Britton Sprouse

Making a Sundial

I elected to spend my time at the PTJ to learn a technology that is very important to me, timekeeping.  I spent a good amount of time doing some independent research on how sundials work.  If you're interested in that, I posted what I learned here: https://permies.com/t/164133/Sundials-Passive-Solar-Timekeeping-Device

One book offered printable sundials, which helped my conceptual understanding:



Once I was confident I knew what to build, I looked for wood.  I found a short section of a log and fixed a gnomon to it.  Here I learned that it's important to drill with a bit as wide as the screw before screwing it in order not to split the wood (the big split was already there), and that a second screw or nail is necessary to keep the gnomon from twisting and turning:



Then I used a more intact log, marked the appropriate hour lines using a protractor by hand, and hammered a nail in as the gnomon:



Clearly, the bend in the nail makes it rather unreliable.  I also decided that this was too small and needed something bigger.  I put some pieces of wood together as if to make a sign:



I deliberately chose to use the knot in this gnomon, sometimes it helps you tell which side of the shadow is telling you the time.  However, the gnomon is oversized for this dial, and I again split it in the back when fixing it to the dial (drill bit was not big enough).  Also note the asymmetricality of the lines from the bottom left and right corners.  This shows how unreliable it is to eyeball fractions of degrees using a basic protractor.

By this time I figured I had a lot of experience and that I was able to handle a significantly larger dial.  Fortuitously, the downsizing of the "E-Z Bake Coffin" provided me with an excellent plate to work with.  Also, I used a chart of tangent coefficients to make the angles less reliant on eyeballing with a protractor:



During this time, I realized I neglected to account for numerals on the dial.  I had to redraw the left and right boundaries further from the edge to make room for the numerals.  Thankfully, I didn't have to redraw the hour lines.  I chose Roman numerals (0-9 are referred to as Arabic numerals), then I had to devise a system that made them large and clear enough to be visible, and located in a way that the lines point to their centers.  When all the lines and numbers were penciled in, I used a pyrography pen to burn them in:



After the burning was done, I fixed the gnomon via two screws in the back (apologies for not capturing any photos of the construction of the gnomon).  



It is now functionally finished- completely functional by itself, but it needs a permanent installation and perhaps some additional embellishment, such as a quote or some kind of artistic imagery.  

How to make a Sundial

You can get extremely creative with a sundial.  I'll only include here some general instructions for basic horizontal and vertical sundials.  Look online or in local libraries for other resources on sundials.  

How it works: The two basic parts of a sundial are the gnomon and the dial.  The conceptual key to understand is you need to make the gnomon parallel to the earth's rotational axis.  This means it will cast a consistent shadow and the hour lines are the easiest to calculate.  Then the gnomon needs to be fixed to a dial with hour lines appropriate for the latitude.

1. Record your coordinates, latitude and longitude.  Ex. 34N 97W
1a. Calculate local solar noon.  The equation is LSN = 4*(Longitude - Time Zone Meridian) + equation of time + Daylight Saving (if applicable)
  -Ex. 4*(97 - 90) + 6 + 60 = 94 minutes after clock noon = 1:34pm is local solar noon.  This is important for knowing whether your sundial tells time accurately or not.  
1b. There's more information on the equation of time here: https://www.sfog.us/solar/sfsundialsx.htm.  The value for the equation of time today is +6 mins, but it can vary from +15 to -16.

2. Pick a location for your sundial.  Since a sundial doesn't work in the shade, choose a place with as little shade as possible, keeping in mind the sun shines from the southern half of the sky in the northern hemisphere.
2a. Decide whether you want a horizontal or vertical sundial.  A horizontal sundial usually requires a pedestal, and a vertical sundial requires a building or post to mount it to.

3. Make your gnomon, including the angle it needs to be for your latitude.  If your sundial is horizontal: the angle of the gnomon will be equal to the latitude of your location; Ex. 34 degrees.  If vertical: the angle of the gnomon will be equal to the co-latitude, meaning 90 - latitude; Ex. 90 - 34 = 56 degrees.

4. Calculate the angles for the hours.  You can use a book or online calculator for this.  
4a. Using tangent coefficients for a unit square can be more accurate than using a protractor by hand.
4b. A vertical dial will only tell time from 6am to 6pm, but a horizontal dial may be able to include hours 5am to 7pm or 4am to 8pm, depending on latitude.
4c. I recommend this site for a good calculator: https://www.blocklayer.com/sundialeng.aspx.  This is for horizontal dials, but if you enter the co-latitude, the lines will be accurate for a vertical dial.

