I hope your Courtyard Sundial will give you years of pleasure. While these are not precision instruments, they will show the passing of time when set up as described below. I would suggest that you set your dial up to show Summer Time because it is in the summer that you are going to be in the garden. Summer Time in the UK is 1 hour ahead of solar time, 2 hours ahead in many parts of Europe. How to do this is explained below.

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Artificial Patina / Verdigris
3. Damage in transit
4. Insurance - protect your investment from theft

Set Up & Fixing

5. Flat / Horizontal Sundials
6. Armillary Sundials
7. Wall Mounted / Vertical Sundials
8. Brass Plates / Plaques
9. Plinths

Flat Pack Assembly

10. Flat / Horizontal Sundials
11. Armillary Sundials
12. Wall Mounted / Vertical Sundials

Miscellaneous

13. Armillary - Fixing Engraved Band if supplied separately
14. Moving house / Resetting latitude on Armillaries
15. Artificial Ageing of polished brass
16. For the technically minded
17. The National Sundial Database - earn yourself a £20 voucher

1: INTRODUCTION

My sundials are usually sent fully assembled but if delivery is outside the UK mainland they will (if possible) be sent flat packed to keep shipping costs down – instructions on assembling them are given in sections 10, 11 and 12.

My slate sundials are sent with the gnomon (the angled piece that cast the shadow of the sun) separate to protect them in transit. See section 5 on fitting the gnomon.

For a sundial to be accurate, it has to be calibrated for the latitude in which it is being used and the angle of the gnomon (the diagonal shaft) set for that latitude.

Our Armillary sundial will have been set up for the delivery address unless you advised us that it is to be used in a different location, in which case it will have been set up for that location.

In the main our flat or horizontal sundials are garden ornaments that tell the passing of time and are calibrated for central England , but they will work reasonably well anywhere in the UK and northern Europe.

However, the Spot On sundials are precision instruments and we have a number of different versions calibrated for various UK locations - the latitude your Spot On dial is calibrated for is engraved at the top of the dial. The London dial, set up for 51 degrees, 30 seconds North is suitable fro any latitude between 49.75 and 53.25 North

The Border and Da Vinci sundials will have been calibrated for the location where they are going to be used.

My Slate sundials are designed for Europe where Summer time is 2hours ahead of solar time

2: ARTIFICAL PAINA / VERDIGRIS

The blue or green patina will rapidly fade once the sundial is exposed to the ravages of our weather, as were many of the sundials used for photos on our website and brochure.

In the course of time, brass dulls down to an antique golden colour.

If you want to artificially age one of our polished sundials have a look at section 15

3: DAMAGED IN TRANSIT

If your sundial is damaged in, transit please let me know within 7 days. We try hard to ensure that your sundial will survive the rough treatment to be expected from couriers but every now and then, they manage to bend the gnomon. Let us know and we can send a replacement

Many of the sundials are cast from old sundials so they reflect any imperfections or wear from the original.

4: INSURANCE

Send us a photo of your sundial securely fixed in place and we will provide 12 months insurance against theft. If your sundial is stolen send, us a report with a Police Crime Number and we will replace it at no cost to you provided it has been fixed in accordance with the enclosed instructions.

5: SET UP & FIXING - FLAT / HORIZONTAL SUNDIAL

If your sundial has been flat packed, usually for delivery outside the UK refer to section 10 to assemble it.

On a sunny day, with your watch showing 12 o'clock, stand with your back to the sun - you are now facing North. Place the dial on your plinth with angled gnomon facing away from you. Then move out of the way so that the sun shines on the dial and the gnomon casts a shadow.

Turn the dial until this shadow is over the 12 (XII). It can now be fixed to your plinth with glue like No Nails (Exterior) or GripFix.

Alternatively, it can be screwed to the plinth. If the dial is not predrilled, you will need to drill through the base plate. Brass is a soft metal so it is relatively easy to drill through. Then mark off the plinth top to match the holes in the dial and drill in this to set 3 or 4 rawlplugs. Screw the dial down to the rawlplugs using brass screws to prevent galvanic corrosion, which will occur if dissimilar metals are in contact with each other.

The Spot On Stainless Steel dial should be set up the same way and glued to the plinth top with no Nails (Exterior) or Gripfix. Do not attempt to drill through the stainless steel base plate.

Our Slate dials are shipped with the gnomon loose in case of damage. Glue this to the base with the pointed end facing towards 12 o'clock (XII) - use No Nails Exterior or araldite. Set the slate dial up as explained above and then glue it to your plinth with No Nails (Exterior) or GripFix. Do NOT attempt to drill the slate base; you are likely crack the slate.

