Wooden Fish Weathervanes: Part Six

Wooden Fish Weathervanes:  Fish Story
Part Six the shape and installation of the fins.
     You need to consider the shape and size of the fins for your fish now if you have not already done so.  Material selections for the fins must be done at this time.  My selection is metal so I am going forward with that selection.  Connecting the fin to the fish was a concern with the first fish.  Just as I was sure I needed a 4X4 post in concrete to support the fish, I was sure the fins would come ripping out of the fish. The first effort reflected the over design. Makes you wonder how the Wright Brothers ever got something into the air?

In this photo you can see the dowels that I used to pin the tail to and through the wood.  The bandsaw was used to cut the slot, plumb, flush and level for the metal tail.  The fit has plenty of friction and the epoxy holds the tail very well without the necessity of the dowels. More on friction fit later.

Here you can se the dorsal fin that is was epoxied into the fish with a mortise ( in the fish ) and tenon the metal  fin into a small block of wood and epoxied into the mortise.  I used sanding dust, mixed with epoxy to form a thicker filler and applied that into the mortise. WAAAY more than needed.  Now all the fins are a  friction fit with epoxy and I am sure none of the fins will fall out. If they do, it will be after years and a simple repair with epoxy or a screw.  If anything, I anticipate that the fins may rust out before they pull out of the wood.  But, that is after years.  Anything that is outside needs maintenance.  Epoxy, wood and sheet metal are not exempt from maintenance.

     The shape of the fins needs to match the shape of the design and at the tail, match the shape reveal of the tail.

Consider a uniform, cookie cutter templat for the fins.  You can be as eccentric or uniform as you want.  In reality, the pectoral fins can be pretty much the same and have  a great visual aesthetic.  The dorsal fin may have more personality to it or be the same as the others, except for the tail fin.

 The picture below, lower fish,  has all the same fin shapes for all four fins.  Once you have fins cut out, it is difficult to assure that the fin for the dorsal is not the pectoral or vice a versa.  Each mortise for the fin and contour of the fish will require a custom fit.  Again, it is your call, but for simplicity and ease of installation in the shape, the "one size fits all" motto works for me.

   I have found that cardboard templates are the best way to work with fins.  Use the wooden tail as a shape for the tenon/metal tongue that will fit into the bandsaw slit/groove in the tail.  Take the tail shape and transfer that to larger paper/cardboard and define the shape you want for the tail.  The metal tenon/tongue will friction fit into the tail just fine. If you use a thick saw blade, the slot/mortise may need to have epoxy and the dowels to assure the fit is tight, weatherproof and will last.  Any epoxy placed will get a final coat of varnish to protect the epoxy.

     Once you have the shape of the fins, dorsal, tail, and pectoral fins shaped, the cardboard template needs to be transferred to the galvy sheet  metal, and cut out.  Aviation tin snips and a cheap Harbor Freight electric tin snip make quick work of the flattened metal.

  Once shaped, it is time to consider locating the fins on the fish and cutting the thin mortises for the sheet metal  fin, tenon.

This is what you are after:

Next:  Part Seven, Cutting the slots, mortises