5. Mark your dial, including numerals.  If your gnomon is a significant width, then you'll have to separate the AM and PM sides of the dial by that width (the side of the gnomon that casts the shadow changes at noon).
5a. This is usually the best time to add any embellishments to the dial, such as artistic renderings, quotes, etc.

6. Fix your gnomon to the dial.  It will run the along the noon line(s), and the point opposite the tip should touch the 6am/pm lines.

7. Install the dial.  The gnomon of a horizontal dial should point true north; the gnomon and face of a vertical dial should point directly south.

Why Sundials?

Modern Time
In 1967, the International System of Units defined the second as "the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom".  The current global standard, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) depends upon hundreds of atomic clocks in laboratories around the globe.  We all have to use UTC for certain things, but I argue that our drift away from using the sun as the standard for time is indicative of our disharmony with and irreverence for nature.

Nature's Time
If we want to see time the way plants and animals see it, it helps to have a sundial.  The sundial doesn't need to be very complex.  If it simply and accurately marks noon, then it serves its most important purpose, dividing the day into equal halves.  After all, AM and PM are ante-meridian and post-meridian, meaning before and after midday.  This was especially important to our ancestors who instinctively knew they shouldn't travel further from home after noon or they'd risk trying to return home after the sunset.

Noon no longer established by the sun
Before the 20th century, it was standard to set clocks and watches to noon at the very moment the sun was at its zenith.  Now, the sun is completely disregarded in the measurement of time.  Thanks to time zones and daylight saving, local solar noon is often one or two hours after 12pm.  In extreme cases, solar noon nears 3pm.  For everyone living by UTC instead of by the sun, they unwittingly experience long evenings at the expense of short mornings.

The abomination of daylight saving
Despite its name, daylight saving time ("saving" is singular, not plural) doesn't save any daylight, it simply shifts it from the morning to the evening.  I suspect the reason this highly unpopular practice is maintained is it maximizes consumptive behavior- people are generally more productive before noon and more consumptive after noon.  It essentially gives modern commerce 180+ hours of high consumption hours during the six most consumptive months of the year.  

Returning to solar time
If you're comfortable with UTC, keep using it.  But I argue that no permaculturist would choose to mine and refine caesium to measure its radioactive decay, nor is it very sustainable to rely on the people who do this.  If you're looking for a reliable alternative used by humans longer than any other method, and uniquely fits your local environment, you should try a passive solar timekeeping device.

r ranson wrote:The next step is to find out if it is possible to buy new watch guts (for less than a new fob watch).

I've been looking at new fob watches but they all have the 12 at the "top" or near the (set the time and wind it up knob).  But when I take my watch out of my pocket and open it, I hold it so that the 9-o'clock is at the top.  If you look at antique fob watches, about half of them are that way up.  

I also haven't found a case that I like as much as this one yet.

So what's the word I can whisper to google to find "manual, I wind every day, no batteries, watch guts that work"?  

You're looking for a manual movement.  The three types of movements are manual, automatic, and quartz.  Manual movements are the rarest nowadays.  Automatic timepieces have a free-spinning weight that winds the mainspring as it's being moved or carried.  Quartz timepieces are battery powered.  Also important to understand: manual and automatic are both "mechanical", the only difference is how they're wound.  So if it says "mechanical", you need to dig deeper, because odds are it's probably automatic.  You can also search for "hand wind", some websites market manual movements that way.

I don't know the best places to look for pocket watches, but you'll always find old watches on eBay.

r ranson wrote:The finger on the escape wheel and the pallet fork on that side don't seem to be on the same... plane?  plain?  lined up correctly, so it jams on the back of the red thing.  

Yeah, you were descriptive enough for me to guess that it was out of alignment, i.e. not in the same plane.  Common culprits are the pivot points and the installation of the pinions (the ends of the shaft) in them.  They can be dirty or worn, but there can also be any number of bizarre faults- experienced watchmakers still occasionally see faults they've never seen before.  

Unfortunately that's about as much as I can help, on account of my distance and inexperience.  Best of luck on your project.  I'll keep an eye on the thread if you have anything more to report.

r ranson wrote:Here comes the problem - vocabulary.  I don't have it.

I studied a little bit of watchmaking, not enough to be an expert but I can help a little.  What you're describing is the escapement mechanism, and you described its function perfectly, it allows the mainspring's stored power to escape a little at a time (once per second if it's working perfectly!) instead of all at once.  Does it look something like this?

r ranson wrote:There is a round thing that goes back and forth acting like a pendulum.  It has an independent spring to make it go back and forth more.  

