Piers Nicholson Sundials
Piers Nicholson has been designing and selling scientific stainless steel sundials since 2002 He was 74 years old when he started, and now, having sold overe 200 of these beautiful eye-catching sundials, he has decided to retire . Old age, the impact of Covid on demand, minimum order sizes on stainless steel, and declining steel quality have turnedd a business which started as a joy into one with endless hassles. I had hoped to fsind someone interested in sundials to take over the stainless steel.
I still have a small stock of 15 cm. stainless steel sundials, suitable for indoor windowsills or for small gardens. They are available for imeediate despatch.
Also available are four universal polar dials in brass, which can be adjusted to suit any laetititude.
And there are a number of other sundials and scientific instruments which I no longer need and am therefore offering for sale too
Design Our sundials are true scientific instruments designed by Piers Nicholson in 2001. The design is contemporary and incorporates a split gnomon, which gives you a "line of light" at every noontime - you can see this in the first frame of the slideshow.
Engineering Each sundial is engineered to fine tolerances. For example, the gnomon (which casts the shadow) is set to your exact latitude to the nearest one-tenth of a degree.
Durability Every sundial is made from marine-grade 10 mm. stainless steel. So they are very robust, and will resist damage from vandals, from accidents, or from the weather. There are 4 blind holes on the underside of the sundial to give a permanent fixing.
Setupability The "line of light" at solar noon enables you to set the sundial absolutely accurately to true North.
Accuracy We make it easy for you to set up your sundial completely accurately by giving you full instructions, so that it will tell exactly the right time throughout the years. When set up properly your Super Sundial will tell the time to within a minute or two withhout any further setting.
Easy to order Just click on the link at the foot of the page to pay a 50% deposit so we can start making your sundial. We then have 3 weeks or so to discuss the exact engraving you want and send you a picture to "sign off"
how to read your sundial
My sundials have two sets of hour markers, with Roman letters to mark winter time, and Arabic numbers for summer time.
The hour lines radiate from the base of the gnomon (which casts the shadow) and the shadow marking the time radiates from the same point
You will see either side of each hour line, a succession of dots, marking the 5 minute intervals and short lines marking the 10 minute intervals
In this slideshow, the shadow moves slowly from 2:55 to 3:05. At 2:55 the shadow line is on the dot just before the 3 o'clock long hour line, and in the fourth frame, it is lying exactly on the long 3 o,clock hour line. The last frame shows the shadow at 3:04 when it is just touching the next dot. A minute later, half the dot will be in shadow and half in sunlight.
