How To Make A Weather Vane With Your Own Hands, Including Sketches, Drawings And Step-by-step Instructions

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Where does the wind blow from: how to make a weather vane with your own hands

The history of the weather vane goes back hundreds of years. The convenience of an unpretentious device, which made it possible to quickly determine the direction of the wind, was first appreciated by sailors. Therefore, the tradition of installing weather vanes on roofs first came to us from Holland, the Netherlands and other European countries with access to the sea. Over time, a simple mechanical windsock has evolved into a stylish decor element that can add personality to the most ordinary roof. An original and at the same time simple weather vane can be easily made with your own hands from tin, plywood or plastic. If this process is approached with fiction and imagination, then the rotating figure will be able to tell others about the character, tastes and preferences of the owner of the house.

Content

• 1 Windsock on the roof: design and principle of operation

  1.1 Video: Roof Vane - Design Ideas

• 2 What can you make a weather vane

• 3 Making a weather vane with your own hands

  • 3.1 Who to put on the roof: meanings of symbols

  • 3.2 Windsock drawings

    3.2.1 Photo gallery: drawings and diagrams of weather vane

  • 3.3 What you need in the process

  • 3.4 Step by step instructions

    3.4.1 Video: DIY metal weather vane

• 4 How to properly fix the weather vane on the roof

Roof windsock: device and principle of operation

Although today a weather vane is most often used as an element of decor in country houses, it is too early to write it off from the pages of history. Even in our digital age, mechanical windsocks are regularly used at small weather stations, in ports and at airfields. Depending on the purpose, several types of weather vane can be distinguished:

• meteorological windsocks, which are made of forged metal and are highly mobile, which, in turn, has a positive effect on the accuracy of the readings;

  

  A modern weather vane is not a simple mechanical device, but a complex electronic device

• instruments combined with a device for determining the speed of the wind, which are called Wilde weather vane by the name of the creator;

  

  The rotating plate of the Wilde weather vane shows how hard the wind blows

• chimney - with a body, which additionally plays the role of a chimney cap;

  

  In addition to its main purpose, a weather vane installed on the chimney will protect the chimney from precipitation and debris

• decorative - are mainly used for decoration, so their flag and pointer are made in the form of figurines of birds, animals, fairy-tale characters, etc.

  

  Used as a decoration, a decorative weather vane will indicate the direction of the wind just as well as a real meteorological instrument.

No matter how simple the design of the weather vane may seem, a reliable and durable windsock can only be obtained if it contains the following parts and assemblies:

1. The vertical axis on which the flag and counterweight are mounted. The axis can rotate 360 ° freely, thanks to the sliding or rolling unit.
2. A casing that is attached to the chimney or mounted on the roof. Being the base of the structure, the body acts as a holder for the movable axis.
3. Bearing. This unit is fixed in the housing and provides easy rotation of the windsock axis. The design can use one or more ball bearings, as well as sliding assemblies consisting of bushings with a low friction coefficient.
4. Protective cap. Installed on a vertical axis and prevents precipitation from entering the windsock housing.
5. Landmark angles or points. They are two rods crossed at an angle of 90 ° with letters denoting the cardinal points (North-South and East-West pairs). Rumba are rigidly fixed to the body and during the installation of the weather vane they are oriented by the compass.
6. Arrow (pointer) - attached to the axis at an angle of 90 ° and serves as an indicator of the wind direction.
7. The flag is a paddle mounted on one side of the boom. In the large surface area of this element, in fact, lies the entire decorative potential of the weather vane.
8. Counterweight. Attaches to the other end of the pointer and serves as a balancer to balance the boom.

The design of the weather vane is so simple that it can be easily recreated at home

Just one glance at the diagram of the weather vane is enough to understand how it works. Due to the high windage of the flag, the pointer turns even from a slight movement of air masses. The blade will rotate until it is parallel to the wind - in this position, the drag area will be minimal. In this case, the arrow will be directed in the direction from which the wind is blowing, and the flag will precisely indicate the place where the air masses are moving.

Video: roof vane - design ideas

What can you make a weather vane

If you decide to approach the manufacture of a weather vane thoroughly, then there is no better material for a flag than a sheet of copper. A figurine made of this material will not only look favorably against the background of tin products, but can also become a reminder of your skills for future generations. And all thanks to the fact that copper excellently resists corrosion. Copper roofs and domes of ancient cathedrals have not lost their functionality for several centuries and just as successfully resist precipitation. The advantages of copper as a material for a flag also lie in the fact that this plastic metal is easily processed, so the figure can be made more voluminous, and its surfaces can be decorated with chasing.

