Paul Adcock, A Backyard Thermometer Screen (Art & Accessories)

A Backyard Thermometer Screen I made my thermometer screen for measuring environmental conditions in an urban backyard. It is an adaption of the Stevenson screen commonly used by metrological agencies. The screen provides a sheltered location for thermometers and sensors that measure atmospheric conditions such as temperature and humidity. It protects the instruments from direct sunlight and the vented construction allows air to circulate freely. Readings are therefore very close to actual ambient. Construction of the screen utilised a 1.8m length of select 140 x 42mm kwila. This was sawn and machined to make the 30 x 30mm corner posts and the 19mm top and bottom rails as well as the door frame and the 6.3mm louvres. The edges of the 6.3mm louvres were machined on the router table with a round over bit. Marine plywood 9mm thick was used for the internal instrument baffle and the roof, which for economy reasons was laminated to provide18mm thickness. A louvre cutting jig was used to cut the louvre slots set 6mm into the corner posts and door styles at an angle of 40 degrees. The rear posts were cut on the two inside faces to accept both the side and back louvres. Front posts were cut on the inside rear facing faces only. A ¼ inch (6.3mm) spiral up-cut bit was used to cut the louvre slots. Rails were jointed to posts with dowel joints and glued with a quality weather resistant glue. The door was constructed in a similar way. After the frames of both the case and door were fabricated the louvres were glued into the slots. Painting of the screen involved applying five separate coats, all manually applied. A initial sealing coat was well sanded before applying two undercoats, each coat being lightly sanded then two gloss coats to provide a durable weather resistant surface. The hinges, screws, knobs and catches were all brass.

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