Evening star., 1897-03-20
WEATHER VANES.
Some With Ball BEARINGS but Most NJ
Them Made in the Old Way.

From the New York Sun.
There are made nowadays some weather
vanes with ball bearings. but they are com
paratively few in number. The very .rea,
majority OF vanes are made with the SIM
pie spindle and socket The spindle upon
which the vane turns, Is set in a supporting
roc OF wrought iron. The spindle is of
hardened steel. 1t is slenderer than the rod
so that there is a shoulder all around the
base of It, The tip of the spindle is round
ed and polished. The socket or tube which
IS part o: the vane, Is also of steel The
upper. closed end of this socket is round
cd 10 nj the tip of the spindle and polished
smooth. The socket does not come ouite
down to the shoulder at the base of tho
spindle The bearing Is on the top of The
spindle. upon which the smooth, rounded
top of the socket turns. 1t is at the ton of
the spindle that the balls are placed when
a Vane Is made with ball bearings
Ihe best vanes are made with the great
est nicely and precision, that they bal
arce perfectly and turn with the least nos
Slbie wear. The vane is of course Ionuar
on one side of the socket than on the other
or IL would not turn with the wind but jts
"eigh. is ne same on both sides. If it is
an arrow vane. for instance, the weight OF
the solid head is easily made equal tn tbat
OF the longer projecting but thinner feather
eiid ard all ranes. whatever they NAV be
are balanced as to weight and so adjusted
that they turn easily and with the least
ssiEle friction
A perfectly constructed and nicely adj
Josieu Nahe whose support remains plumb
VIII keep in working condition for q great
many years. There is a ware on a church
IN RldSefield. N j.. that SO far as informa-
non goes. has been turning unfaiIinpIv
since about the year 100. An ill-baIanced
fahe OF poor materials might not last more
than ten years. correctly constructed
vane OF good materials would last many
years iofger- IL may also be said that
sGch Vane never wears out. A vane is
oiled when 1t is first put up, but never after
that. The Vane is not held down upon its
supporting spindle in any way except by
lis own weight. and II might seem that a
gust OF wind would sometimes ris. I'M under
1t with such force as to lift the yane clear
But the spndies are from seven to ten
inches III length. and the vane projects
from the spindle unevenly: that is with a
greater bulk on one side than on the other
ana the chances are immeasurab.y against
a gust Of wind Of sufficient force rising di-
rectly upward with it's force SO distributed
that II would lift the vane straight upward
without blndlng on the spindle. A manu-
facturer of vanes said that as a matter OF
fact. he had never known vane to be
lifted Oft by the wind.
But it might be possible for a vane to be
lifted on from above. as by the tail of a
kite. and sometimes the working of a yane
Is int.rfered with by a kite tail twisted
about It, A costly indicator yane that had
teen set up with great care became after
time irregular and uncertain in its OPERA
tfon. There was no apparent cause for the
failure. but a minute examination revealed
a piece of kite tail twisted around the spin-
Gle. This was removed. ard thereafter the
yane worked perfectly. 1t is not common
thing for kite tails to catch in weather
vanes, but II Is not so uncommon as to be
very remarkable. Sometimes vanes are
struck by lightning, so that they will not