Due to the plasticity of copper, a weather vane figure can be easily made three-dimensional

If you can't get the copper sheet, then you can use aluminum or stainless steel - they certainly won't let you down in terms of durability. The situation is a little worse with sheet structural steel, but if the black metal flag is painted according to all the rules, then it will also be able to outlive more than one owner.

If you need "fast and inexpensive", then you can use materials such as plywood or plastic. And although a weather vane made of these materials will not be as solid as a metal one, it will also be able to please your family and provide invaluable experience in making a functional windsock.

A wood vane is less durable, but in beauty and functionality it is not inferior to a metal one

For the manufacture of other parts of the weather vane - arrows, bodies and axles, pipes and metal rods of various diameters are suitable. Suitable bushings, balls, thrust or radial bearings from automotive or agricultural equipment can be taken as a rotation unit.

We make a weather vane with our own hands

Having decided to decorate your house with a windsock, first of all, you should decide on what the weather vane and rumba will be, think over the design of the turning part and the method of attaching the decorative device to the roof. Then they prepare all the necessary materials and tools and only after that they start directly to work.

Who to put on the roof: symbol meanings

Being both an original decorative element and a real meteorological device, a weather vane can become a talisman and defender for your home from the dark forces. He is able to create an aura of romance and magic, recall the times when the inhabitants of medieval cities looked closely at the figures rotating on the peaked towers of castles and the spiers of city halls.

When choosing a vane flag, one should not make hasty conclusions. This simple action gives you a unique opportunity to tell others about your passions, to show the strength of your character and the romance of nature.

When making a weather vane, you can choose any type of flag - either a simple silhouette or sign, or a complex composition of several figures - it all depends on your skills and abilities when working with metal

Belief says that meeting a chimney sweep on the street is for luck. By installing such a figurine at home, you give every passer-by a chance to try their luck and attract wealth and prosperity.

A figurine of a man in a top hat on the roof will attract happiness and money to the house

Ethnic plots can be a series of figures in different parts of the roof. Such weather vane looks great on wooden houses and characterizes the owner as a person who is not indifferent to the history of his native land.

A series of weather vanes based on folk motives is suitable for buildings made in traditional Russian style.

The cat has long been considered the worst enemy of evil spirits, so its silhouette will serve as an excellent amulet against dark forces. And the fluffy creature will create a mood of kindness and peace.

The cat and the rooster are perhaps the most common characters seen on weather vane

When installing an eagle figurine on the roof, do not forget that this bird is the master in the sky. Such a symbol is the best fit for a person with a domineering character and high social status.

An eagle weather vane will be appropriate on the roof of tall buildings

The silhouette of a horse on the roof indicates the owner's desire for knowledge of the world and love of travel. Perhaps the figure of a running horse will be a starting point that will push you to new achievements.

A horse flying with a gait, or a calm, pacified animal - you can put any idea into its silhouette

The griffin is a mythical animal with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, which is a symbol of domination in the sky and on earth. Characterizing strength, retribution and vigilance, the griffin over the house will show others your independence and the ability to fight for their interests.

Griffin figurine will show that you will defend your ideas to the last

A weather vane in the form of a sailing ship will tell about the owner's aspirations for knowledge of the world around him, love for travel and the search for new horizons in his career. Such a windsock will look harmonious on a large cottage with a pitched roof, several entrances and a grand staircase.

A wind vane in the form of a sailboat is quite difficult to manufacture, so it can be recommended for experienced DIYers

An owl, as a symbol of knowledge and wisdom, will declare to others about the remarkable mental abilities of the owner of a country house. When deciding to install a wind vane with a turning owl, consider whether you can live up to this symbol in terms of self-improvement.

An owl-shaped flag is a great way to declare that the host has intelligence.

If you are a religious person, then you can rightfully decorate the roof with some scene from the Bible or the Koran. On the house of an inveterate atheist, a weather vane based on the lives of saints and prophets will look ridiculous. If you are attracted to this particular theme, then choose some neutral scene or heroic plot - for example, the figure of an angel or George the Victorious slaying a snake.

If faith is close to you, install a weather vane in the form of a singing angel on the roof

An excellent find is the flying Baba Yaga weather vane, as her broom is an excellent blade. It should be noted that fabulous plots are an excellent basis for the development of a weather vane of your own design, and the windsock itself will magically delight passers-by of any age.

