the magnets in backwards so they repelled each other. What to do? What to do? How am I going to fix this mess? Should I throw it away and, gulp, make a new part? Is there a way to reverse polarity? Turns out there is, sort of. Here's the solution I came up with. How would you have solved this?
> 
> ...


Nice save! Great tip on making the side of the magnet that you want to glue.


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

newTim said:


> *I am repelled...*
> 
> So here's a little advice. When you are working with matching sets of magnets, great care should be taken to make sure to set them in place so that the poles do not… Oooooops! Dag-nab-it! #$%^$#&*! Yup, you guessed it. How embarassing is that? I glued the magnets in backwards so they repelled each other. What to do? What to do? How am I going to fix this mess? Should I throw it away and, gulp, make a new part? Is there a way to reverse polarity? Turns out there is, sort of. Here's the solution I came up with. How would you have solved this?
> 
> ...


Here it is Monday morning and I'm still laughing about this. I had made a point of telling myself to make sure the magnets are aligned to attract each other and had given it some thought. There's always a simple way to do something but first I had to think reverse and backwards and mess it up before it hit me. This was another great learning opportunity. Trial and success…


----------



## Blake (Oct 17, 2007)

newTim said:


> *I am repelled...*
> 
> So here's a little advice. When you are working with matching sets of magnets, great care should be taken to make sure to set them in place so that the poles do not… Oooooops! Dag-nab-it! #$%^$#&*! Yup, you guessed it. How embarassing is that? I glued the magnets in backwards so they repelled each other. What to do? What to do? How am I going to fix this mess? Should I throw it away and, gulp, make a new part? Is there a way to reverse polarity? Turns out there is, sort of. Here's the solution I came up with. How would you have solved this?
> 
> ...


Great solution!


----------



## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

*Finished & Critique*

So here's the finished version. I applied two coats of GF Seal-A-Cell along with two GF top coats and a coat of wax with a lot of rubbing. First some bad news/good news. If you read my previous blog entry "I am repelled" I went through the process of fixing the magnet mistake. Well here's another little oversight. The temperature tags on the balloons in the Galileo are metal. That's the bad news. The good news is they are outside the range of the magnets in the top. But this is something I should have checked and will plan for in the future. Yet another lesson that only gets learned by doing. The magnets are, however, working better than I expected. The top almost snaps in to place and is held tight enough. More notes below…










I purchased the Highlander Kit from Woodcraft which includes the Galileo, a barometer, hygrometer, and a clock. I added a thermometer as a seperate purchase to add balance and to be able to compare to the Galileo.

Overall I'm happy with the design, but plan to make some small changes on the next version. First I think this design may look a little top heavy so I will probably make the new top smaller and thinner. The wings are a good width but I plan to make them thicker, 7/8" to 1". This might also serve to balance out the top so I may not have to resize it after all. I also plan to increase the space between (in the middle of) the two wings. This one is 1", the Galileo is 1 1/2" in diameter so I'm thinking about increasing the space to 1 1/2". In the prototype I drilled the 2 3/4" holes for the instruments all the way through and did not like the look from the back. I'm happy with the smaller holes so that was a good change. I might try to figure out a way to add a small drawer or hidden space somewhere to store a spare clock battery and the instructions for the Galileo. And, of coarse, I need to re-think the magnets. Maybe just space them out farther or use one set. 








This was a fun little project and will be as functional as it is attractive, IMO at least. As always I welcome any and all suggestions, comments, criticisms, etc. you may wish to offer.








We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot


----------



## woodworkersguide (Mar 7, 2008)

newTim said:


> *Finished & Critique*
> 
> So here's the finished version. I applied two coats of GF Seal-A-Cell along with two GF top coats and a coat of wax with a lot of rubbing. First some bad news/good news. If you read my previous blog entry "I am repelled" I went through the process of fixing the magnet mistake. Well here's another little oversight. The temperature tags on the balloons in the Galileo are metal. That's the bad news. The good news is they are outside the range of the magnets in the top. But this is something I should have checked and will plan for in the future. Yet another lesson that only gets learned by doing. The magnets are, however, working better than I expected. The top almost snaps in to place and is held tight enough. More notes below…
> 
> ...


Very nice!


----------



## douginaz (Jun 11, 2007)

newTim said:


> *Finished & Critique*
> 
> So here's the finished version. I applied two coats of GF Seal-A-Cell along with two GF top coats and a coat of wax with a lot of rubbing. First some bad news/good news. If you read my previous blog entry "I am repelled" I went through the process of fixing the magnet mistake. Well here's another little oversight. The temperature tags on the balloons in the Galileo are metal. That's the bad news. The good news is they are outside the range of the magnets in the top. But this is something I should have checked and will plan for in the future. Yet another lesson that only gets learned by doing. The magnets are, however, working better than I expected. The top almost snaps in to place and is held tight enough. More notes below…
> 
> ...


Great post and nice pics. I like the magnet idea. nice balance of woods. I don't know what you have for feet if any, but I have been burned by having boards flat for a bottom. A little spilled water and it will do the "twist" for you. 
Thanks for posting. 
Later, 
Doug in AZ.


----------

