Weather vane

It was a job that sort of escalated. You know how sometimes, one thing leads to another and.. before you know it, you are off making something you didn't know you wanted? This is one of those times.

So I was clearing a mountain of weeds, brambles and grasses away from a new hedge I planted last year, and all of the little shrubs were getting smothered by all this other unwanted vegetation. Carting it off to the incinerator, I decided to check the wind before burning it all, to avoid sending smoke into the house, and all over the washing on the clothes line.

So which direction is the wind blowing? I used the time-honoured method of grabbing a handful of grass and letting it fall from my hand, to see which way it blew as it fell. Not much wind at all in fact, down here. But up in the treetops?

Long story short, I decided I need a weathervane. Who said "any excuse to make something out of wood" ?

At first, it was just going to be a simple arrow pointer.

Using a few scraps of oak, I fashioned a three-piece pointer - body, arrowhead and tail fin. Simple slots and glue holds the pieces together.

And the finished arrow was mounted on a short upright, with plenty of washers and a smooth-shanked screw, to make the swivel.

Very nice.

Overlooking the rustic bench ( details here)

... then came the comment "yes, but don't they usually have the letters N S E W on them?"

I did say, it was one of those escalating jobs...

OK, a nice dark old piece of elm, and cut out the letters. And a light oak crosspiece to mount them on: A very simple half-joint on that.

Done. Not sure it will last as long as a traditional iron one, but.. it looks nice.