Baba Yaga is not only a favorite character in Russian fairy tales, but also one of the most popular figures on decorative weather vane

Windsock drawings

One of the advantages of a windsock is its simple and uncomplicated design. When developing your own device, you should take care of the stability of the device and the good mobility of its rotating part. To do this, it is necessary to think over all the ways to reduce friction between the parts of the weather vane and decide how and to what it will be attached. You can make a one-to-one weather vane or use individual ideas - it all depends on the availability of this or that material, capabilities and personal preferences. In any case, even the simplest weather vane will function and delight others in the same way as a custom-made windsock.

Photo gallery: drawings and diagrams of weather vane

The dimensions of the weather vane must correspond to the drawing

Even a novice master can handle a simple windsock model

The size grid for figures can be increased or decreased

Weather vane in the form of a Carlson equipped with an active propeller

The figure can be made fully movable

What you need in the process

The design of the weather vane presented above is easy to repeat at home. Everything you need for this can be found in the nooks of any garage or locksmith's workshop. A complete list of required materials looks like this:

• copper, aluminum or sheet steel with a thickness of 1.2 to 2 mm;
• steel pipes Ø1 / 2˝, Ø3 / 4˝, Ø1˝;
• copper pipe Ø18 mm;
• steel pipe Ø2˝ 50 mm long;
• profile steel pipe with a section of 15x15 mm;
• steel ball Ø80 mm;
• steel bar Ø12 mm;
• ball Ø15 mm from a rolling bearing;
• steel plate with a thickness of 12 to 15 mm and a size of 60x60 mm.

Since you have to work with steel, you will need not only the simplest metalwork tools, but also electrical equipment. Before starting work, prepare:

• electric jigsaw and metal saws;
• "Grinder" with a cutting and grinding disc;
• electric drill and set of drills for working with steel;
• welding machine and electrodes Ø3 mm;
• chisel;
• files;
• a hammer;
• roulette;
• pencil.

To reduce friction in the nodes of the weather vane, they will need to be lubricated. You can take any automotive grease or even grease. In addition, be sure to protect the windsock parts from corrosion. For high-quality staining of the flag, arrow and other parts of the device, you will need a rust converter, solvent, primer and enamel.

Weather vane needs corrosion protection

Step-by-step instruction

Making a weather vane consists of many stages, so it is better to perform the work in a specific sequence. The algorithm presented below will not let you lose sight of the slightest detail and will allow a novice locksmith to avoid alterations and modifications.

1. Making a flag begins with transferring the outline of the selected figure to a sheet of metal. To avoid displacement of the template, it is attached to the workbench together with the metal workpiece. To do this, you can use carpentry clamps.

2. Cut out the pattern along the contour. It is best to use an electric jigsaw with a metal saw for this purpose. If such a tool is not at hand, then on straight sections you can use an angle grinder, and in places with bends and rounds, make a series of holes and cut through the contour with a chisel.

   

   A jigsaw is best for cutting a weather vane figure

3. Processing the edges of the workpiece. If the flag was cut with an electric jigsaw, then a "grinder" with a grinding wheel will be enough for this work. Otherwise, you need a coarse sanding machine. Sharp corners and hard-to-reach places are processed with files of various shapes.

   

   For edging in hard-to-reach places, it is convenient to use several files of various shapes and sizes

4. Having fixed the workpiece on a workbench or holding it in a vice, they perform drilling, which in the future will play the role of a nose and eyes, and also be used to fix the mustache. The eye holes are filed into a characteristic elongated shape.

   

   The holes for the eyes are made by drilling, followed by reworking with a file

5. Make mustache blanks. To do this, L-shaped fragments 90–100 mm long with a 10–20 mm part bent with pliers are cut out with pliers from a steel wire Ø3 mm.

   

   Steel wire is used to make cat whisker blanks

6. A cat's nose is made. To do this, you can cut a ball bearing of a suitable diameter or make a hemisphere from a rod Ø20–25 mm. In the latter case, with a chisel, you can make notches that resemble the characteristic grooves on a cat's nose.

   

   A cat's nose can be made from a bar or a steel ball

7. Using a welding machine, the nose is mounted in place. After that, the whisker blanks are fixed by welding, having previously inserted them into the prepared holes.

   

   For mounting and nose use a welding machine

8. Grind the welds until the surface is perfectly flat.

9. In a similar way, they are transferred to the metal and the outline of the pointer is cut out.

   

   The drawing is applied to a metal plate

10. Prepare two pieces of a round or square bar with a cross section of at least 15 mm in diameter. The arrowhead is welded to one of them, and the plumage is welded to the other. The seams are cleaned.

    

    The boom of the weather vane consists of two parts, which are connected by welding

11. A turning unit is made. To do this, drill Ø12 mm in a steel plate 60x60 mm with a thickness of 12 mm. The same hole is made in a steel ball.

