Fox Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 (edited) Just finished a gunter quadrant, all bar the cord and plumb-weight. On the obverse is a scale of degrees (and half degrees), Gunter scale, and geometric square. On the reverse is a Nunes scale and Morland perpetual calendar. Obverse Reverse Edited March 8, 2010 by Foxe Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Midnight Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 That is absolutely magnificent work, Mr. Foxe! Well done indeed! "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 It's not period correct - you failed to misspell anything. Very nice. Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 It's not period correct - you failed to misspell anything. Very nice. How trew... Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bos'n Cross Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 vverryyy nice mr.foxe....yee give us all something to aspire twards! -Israel Cross- - Boatswain of the Archangel - . Colonial Seaport Foundation Crew of the Archangel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captscurvy_nc Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Beautifull work, even better than the one we had on display at the NC History Museum during the Kknights of the Black Flag exhibit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyBarbossa Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 I think FB can be applied here, too. I'm darn near envious, Foxe. ~Lady B Tempt Fate! an' toss 't all t' Hell!" "I'm completely innocent of whatever crime I've committed." The one, the only,... the infamous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted March 13, 2010 Author Share Posted March 13, 2010 OK, how about this one? It's a nocturnal, used for telling the time at night. The scales on the obverse are used to calculate the time by stellar positions, the scales on the reverse are for latitute correction. Obverse Reverse Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oderlesseye Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Lovely detail! Now that it is done ..ye can send it my way...~ http://www.myspace.com/oderlesseyehttp://www.facebook....esseye?ref=nameHangin at Execution dock awaits. May yer Life be a long and joyous adventure in gettin there!As he was about to face the gallows there, the pirate is said to have tossed a sheaf of papers into the crowd, taunting his audience with these final words: "My treasure to he who can understand." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captscurvy_nc Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Outstanding work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diosa De Cancion Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 (edited) fantastic! Very beautiful work! Edited March 14, 2010 by Diosa De Cancion Diosa De Cancion aka Mary Read www.iammaryread.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyBarbossa Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Yup... definitely FB applies. Damnit, Foxe! Now I want to relieve both of them from yo'r possession. ~Lady B Tempt Fate! an' toss 't all t' Hell!" "I'm completely innocent of whatever crime I've committed." The one, the only,... the infamous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Say, Foxe, can you give us a tutorial on how you use these creations of yours? Or point out where to find such instructions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capn'rob Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 These instruments are just beautiful! Have you tried them stellar observation? I've been amazed at the skill of navigation by Pilots that used the instruments of this era. When I did my Pacific crossing in 1979 I had a Plastic Davis Sextant opposed to our Capt.s Tamaya from Weems and Plath. We both arrived at the same place! Just kidding! We came up with figures almost identical on our daily noon sights. He was far more skilled than I with star sights and would regularly come up with "Sailor's Cocked Hats"! In Hawaii I took over the boat and one of the first things I did was hire a local, Bruddah. This man could navigate by sea and wave conditions and wind. Every port we went to, a family member of his was Port Captain or close to him! We learned a lot from Bruddah Mark but most important was the real meaning of Aloha. I look forward to "putting eyes on them some day" at a festival, invasion or raid. Until as such time I wish you a fine breeze on the quarter, a fair, rolling sea and a soft anchorage at the end of the trip. Reef early! YHS, Dutch "X" (his mark) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 The wonderful thing about both the quadrant and the nocturnal is that they combine simple functions with quite complex ones. The simplest function of the quadrant is to determine the azimuth angle of an object (typically the sun), which is done by aligning the object through pinule holes on the top edge. The plumb line then hangs at the correct angle on the scale. The Gunter lines in the middle can be used for determining the sun's declination and for telling the time, but rather than me typing out long and wordy instructions I recommend a google for "gunter quadrant" which will bring up all sorts of tutorials and even an online e-gunter. The Nunes scale is used for determining the length of a longitudinal degree at any given latitude, by lining the plumb line up to the desired latitude on the degree scale and moving a bead up the line until it touches the semi-circle. Then swinging the line up to the top 100ths scale without moving the bead on the line will tell you the percentage of an equatorial degree of longitude at that lat. I'd love to explain the perpetual calendar, but I haven't figured it out yet The simplest function of the nocturnal is to tell the time at night by the position of either the pointers of the Great Bear (Big Dipper to you colonials) or Kochab, one of the guards of the Little Bear (presumably the Little Dipper?). Depending on which star(s) you choose to use (personal preference or whichever is more visible) line up either the GB or LB tab on the middle disk with today's date on the outer disk; sight polaris through the hole in the middle; swing the pointer arm round until the straight edge touches the relevant star, and where it crosses the middle disk will give you the correct time. The nocturnal can also be used to correct latitude readings, determine the age of the moon, and predict tides. I've used both. The nocturnal I made just for fun, but the quadrant is part of a larger project to investigate the uses of different navigational instruments, their difficulties and the advantages each one offers. The quadrant appears to be pretty accurate, but I haven't tested it against a control (which will be one of the criteria for proper testing once the rest of the desired instruments have been made). The nocturnal is accurate to within about 5 minutes (bearing in mind that any increment of time less than 15 minutes must be judged by eye). Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Thanks very much, Foxe. You help remedy my deficiency in hands-on experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1stMate Matt Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 OK, how about this one? It's a nocturnal, used for telling the time at night. The scales on the obverse are used to calculate the time by stellar positions, the scales on the reverse are for latitute correction. Obverse Reverse Nice work. That is just awesome. If you worked that design large enough and made it into a chairback then you would have one hell of a sellable product. Everyone would have to have one.  -1st Mate of Pirates Magazine -Bladesmith/Owner of That Works Studio http://youtube.com/thatworks thatworks.shop  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Sterling Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 (edited) Guess what I got for my birthday present from some of the crewe...hint, hint.. (obverse) The obverse side features a typical degree scale (the quadrant's primary function), and a geometric square. The reverse side features a Nunes scale for determining the length of a degree of longitude at any given latitude. (reverse) Tis a beauty Edited March 26, 2010 by Capt. Sterling "I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers Crewe of the Archangel http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel# http://creweofthearchangel.wordpress.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted March 26, 2010 Author Share Posted March 26, 2010 Wait... I recognise that Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted March 27, 2010 Author Share Posted March 27, 2010 ...and the next bits: a navigational semi-circle (in mahogony) and a cross-staff (in oak and walnut) Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 And yet more... L to R: a folding pocket quadrant, new backstaff, and an almucantar staff (used for measuring the sun at very low angles - still missing its vanes as yet) Close-up of the 30 scale on the backstaff. My first backstaff reads accurately down to one degree, and by eye perhaps as much as a quarter degree (15 mins). This one reads accurately down to 5 minutes (1/12 degree), and by eye a little bit more. Inside the folding quadrant. Foxe"With this Fore-Staff he fansies he does Wonders, when, God knows, it amounts to no more but only to solve that simple Question, Where are we? Which every chi'd in London can tell you." - Ned Ward The Wooden World Dissected, 1707ETFox.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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