LOCATION DETERMINES THE SUNDIAL DESIGN
Each sundial is completely different. (see example: PDF drawing of four sundial faces). You cannot adjust or rotate a sundial so that it can be used in different locations. Each sundial will only function for the location for which it was designed and must be custom-designed by a qualified sundial designer (dialist) and made for the specific location. Location means three things: the latitude, the longitude, and the directional orientation of the sundial face (its inclination and declination). Cupola sundials have a vertical inclination but might decline to the west or east of south depending on how the building is oriented. For example, do the four sides of the tower face exactly north, south, east and west or do they face in some other direction? These three things determine the design of each sundial.
The building's roof orientation would have to be measured by a qualified surveyor or sundial designer. (Dialists have special techniques that we use to measure a building's declination.) There are many professional sundial designers in our society (The North American Sundial Society) and in other sundial societies all over the world, including myself, who would jump at the chance to help out with a cupola sundial design. With sundials, it is often useful to employ a sundial designer who lives nearby the project so that he can take measurements and assist in the sundial installation. But we often do projects at a distance using email.
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ADJUSTMENTS
Daylight Saving Time adjustments are done in your head by mentally adding or subtracting one hour from the sundial reading. Most sundials made for places that have DST have hour numerals that show DST (summer time) since most people are out in their gardens in the summer. Now that congress has extended DST, it makes even more sense to have the sundial show DST. Some sundials have both DST and Standard Time numerals. And some sundials can even show the date!
SUNDIAL FRAME & FACE DESIGN
The sundial can be any shape or size but a round or square-shaped face are probably the best shapes to use on a cupola or tower. To see a PDF drawing of many sundial shape options, click Here You could have a frame (also known as a bezel) around the sundial face that is raw metal like aluminum, stainless steel, brass, bronze or copper. Or it can be anodized or powder coated with any color. It doesn't have to be real copper. You could also use the same frames that are made for outdoor clocks. One could make the sundial faces out of durable porcelain fired on stainless steel, or for a lot less money, the face could be self-adhesive vinyl (like the material used to make signs and car decals) on steel or aluminum sheets. But vinyl only lasts about ten years and would have to be periodically replaced. You could even use opalescent stained glass, mosaic or ceramic tiles.
The Sundial face designs are simple and uncluttered for a reason. I think that for practical purposes, the sundial faces should be easy to read. They should look like clocks. So using a clock suppliers catalogue (Timesavers) I based the face designs on typical black and white large public clocks. I used an easy to read Arabic numeral font that is often used on large public clocks, and I made the numbers as large as possible to be easily seen from a distance. To avoid distractions and to keep the design simple, I used time intervals of only 15 minutes and kept extra artwork to a minimum. Properties of Porcelain Enamel (PDF 55 KB)
WEBSITE RELATING TO VERTICAL SUNDIAL DESIGN
In the website, StainedGlassSundials.com, I discuss the finer technical aspects relating to the design of stained glass sundial windows on a wall. Like cupola sundials, these are also vertical sundials, and many of the technical aspects are the same. In particular, you should review the information on roof eave shading, gnomon types and gnomon design. Direct Link to Sundial Design & Construction Page This page has received visits, since 30 July 2005
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