Weathervane Works After 75 Years

Weathervane Works After 75 Years FARM HOME Novelty Items When someone told Alfred Geiger he could probably get more than $200 for a weathervane he made 75 years ago he decided it was time to make another one Besides turning with the wind his creations have moving parts featuring working tradesmen Geiger made his first weathervane when he was 14 out of scrap metal he found around the farm to simulate a carpenter bent at the hip sawing wood using eccentrics on a shaft to create the motion Besides aluminum and copper scraps he used thick galvanized wire used for fire service telephone wire to create the shaft and hold four aluminum cups that catch the wind and rotate like an official weathervane Mounted on a piece of copper tube the vane fits on the copper tubing of a lightning rod After more than seven decades it still works atop Geiger’s barn “That galvanized steel wire made 100 years ago has hardened with age so it’s extremely hard Just one strand and it’s very durable ” Geiger says For his new weathervane featuring a blacksmith hammering on an anvil the 89-year-old used more modern scrap material such as aluminum cups made from the band of an above ground swimming pool and other purchased material “The new one was exasperating because sheet copper is only so thick and I wanted a heavier grade ” he says adding he also didn’t have access to heavy copper for the shaft but made do with the heaviest he could find “The arrowhead is made of aluminum and it is joined to the copper with rivets and stainless steel wire ” Geiger says Despite not having the heavier materials from his youth the weathervane action is good and he plans to mount it on the other end of the barn And if he gets a good enough price he may sell the weathervane that has worked for him for most of his life Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Alfred Geiger 4909 Dunn Ave Jacksonville Fla 32218 ph 904 768-3648

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