This is the balance wheel and hairspring.  Hairsprings, if faulty, are a pain to fix, they behave so unruly.  Let's hope that's not the problem!

r ranson wrote:Connected to that is what I'm calling a governor.  This is a thing with two arms that pivots at a point.  That wheel that is connected to the mainspring has lots of fingers and the place where the governor touches those fingers has some sort of resin on it.

I think this is the pallet fork, and that resin (I think it's a jewel, just like the pivot points) is there by design, it doesn't wear like metal would.  

r ranson wrote:When it stops, one of the arms (the one I can't get to easily) isn't touching the fingers where it should.  It's always the same arm of the governor.  But it's not always the same finger of the wheel.

Unfortunately I'm of little use to address this without visually inspecting it myself, and even then there's no promises.  It sounds like the pallet fork isn't properly moving in one direction, so it may be out of alignment.  

Hope that helps!

I clicked on this thread mainly because of the Caddyshack thumbnail.  Then I read it, and found that it relates to a book I recently read, called, "What is Power?" by philosopher Byung-Chul Han.  It was too tough a read for me to get very far in it but here's my summary of the relevant bit:

The more voluntarily one does another's bidding, the more power that other has.  The more resistance one puts up to another, the less power that other has.  A complete loss of power feels akin to death.

The person who needs you to do or say their bidding is under some assumption or entitlement of power.  This explains why they want your total obedience, since any amount of resistance is proof that they don't have the power that they think they have.  They have this assumption until you do or say something that explicitly counters their assumption.  Then they perceive that their "power" is under threat, and they react just as if their life was under threat.  Where they got this assumption is anybody's guess.

I'm not going to pretend to know precisely what I want, I think everyone's guilty of not knowing what they want.  Also, people are rarely satisfied when they get what they want- they want more, or they want something else.

So rather than talk about what I want, I wonder: what's worth wanting?  I'm struck by the idea that people aren't valued for what they do, they're valued for why they do it.  In that way, it doesn't matter what path one chooses, what matters is why they've chosen their path.  What ends are they aiming for?  Superficial things, like material possessions and status, are fleeting and do not last, which is directly contrary to the permaculture ideal.  What's deeper, and longer lasting?  Philosophical, religious, and spiritual ends fit this criteria, I think.  These ends prioritize goodness, justice, beauty, compassion, unity, among many other noble virtues.  Contemporary views of these ideals may differ from ancient ones, but the drive towards these ideals are identical and will remain so in the future, in my opinion.

Idealism has given way to pragmatism, not just in relationships ("I just want a wife who cooks") but throughout all aspects of society, e.g. ideally we'd like American made products, but pragmatically it's cheaper if other countries make them.  I think this reflects a defining characteristic of our era: there is no patience, we want results right now, we can barely think about next year or next week.  The opposite trend can be just as fruitless: if idealism is too strong, there won't be any work done, the perfect would be the enemy of the good.  Permaculture seems to be conveniently located at this crossroads, as it takes head-on the challenge of balancing the ideal with the practical, the long-term and the short-term.  

I think it's worth wanting to partner up with someone who is purpose-driven towards high ideals.  It would help if these ideals are shared, but interfaith couples prove that having identical ideals is not a prerequisite for a successful marriage, only the ideal that they are committed to each other unconditionally.  This can mean so much- mutual respect, willingness to sacrifice (including ultimately), and the flexibility to respond appropriately to the limitless possibilities implied by the word "unconditional".  I also like the idea of balance, that ideals are balanced with practicality, and neither partner is superior to the other.  It's like walking a tightrope where balance needs to be maintained throughout to avoid a fall.  

I am so happy to have found this thread.  I have had to keep secret from almost everyone (even girlfriends!) for nearly 15 years that I do not shampoo or shower very often, usually about once a month.  Now that I have long hair, I give it more attention than I would otherwise.  Almost daily I spray it with filtered water (chlorine is awful for my hair) and occasionally use conditioner.

My big epiphany about this came when I was playing tennis regularly in Florida.  It was hot, humid, and I was soaked from head to toe in sweat.  I was in the mindset that "when you sweat, you need to take a shower afterwards".  But on the drive home, I would leave the window open, letting the air evaporate the sweat and cool my body down.  So by the time I got home I was dry, clean, and surprisingly had no odor.  Why would I need to shower?  Ever since then, I've regarded the soap industry as such a tragedy, basically making money by convincing people they're filthy and therefore unattractive.