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Weather Station

Weather StationThis home ambient weather station is a lot of fun and really easy to make.  I’ve been wanting one of these for years, but I never realized that each of the gauges are available online.  I always assumed I’d just buy one.  Most of the weather stations I’ve seen are usually wall mounted.  I really wanted one that would sit on a bookshelf or a desk.  The weather station I made has a thermometer, hygrometer, and a barometer.  I choose 3 elements, but there are other things you can choose from as well such as clocks etc.  Also I think a nice 2 gauge display would have worked nicely as well.  For weather forecasting though the barometer is probably the most important.  I have a page posted on the site with tips for weather forecasting.  It’ll give you basic information for using your barometer.

I was able to build this home weather station using just one board without any tricky glue ups or joinery work.  I made mine out of Oak, and stained it with an Oak Finish and Semi Gloss Sealer.  It has a great classic look and feel it, and should last for many years.

I put links at the bottom of this post where you can find some of the items I used to make this.

For a little extra help with this project I also put together a video of how I made this below.

 

 

Materials & Hardware

  • (1) Thermometer Gauge
  • (1) Hygrometer Gauge
  • (1) Barometer Gauge
  • (1) 1″ x 6″ x 4′ Board (I made mine out of oak)

Milling & Assembly

 Weather Station Rough Cuts When it came to the rough cuts on my weather station I cut 2 boards approximately 10″ long and 4″ wide.  This made the center part where the weather gauges will be.  For the top I cut another piece that was 12″ long and 2-1/2″ wide.  For the pads that it sits on I cut 2 of those at 2″ x 2-1/2″.
 Weather Station Glue Up I glued my 2 boards together to give me a 1-1/2 inch thickness of my boards.  I needed to drill into the board approximately 1″ to hold my weather gauges.  I suppose I could have purchased a board that was this thick, but making it this way was cheaper.
 Weather Station Finish Cuts Weather Station Finish Cuts After my glue up had dried I drew a small arch on the bottom of the board.  It was approximately 2″ in from each side and about 5/8″ deep.  I actually used a tennis racket to get my arch.  You’ll have to watch the video for that one to make any sense.  I cut my arch on the band saw and used a chamfer bit around the top and pads.  
 Weather Station DP Gauge Weather Station DP Gauge For the gauges to fit into the weather station I drilled 3 holes using a 2-3/8″ Forstner Bit.  I spaced them out evenly and there approximately 3″ apart from each center.  As this was Oak and the bit was rather large I set my drill press to the slowest setting I could and then just took my time.  I drilled to a depth of 1″.
Weather Station Pieces Weather Station Sanding After all my boards were finished cut I decided to sand them before final assembly.  I think sanding smaller projects like this before assembly makes for a happier woodworker.
 Weather Station Assembly Glue Up Weather Station Clamp Up After sanding was complete I glued up the pads to the bottom and glued up the top.  I used a heavy amount glue and spread it evenly across as much surface as I could.  After the glue dried, it held together really well.
 Weather Station CompleteWeather Station Finish When it came to finishing the weather station I used a golden oak stain, and a clear semi-gloss sealer.  It gave it a very classic look and should be well protected for a long time.

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Items I Used to Finish this

 

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