The Spot On Brass dials are supplied pre-assembled and come with a black security key bar. Use this key bar to undo the security bolt (the one with two indentations) in the centre of the dial. Set the base plate (the one with 4 holes drilled in it) on your plinth and mark off the four holes on the top of the plinth top. Drill these out and set in 4 rawlplugs.

Then fix the base plate to the plinth using brass screws to prevent galvanic corrosion, which will occur if dissimilar metals are in contact with each other. Now fix the top plate to the base plate using the security bolt. Do not screw down tightly until midday. At that time (by your watch) move the top plate until the sun shines through the slit in the gnomon and falls on 12 o'clock. You can now screw the security bolt down tightly.

6: SET UP & FIXING - ARMILLARY SUNDIALS

If your sundial has been flat packed, usually for delivery outside the UK , refer to section 11 to assemble it.

If you ordered an engraved top band and this is being sent after you have received the sundial (with a plain band) refer to the section 13 where we explain how to replace the plain band with the engraved band.

Your armillary sundial will have been set up for the latitude it has been delivered to unless you specified different latitude when the order was placed. The angle of the gnomon (the diagonal shaft that casts a shadow on the hour band) has been set for this latitude and is held firm by the brass knob in the centre of the dial - so do not loosen this.

If the knob has become loose in transit then the latitude will have to be reset - refer to moving home, section 14.

At midday by your watch stand with your back to the sun - you are now facing North. Place the armillary sundial on the plinth with the arrow facing away from you. Now move out of the way to let the sun shine on the dial and note that the gnomon casts a shadow on the hour band. Now turn the dial until the shadow is at 12 o'clock (XII)

The Kepler and Ptolemy Celeste dials are supplied with fixing bolts. Mark out the centre of your plinth and drill a hole there large enough to take the fixing bolt. Make sure that the hole is at least 1 ¹/²" deep or more in the case of the Kepler expansion bolt.

The Kepler bolt is an expansion bolt so unscrew the body of the bolt and drop this in to the hole in the plinth. Put the bolt though the base of the Kepler sundial and screw this in to the expansion bolt in the plinth. Do not over tighten as you could split the plinth

If you have bought a Ptolemy Celeste, fill the bolt hole with araldite (not the rapid drying version). Then screw the bolt down so it protrudes out of the bottom of the base plate using the nuts to secure it tightly.

Finally drop the end of the bolt in to the araldite, which will set within 24 hours, so set the dial to midday before it solidifies

The stainless steel Penthouse Crescent should be glued to the plinth using No Nails Exterior or Gripfix.

The other Armillary sundials can be secured to the plinth in a number of ways

1. You could fill the bell base with a cement sand mixture and let this adhere to the plinth top.

2. You could find a bolt (M8 1.25) that will screw in to the base and use the same technique as described above for the Ptolemy Celeste. (Not possible with the Galileo)

3. You could drill the outer rim of the base bell (brass is a soft metal so it is easy to drill through). Then mount this on the plinth and set it up to show 12 o'clock at middy. Mark the top of the plinth and drill this out to take 3 or 4 rawlplugs and then screw the base down to the plinth.

There is no reason why you could not use 2 or even three of the above methods for extra security.

7: SET UP & FIXING - WALL MOUNTED / VERTICAL SUNDIAL

If your sundial has been flat packed, usually for delivery outside the UK , refer to section 12.

Wall Mounted sundials must be fitted to a wall that faces due south if they are to be at all accurate. At noon set the dial up in an open area so that the shadow from the gnomon (the angled part of the dial) is over the 12. These have been pre-drilled so you can insert rawlplugs in the wall and screw the dial to them. You should use brass screws.

If your wall does not face exactly south you can pack out one side with washers or a piece of wood.

8: SET UP & FIXING - BRASS PLATES / PLAQUES

These can be drilled and then screwed to your plinth or you can use glue like GripFix or No Nails (Exterior).

9: SET UP & FIXING - PINTHS

If your ordered a plinth this will be delivered in 3 to 4 + weeks by the manufacturer – Redwood Stone - who can be contacted on 01749 677 777.

If the ground where the plinth is to be set is sound and does not get water logged, there is usually no need to provide a foundation. If you do need to provide extra stability then dig a hole 2 feet or so deep and fill the base with gravel or ballast (broken bricks could be used if broken down to small pieces. Top this up with a sand and cement mixture and ensure that the surface is level.

Once the base has set, mount the plinth on this. The Tudor comes in 3 separate pieces, which can be glued together with either No Nails Exterior or Gripfix.

