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Hi Frank and everyone,
Some years I replaced a dial in Cheshire
where the thieves had removed a heavy stone pedestal down a steep, twisting
and very narrow path. They almost deserved it for the herculean effort
involved. My bronze replacement was set as previously described with a
profiled gnomon 'tenon' set in mortar PLUS the circular dial plate was set
using silicone adhesive into a circular cavity preventing easy access for any
kind of lever under the plate. As far as I know this dial is still in place.
The rounded tips of bolts showing above the plate can indicate an additional
firm fixing from below as a 'thief discouragement' device. Contrast that with
an English stately home where the valuable dial was secured with small steel
'hooks' clearly saying "Please steal me!"....so they did.
Fred Sawyer sent me a pic of a French?? dial protected by closing 'clam
shells??' ( a distant memory and I can't locate the picture). The ultimate
deterrent with which I was associated protects my Jamestown Dial which is
locked into a stainless steel 'safe' at night. Pic on request.
Frank is right of course in that nothing will deter the ultra-determined thief
or vandal but, if security is built into the design, theft is unlikely in my
experience. Plastic replaceable plates and a ball-pen gnomon don't quite have
the aesthetic/romantic appeal which brought me to the craft although I did once
design a bronze analemmatic memorial dial for a US cemetery which would not
allow a projecting gnomon. Viewers are asked to stand a pencil on the current
date.
Tony Moss
----Original Message----
From: f...@cl.cam.ac.uk
Date: 17/05/2017 9:03
To: <rodwall1...@gmail.com>
Cc: <sundial@uni-koeln.de>
Subj: Re: Mounting Sundials...securely
Dear Roderick,
Bill Gottesman notes the Tony Moss method of
securing sundials to pedestals.
This certainly works but it doesn't stop
anyone with a hammer and a cold chisel
doing serious damage in an attempt to
steal the sundial.
Now take a look at this:
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/keep-your-eyes-peeled-plea-after-antique-sundial-st
olen-from-blickling-hall-near-aylsham-1-3319691
You will see two photographs taken in
the grounds of Blickling Hall, U.K.
The first photograph shows a damaged
pedestal but with the dial plate still
in position. This dial was secured in
a Tony Moss fashion and the thieves
damaged the pedestal but failed to
take the sundial.
The second photograph shows what
happened next. The thieves simply
walked off with the entire pedestal.
The pedestal was 18th century and
had a much higher value than the
sundial (a modern replacement).
It would have been much better to
have had a simple lift-off sundial
and thereby saved the pedestal.
OK, so what do you do?
I have come to the view that
sundials on pedestals or plinths
in public places are simply too
vulnerable to countenance. You
either settle for an analemmatic
sundial on the ground or you have
a wall dial sufficiently high up
that it is hard to get at.
BUT there is a third way...
You have a plinth and you want
a sundial. I would have a nice
design which was printed on
vinyl and stuck to a prepared
surface on the plinth. The
replacement cost is about $5
and the scrap value is zero.
What about the gnomon?
You design the dial for a rod
gnomon but don't actually
provide a rod. You drill
a hole through the Vinyl and
the supporting brickwork and
arrange for it to be polar
oriented.
You insert a simple piece of
hollow studding and invite
users to put a ball-pint pen
in the hole.
Vinyl is commonly used for
advertisements on buses and
seems to tolerate wind, rain,
snow, ice and loose stones.
The design life is about five
years, or longer than the mean
time between thefts!
Your next challenge will be
that someone will steal the
plaque but let's deal with
one problem at a time.
Frank King
Cambridge, U.K.
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