The arrow-vane can be made any length to suit the height at which it may be placed, but for the house, barn, flag-pole, or tower not more than fifty or sixty feet high, it should be from twenty-four to thirty-six inches long, with the blade from five to six inches in width.
The most substantial vane is made in three pieces, the point, shaft, and blade. The shaft is made from hard wood, three-quarters of an inch square, in the ends of which cuts are made to receive a tin or sheet-metal point and blade. These are held in place with steel nails driven through the wood and clinched on the opposite side. The arrow is balanced and a hole is then made in the shaft through which the upright pin or rod will pass.
A ferule or ring is driven on the upright rod to hold the arrow in the proper place, and below it two rods should be arranged at right angles, at the ends of which the letters N, E, S, W are soldered. These rods may be of brass or wood, and if the wood is used it should be of hickory or locust, half an inch square or round, and slit at the ends to receive the letters of tin or sheet metal. These latter are held in place with slim steel wire nails driven through the wood and metal.
At the top of a flag-pole these arms should be mounted above a gilded ball, and they should be, if of brass or copper, held securely in place with wire or solder. If they are of iron, it would be well to have a blacksmith weld them, so that they will be rigid and stay in place.
In Fig. 6 some suggestions for wooden vanes are shown that can be followed with the scroll saw and jackknife or a compass saw and carving chisels. These vanes can be made in almost any size that will not be out of proportion to the building or pole they are to be mounted on.
The fish is cut from wood five-eighths of an inch thick, and all around the edges the wood is bevelled so as to give the fish a rounded effect. The fish is balanced on the edge of a piece of wood to determine where the rod will pass through it; then with a quarter-inch bit the hole is carefully bored through from top to bottom. The compass-point letters can be made from sheet tin and supported on two cross sticks and a stout wire hoop from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter.