Materials

• You will need a long wooden dowel that can be fashioned from an old broomstick, a disposable aluminum baking pan, a 12-inch piece of wood and some basic materials for constructing the weather vane: a hammer and nails, a saw, glue, some wire and a knife or sturdy pair of scissors. The materials should be determined by the scope of the project, including how durable you would like your weather vane to be and the size of your budget. The simplest and least costly weather vane will function about as well as any other but will not hold up as well to the weather or be as attractive.
  
  

Construction

• Cut two half-inch slits near either end of 12-inch wooden stick, then hammer a nail through the middle of the stick for it to rotate on. Ensure that the stick rotates easily around the nail. Cut two wings out of the disposable aluminum tray so that they fit easily in the slits you cut in the wood and secure them with glue. Triangle wings work very well for this. Now hammer the nail you placed through the center of the wooden stick into the end of the dowel. Be sure to leave enough space for the stick to rotate freely. Mount the instrument where it will be exposed to wind.
  
  

Spicing It Up

• While this project is great for demonstrating the function of a weather vane, it does not provide much aesthetic value. However, once you have a firm grasp on the basic principles of constructing a weather vane, you can begin fashioning more elaborate instruments out of all types of materials. Weather vanes are often fashioned out of cast -iron pieces cut into shapes such as roosters or pigs but, as with most do-it-yourself projects, there is no need to limit to your imagination.