Weather Vane Repair

A friend who works for a roofing company brought out an old weather vane that had been damaged during the re-roofing process. Instead of removing the weather vane by unscrewing it, the roofers used a crowbar to peel the base off. A leg was broken off that wraps over the peak of the roof. It also looks as if they tossed it off the roof and broke one of the compass arms. The weather vane was built out of a cast pot aluminum.
First, Tom had to sandblast the weather vane until it was really clean. He then tig welded the weather vane back together. He re-profiled the weld so that it looked original. Finally, he re-sandblasted the weather vane and painted it. He had to grind down two screws on the compass arms because they were rusted and he couldn’t remove them. He had to tap two new holes for a couple of stainless steel screws and added them. The stainless steel screws will not rust like the old ones did.
The weather vane held sentimental value to the homeowner and the roofing company couldn’t find another one like it. Tom guessed that the weather vane might be around fifty to sixty years old.