On Mon, 8 Nov 1999, Les Cowley wrote:
> It could be worthwhile having a short section on what to look out for,
> and what to avoid, if a tyro is thinking of purchasing one of the
> cheap mass produced dials often on sale in garden stores.
>
Of course, that can be a fairly simple answer! Look out for and avoid:
"cheap mass produced dials often on sale in garden stores". :{)
I would have to limit that comment a little bit, though. Mass produced
equatorial dials, like armillary dials, *might* be worth their weight. At
least the hour lines are equally spaced and straight (if done reasonably
well), so the dial is "correct" for any latitude it can be mounted for.
About the only other design considerations would be seeing that the axis
(gnomon in this case) is at the center of the hour ring, with the hours
running the full 180 degrees, from 0600 to 1800.
Dave