10: FLAT PACK ASSEMBLY - FLAT / HORIZONTAL SUNDIALS

Undo the screws at the bottom of gnomon. Then place the gnomon so it slants towards the 12 o'clock and screw this down firmly but do not over tighten - the brass screws are soft and the thread can be easily stripped.

11: FLAT PACK ASSEMBLY - ARMILLARY SUNDIALS

There are 3 components - the upright stand, the hour band (with a plain or engraved band screwed to it) and the gnomon (arrow). Your latitude is shown on the front page

1. Decide whether you want the plain band to be at the top or bottom of the sundial. If you have ordered an engraved band this should be at the top as in the picture on the left. The picture on the right shows this band at the bottom, which is the way our armillaries are normally supplied.

2. Place the stand upright and undo the brass nut and bolt on the curve, not the knob in the centre that holds the stand to the bell shape base

3. Place the hour band on the upright stand so that the hole at midday is in line with the hole in the upright stand. With XII in the centre and the numbers I II III IV etc running to your right. Make sure that the plain band is outside the upright stand. In the picture below the plain/engraved band is shown at the top

4. Screw the hour band to the upright stand but do not tighten

5. Slot the arrow shaft through the upright and the plain/engraved band, which could be at the top or bottom. The brass collar should go between the arrow and the top of the upright. Finally screw the tail of the arrow on

6. The angle of the gnomon (the arrow shaft) must be the same as your latitude - See section 10. When set, tighten up the screw thorough the hour band and then fix the nut tightening this with a spanner

12: FLAT PACK ASSEMBLY - WALL MOUNTED / VERTICAL SUNDIALS

See section 10

13: ARMILLARY - FXING ENGRAVED BAND IF SUPPLIED SEPERATELY

1. Remove the arrow by undoing the head or tail and pulling the shaft free form the sundial

2. Undo the two screws that hold the plain band on to the hour band

3. Place the engraved over the top of the upright band and screw back on to the hour band

4. Then replace the arrow shaft and screw back the head or tail.

14: MOVING HOUSE / RESETTING LATITUDE

Our flat and wall mounted sundials are calibrated for central England or, in the case of the Border, Da Vinci and Spot On Brass, the location where they are going to be used. You cannot change this calibration but they will work with reasonable accuracy anywhere in England or northern Europe...

Your armillary sundial will have been set up for the latitude it is going to be used. The Courtyard, Archimedes, Galileo, Pliny, Plato, Sovereign and Jubilee Are designed so that you can change the latitude setting. If you move home or the central knob has become lose in transit then you must set the angle of the gnomon (the arrow shaft) to your latitude.

To find your latitude go to www.streetmap.co.uk and type in the name of your village or town - not your postcode. The map will display the area where you live. Scroll down to the bottom of the page; there in the third line from the bottom you will see Location is at.

In the case of our town the display shows Location is at 308017E 127963N (N51:02:37 W3:18:48. Our latitude is N51; the angle of the gnomon from the horizontal therefore needs to be 51 degrees

15: ARTIFICIALLY AGEING POLISHED BRAS SUNDIALS

Polished brass can be artificially aged using Liberon's Antiquing Fluid - Brown (Tourmaline). The polish brass must be first thoroughly scoured with wire wool. Then remove all traces of grease with Liberon's Cold Patination Pre-Treatment before applying their Antiquing Fluid. Finally fix the antiquing by rubbing with Jade Oil

These chemicals are hazardous so please follow the instructions given on the bottles. Liberon's products can be found at many DIY shops or off the internet.

16: FOR THE TECHINICALLY MINDED

Your sundial uses the light from the sun to show the Local Time. This is different from the Mean Time shown by your watch. For every degree of longitude to the West of Greenwich, the dial will appear to be 4 minutes slow.

Here is Wiveliscombe our longitude is 3 degrees 18 minutes west of Greenwich so when it is midday (12 o'clock) there our sundial will appear to be 12 ³/⁴ minutes late (4 minutes x 3.18 degrees west).

If we have "put our clocks forward" to show British Summer time then there is a further 1-hour difference.

The sun also varies its timekeeping throughout the year, which further complicates the apparent difference. This is referred to as The Equation of Time. In February the sun, and therefore your dial, will be as much as 15 minutes slower than your watch. In late October to early November, the sun will be 15 minutes ahead of your watch.

17: THE NATIONAL SUNDIAL DATABASE

In connection with a number of public bodies, we are in the process of setting up the first publicly available National Database of Sundials.

In due course, this database will be available on our website - www.courtyardsundials.co.uk where you can find details of the Database.

You can earn yourself a £20 voucher for each photo of an old public sundial you submit to the database.