Rod, Stadia
Stadia rod, Mount Lebanon, NY
Description
Stadia rod consisting of a 15/16" x 1 5/8" x 12' 6" standard of a softwood without resin canals (specific wood species cannot be identified due to heavily painted surface). The back face of this standard has a 1/2" x 1/2" dado in its center which runs its entire length. This dado has 1/32" slots cut into the side walls at the bottom. A butternut (Juglans cinerea) slide 7/16" x 15/32" x 76" with two brass guides (1/32" x 3/4" x 1 1/8") are set into the slide bottom 4 1/2" from the top and 5 1/4" from the bottom that slide in the slot to keep the entire slide in the rod. At the top of the slide is a brass catch which engages another catch on the sighting disk. A 7/16" x 11/16" x 1 3/8" block with rounded ends is screwed to the slide just above its bottom to allow the slide to be moved, allowing the sighting disk to be positioned when above the reach of the rod operator. The sighting disk is a 13/16" x 6" diameter disk with a 1/2" deep by 1 21/32" wide channel cut into the back, allow the disk to slide up and down on the standard. A crossbar with a 7/16" x 1 21/32" channel is secured with flat-head wood screws to the back of the disk over its channel. A brass wear strip/catch is fastened in the channel beneath a 7/16" tapped hole for a thumbscrew that allows the disk to be locked in place. The disk, crossbar, and thumbscrew are of maple (Acer spp.). Everything has been painted a salmon color except the face of the sighting disk which is scored into 1/4 circles with the quarters painted alternately black or white.