Weierbach Project

Weierbach Project

Goal:  To create a standing Fox Weather Vane to replace the damaged Horse Vane on top of the Barn pictured.

Constraints:  Approximately 50″ long by 23″ high (TBD) also mounting to a pole 1 1/4 in diameter.

Images:

6 Responses to “Weierbach Project”

  1. John Weierbach says:
    April 19, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    Jac, Love the fox. It’s great. Just a few questions. What length is the fox? It looks considerably larger than the horse I used to have, which is OK if you think this looks in better proportion than the old weathervane. Also, what length is the arrow? My old one was 60 inches long. Also, do you have an estimate? Also , fox should be facing the other way, which is toward the main house. . Does the fox also swivel? I’m not sure if my horse did.. Thanks, John

  2. threepointsdesign says:
    April 19, 2011 at 6:05 pm

    John,

    Thanks for the kind words. My apologies for not getting this up sooner.

    The beauty of working in digital images is that we can manipulate them to adjust almost any variable before we actually start carving anything. It is much easier to carve away pixels than actual wood.

    The mock-up I posted was never intended to be the final version, only a way to visualize the end result. The arrow in the image is the same arrow – I just eliminated the broken horse and replaced it with the Fox. I’m fairly sure we can keep the old arrow, unless you’d like it replaced as well.

    As pictured (given the arrow is 60″) the Fox would be about 50″ long – give or take an inch. The horse wasn’t as long as the fox, but was taller. The Fox isn’t as tall, but is longer. We can shorten it if you’d like. Again, this is just a digital mock-up and not set in stone.

    I’m fairly confident that we can make the Fox swivel by hiding the mounting in the steel hemisphere under the base – that assumes you’d wish to keep the existing arrow and 1 1/4″ mounting pole intact as is.

    As for the cost, I’ll need to defer until we have a good idea of what length we’re carving as well as whether or not we need to replace the arrow and other metal support structures.

    Let me know about the above issues and we’ll readjust and move forward.

    Thanks,
    Jac

  3. John Weierbach says:
    April 20, 2011 at 12:59 pm

    Jac, Thanks for your quick reply. We can use the old arrrow. It’s very heavy and metal.. My current horse doesn’t move, just the arrow moves. I was thinking that metal would wear better than wood, and not need to be painted constantly. What is your experience with wood weathervanes outside? Also, I live in a very windy area and I was concerned about wood not holding up. This needs to be structurally strong. I do think the old horse could have been bigger.. My gut is that 42 to 50 inches long would be good. How high would that make the fox? Not sure how you would attach it if it was wood. Would need to solder if it was metal? Let me know your thoughts, Thanks, John

  4. threepointsdesign says:
    April 21, 2011 at 11:59 am

    John,

    If the Fox is about 40″ long that will make the height about 22″, so for 50″ long it would be about 27″ high. The photoshopped image is set at about 50″ long, but we could certainly shrink it to 40″.

    We’ve done wooden weathervanes in the past for clients, most notably a series of flying Pelicans and Swans with 60 and 72″ wingspans. It is true that wooden weathervanes will not hold up as well as metal versions over the longest term, but properly constructed and treated with weather-resistant and weather-proof materials they can last a long time.

    The wood we primarily use is White Cedar, a relative of the Cypress family, and is used extensively in house siding, decking, and roofing. The paint and finish we use can be easily treated to be water proof, and a once yearly or bi-yearly re-treatment with a simple spray of commercial polyurethane will keep the finish.

    The easiest way to construct a wooden fox weathervane for you that utilizes your existing mount is to have the fox attached to a steel platform (about 4″ across) with a steel hemisphere welded to the bottom. The existing support rod would then feed up into the hollow ball and be secured at the base with a set screw for ease of removal (if necessary) – or we could put a ball bearing in the hollow sphere if you wanted the Fox to rotate to the wind.

    The fox would be attached to the platform with a steel armature hidden inside the actual carving. The steel support would carry the weight and any load stresses delivered by wind or snow, etc.

    Let me know if the above sounds acceptable.

    Thanks,
    Jac

  5. John Weierbach says:
    April 25, 2011 at 11:47 am

    Jac , If you think wood would look better and wear well if sprayed once or twice a year, that would be ok. I just don’t want to repaint it or worry about holding up. It would look cool being wood. Most weathervanes, the main animal or whatever doesn’t move. Stationery, facing the right looking at the garage is good, the way the horse was facing. I can’t decide between 40 or 50 inches, so photoshop one 45 inches and let’s see what it looks like. What do you think? John PS Sorry, but I am analytical!

  6. John Weierbach says:
    May 9, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    Okay, I think 45 inches is pretty good, what do you think? Let’s make it out of wood. If you could give me a price, that would be great. Also, how long will it take to make. How will you assemble it to the rest of the weathervane? Do you come to Lancaster, or is it easy for us to connect it on top ? Thanks, John

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