September, 2007

I love weather.  I also love woodworking.

What better way is there to satisfy both of my passions than by building a wooden weather station?

This was one of those projects I really enjoyed building because it was built with free scraps.  The Brazilian cherry and maple were cast offs from a neighbor’s shop that I was able to put to work.

For the body of the station, I laminated strips of maple and Brazilian cherry, then bored the holes for each of the instruments.  The top and bottom of the station are moldings I shaped on the router table.  I shaped a rectangle of wood and then ripped the pieces from the larger piece, making for a much safer operation.

I used glue and pocket screws to attach the top and bottom, and discovered just how easy it was to split the wood.  There are two small splits where even the finest pocket screws were too much.

I sanded the piece down to 220 grit, and finished it with the Rude and Crude method – 1# cut of dewaxed shellac, sand with 400 grit, then apply two coats of Danish Oil.

The instruments were purchased from Lee Valley, and they include a thermometer, barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure and a hygrometer, which gives a fairly accurate reading of the relative humidity.  Unfortunately, because I have the  station indoors, I’m reading the temperature and humidity inside my office.