Daniel, Thanks for reminding me of your site. I really like your dials and would like to see them up close.
The parameters of the globes that I have in mind are starting to take shape. They are: . semi vandal proof (thus the metal over solid plastic idea) . 8" in diameter. (this is a good globe size and bowling balls about that.) . Made of metal. (Bronze would be ideal, but the cost would be too high) . low cost in production runs of 2 to 100. (say $100). . can be used outdoors. I will be attaching the metal sheets to the plastic ball in much the same manner as paper is done on globes. Ovoid strips of paper called gores are stretched over a carboard sphere. What I need is a digital version of the images of these gores, e.g., lines of latitude and longitude, country outlines, etc. so that they can be transfered to metal. The files I have were produced by a $500 Mac program call Geocart by someone on the net. I don't have a Mac to get these files in a format usable by my PC CAD or drawing programs. I have some low res scanned images from a book if you would like see what I mean. I have talked to some globe makers and they either don't want to part with the images, or they want to charge a lot. So I am continuing with the mechanical aspects if the construction until I can get a copy of the images. ++ron Concord, CA