    

    The figurine will be mounted on a hollow metal ball in which a hole is drilled

12. On one side of the plate, a 50 mm pipe section Ø60 mm is welded, and on the other, a piece of metal profile 20x20 mm, 150-200 mm long.
13. Small cuts are made on the surface of the steel ball. They will be needed for a tighter abutment of the ends of the boom base and the pivot assembly. After that, an axis from a Ø12 mm bar is threaded through the swivel unit and the steel ball.

14. Both parts of the pointer base are welded to the sphere.

    

    The square tube is joined to the ball and carefully welded

15. A figurine of a cat is fixed on the arrow. Its front legs are fixed to the ball, and the hind legs are welded to the boom.

    

    After making all the parts of the weather vane, assemble it

16. A Ø15 mm rod 50 mm long is inserted into the Ø1 / 2˝ tube, which will play the role of a body, and welded at the very edge.
17. All parts of the weather vane are degreased, primed and painted with several layers of enamel for outdoor use. The quality of the painting affects the corrosion resistance of the device, so this work should be taken with the utmost responsibility.

18. Assembling the windsock. For this, a steel ball is placed in the body, abundantly lubricated with any grease, for example, "Litol-24". A copper tube Ø18 mm is installed on the axle, which will play the role of an antifriction sleeve. Thereafter, the pivoting structure is inserted into the housing.

    

    When assembling the weather vane, be sure to lubricate the moving parts

On this, the construction of a homemade windsock can be considered complete. A steel ball and a copper tube will eliminate friction between the axle and the body, so that a self-made weather vane will easily rotate from the slightest breath of wind. All that remains is to properly install the weather vane on the roof and securely attach it to the chimney or roof.

Video: DIY metal weather vane

How to properly fix the weather vane on the roof

Assembling a weather vane is only half the battle. In order for the device to function reliably and be clearly visible from any place around the house, it must be installed correctly.

Recommendations for installing a weather vane with your own hands:

• it is necessary to mount the device in such a way that its weather vane is at the highest point of the roof, at a distance of at least 0.5 m from the roof;
• for the correct orientation of pointers (points) on the ground, use a compass;
• vertical alignment of the body is performed using a plumb line or a building level;
• fastening of the windsock is carried out using strong metal brackets, anchor and dowel connections;
• before installation, the rotation unit must be lubricated;
• in order for the structure to function as a lightning rod, the body is connected to the ground loop using a steel wire.

There are several ways to fix the weather vane on the roof:

1. To the chimney. This option is the most successful, since the chimney is most often made of bricks. To ensure the stability of the structure under strong wind load, strong metal brackets with holes are welded in the upper and lower parts of the vertical base of the device. For fastening, metal anchors with a diameter of 10 mm or more are used. If the house is equipped with a chimney or metal chimney, then the weather vane can be attached with crimp C-clamps made from a metal bar with a diameter of at least 8 mm.

   

   A weather vane installed on a chimney not only indicates the direction of the wind, but also additionally protects the chimney and enhances draft

2. To the pediment. If the side surfaces of the gable roof are covered with bricks, then the windsock housing is attached to the upper part of the pediment in the same way as in the case of the chimney. If boards are used for sheathing the ends of the roof, then through holes are made in them, and pads or washers with an area of at least 25 square meters are used for fastening. cm.

   

   To attach the weather vane, the gable board must be treated with impregnation and have a thickness of more than 50 mm

3. To the skate. The ridge is most often made of wood, so this option should be considered only if it is impossible to fix the weather vane in any other way. In order to securely fix the structure on the roof, the body should be equipped with support legs, which will ensure its stability.

   

   The fastening of the weather vane must be reliable, since the structure is quite heavy

4. To the elements of the rafter system. This mounting method will provide excellent rigidity and stability for the windsock, but will require a hole in the roofing material. The device can be secured using suitable brackets or clamps. If the design of the weather vane allows you to make through holes in its vertical rack, then you can fix the device with nails or powerful self-tapping screws. The disadvantage of this method is the violation of the integrity of the roof and, as a result, the need for additional waterproofing.

When choosing a place for installing a weather vane, one should be guided not only by the criteria of aesthetics, functionality and reliability, but also take care of the safety of installation work and the possibility of maintaining the windsock in the future.

When deciding to decorate the house with a weather vane, approach this process responsibly. First of all, the device must be reliable and stable, and only then - beautiful and functional. Do not forget that the figurine on the roof will somehow tell others about what kind of person you are - a dreamy, romantic person or an independent, pragmatic person. Use the symbolism of a weather vane correctly, and it will attract good luck and prosperity to your home.