Geof Fowler
11-03-2005, 7:28 PM
Hi all!
New member here and can already see there is a whole bunch of knowledge and skill here! Though this isn't the kind of finish work I see here, I thought I'd post some pics of a cupola project I did a few years ago. Unfortunately I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to.
The cupola I built in 3 sections (for ease of installation): the base, the shuttered middle section, and the curved roof. This pic shows the rough base and middle section:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/base-04.jpg
This pic shows the rough roof and middle section:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/roof-03.jpg
When finished, I applied 2 coats of high-quality primer, and then 2 coats of paint:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola-4.jpg
At this point I made up this pic to get bids on the standing seam copper roof:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola-9.jpg
When the low bid came back over $3K I decided to do it myself. I didn't take any pics of this, but I laid out the 4 pieces to conform to the curves and scribed some lines, adding 1" to the "female" side and 1/2" to the "male". I then clamped a section at a time in place and used a combination of a ball-peen hammer, vice grips, linesman pliers, and probably a few other odd tools to shape the top panels.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola03.jpg
When this was finished, I did the same with the base, although by that time you can see the copper was already tarnishing:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola06.jpg
In the above pic you can also see the weathervane attached. This has a sort of interesting story behind it. About 15 or 20 years ago I had a foundry operation, and a patternmaker came to me and asked to have a weathervane cast in aluminum (he did all the patternwork). I agreed, and on a whim, asked my guys to cast me one in bronze:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/arrow01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/eagle01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/NESW.jpg
About five years ago, I decided to do the cupola and still had the bronze pieces in my basement. I found a good TIG welder and had the pieces welded together; machined the spindles etc and went looking for some glass balls, finding a very interesting shop in Rhode Island (Crosswinds Gallery) where I not only found the antique balls, but learned that the weathervane was a copy of a very valuable Whitehall model. I'll bet I have the only one in bronze! Anyway, here is a pic of it on my roof:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola005.jpg
Cheers
Geof Fowler
New member here and can already see there is a whole bunch of knowledge and skill here! Though this isn't the kind of finish work I see here, I thought I'd post some pics of a cupola project I did a few years ago. Unfortunately I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to.
The cupola I built in 3 sections (for ease of installation): the base, the shuttered middle section, and the curved roof. This pic shows the rough base and middle section:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/base-04.jpg
This pic shows the rough roof and middle section:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/roof-03.jpg
When finished, I applied 2 coats of high-quality primer, and then 2 coats of paint:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola-4.jpg
At this point I made up this pic to get bids on the standing seam copper roof:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola-9.jpg
When the low bid came back over $3K I decided to do it myself. I didn't take any pics of this, but I laid out the 4 pieces to conform to the curves and scribed some lines, adding 1" to the "female" side and 1/2" to the "male". I then clamped a section at a time in place and used a combination of a ball-peen hammer, vice grips, linesman pliers, and probably a few other odd tools to shape the top panels.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola03.jpg
When this was finished, I did the same with the base, although by that time you can see the copper was already tarnishing:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola06.jpg
In the above pic you can also see the weathervane attached. This has a sort of interesting story behind it. About 15 or 20 years ago I had a foundry operation, and a patternmaker came to me and asked to have a weathervane cast in aluminum (he did all the patternwork). I agreed, and on a whim, asked my guys to cast me one in bronze:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/arrow01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/eagle01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/NESW.jpg
About five years ago, I decided to do the cupola and still had the bronze pieces in my basement. I found a good TIG welder and had the pieces welded together; machined the spindles etc and went looking for some glass balls, finding a very interesting shop in Rhode Island (Crosswinds Gallery) where I not only found the antique balls, but learned that the weathervane was a copy of a very valuable Whitehall model. I'll bet I have the only one in bronze! Anyway, here is a pic of it on my roof:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/grf58/cupola005.jpg
Cheers
Geof Fowler