Over
1400 bonus charts and images available only on the CD!
Anyone can design and make a sundial!
Designing and making
your own sundial can be a lot of fun. It is a great thrill to
create a timepiece that will actually work. In
the following pages you will be introduced to a number of
different sundials. You will also be provided with the resources
to design and construct the majority of these sundials.
Developing a set of sundial plans is not difficult and before
you know it you will have an accurate sundial in your garden.
Because you will be building a sundial that will actually work,
build a simple model and test your design before doing the final
construction. And
when you are done constructing your sundial why not send us a couple of pictures and a
written description. Your sundial will be included in the pages
of "Sundials of the World" and it will inspire others
to create their own.
There are number of illustrations in the
following pages used in the description of particular concepts.
They were generated in a number of different ways. The figures
tagged as "ZW2000/CAD" were created by first using the
freeware package "ZW2000" to draw the hour lines and
create a drawing exchange file (dxf). The dxf file was then
imported into a computer aided design (CAD) software package to
complete the drawing and create a jpeg file. The figures tagged
"SONNE/CAD" were created in a similar way but using
the freeware package "SONNE". The figures tagged
as "SHADOWS" used the freeware package
"Shadows" to draw the sundials. There are some
figures that were generated using a program called "The
Dialist's Companion", which is shareware. It is important to
note this as these illustrations will show you some design
methods that you too can use when designing your sundial.
I
have made available some spreadsheets that I put together to
help in the design of some of the sundials. You can download
these if you wish. They are not
locked in any way so you can make changes to any part of the
spreadsheet. I have tried to check them for accuracy but should
you find any errors please let me know and I will correct them.
Some of the pages contain 3-dimensional
(3-D) images of sundials. These were drawn and rendered using CAD
software. There are also 3-dimensional sundial images that use
an artificial sun to cast a shadow on the sundial's face. Check them out!
The definitions used here are obtained
from the British
Sundial Society Sundial Glossary.
There are many useful links available at
the web site of the North American Sundial Society (NASS). The links
are categorized by topic and will take you to many interesting
places. Additional information about all the topics discussed
here can be found by searching the NASS "Links" page.
Links to the sites where you can find the latest version of all
the software mentioned above are also available. The link to the
NASS site can be found at "The Sundial Primer".
There is a great section for kids and
anyone else who wants to learn an easy way to make your own
simple sundial. At "Sunny Day U" you will find sundial
kits that are easy to put together. You can also learn graphical
techniques that are easy to use for making a number of your own
sundials. There are also a number of sundial generators that
will design a sundial that you can make. You can have a lot of
fun too!
So, if you want to learn how to make a
sundial, come on in and check out "The Sundial
Primer". Then you will be ready to construct your very own
sundial. Have fun and happy dialling!
Just
click on the link above and get "Hooked on Gnomonics"!
If you would like to share a sundial
that you have built or one that you will build in the future, you can have
it displayed in the pages of "Sundials of the World". All you
have to do is send some photographs and a written description and your
sundial will be on the internet for all to enjoy. Who knows, you may even
inspire someone to design and build their own sundial. You have
nothing to loose and it is free. So, if you are interested please contact
us and share your creation with the sundial community.
When you finish checking out "The
Sundial Primer" visit these other interesting sections of the site:
