CD-Sextant - Build your own sextant - Pole Shift Survival Information

XTant project - Build your own sextant
level of difficulty beginner intermediate advanced
The X-tant project
Build your own sextant
Note: Since I published this text, I've done another, much
easier sextant using a CD and its box. Click the banner to
the righ to visit it.
But the octant described in this text is better ;-)
From times to times I get tired of writing abstract computer programs. This time I decided to do a more concrete project: a
sextant (actually, an octant). I'm not a very experienced craftsman and don't have a equipped shop. The design is simple and can
be reproduced with hand tools. I used a small jigsaw and a belt sander. I have made no blue prints.
In tests, when compared to a Davis plastic sextant, this octant did agree within 6' (see test results in the bottom of this page).
My octant parts ...
.. assembled
Printing the Scale
The scale is probably the most difficult sextant component to do using traditional techniques. It must be very precise and allow
reading degrees and minutes, with accuracy at least within 5' of arc.
Fortunately, most of us have a precise printing equipment right on our desktop: a inkjet or laser printer. These machines can print
300 dots per inch (1200 for laser), with enough precision to print a good sextant scale.
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