Astrolabe

I'm posting about another project I've been working on. This one has been on the go for some time and was something I started around the middle of last year. It stemmed from the work I did on the Organo-Box and the Leaf Box which you can find on some of my previous posts. This project was intended as more of a challenge to create something a bit more interesting.

The picture below shows the box; I photographed it in my hand to give you a sense of scale.

 The lid is fabricated from four separate copper elements with the three segments partitioned by silver struts and brought together in the middle by a silver ring. I made a silver stone setting for the center of the lid and set a small piece of amber in it.

 The box is opens to revel its contents. An Astrolabe, is is an elaborate inclinometer historically used by astronomers, navigators and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars, determining local time given local latitude and vice-versa, surveying, triangulation and to cast horoscopes.

 This photograph shows the astrolabe removed from the box and allows you to see the wooden inlay I made for the base. Its made from a piece of Beech which I sourced from a local hardwood timber farmer.

 And finally, here's a photograph of the astrolabe itself in more detail. I calculated the marking and gradations for the copper disc and corrected them to be correct for where I live. I then took the data file to a local engraver and had the copper disc engraved on both sides. This turned out to be a bit of a nightmare as my software and his were not fully compatible and this resulted in the need ror me to go back in and modify most of the lettering and the major lines to allow the engraving machine to correctly lay it out.