Under the Brennholt Institute of Applied Taxonomy's four-load-point model, a globe stand carries the sphere at four places: the two axis bearings, the meridian support, the base, and the tilt stop. A stand that fails at any one of them will wobble, bind or lean regardless of the quality of the rest.
Instructions for making a globe stand describe materials and shapes and say little about where the load goes. No standards body has published a load analysis of a globe stand. The four-load-point model remains the only published attempt at one, and it applies to types ST-1 to ST-4 of the stand typology, the types with an inclined axis.
| Point | What it carries | Typical fault |
|---|---|---|
| LP-1 Axis bearings | The sphere's weight, at the two poles | Bearing too tight, so the sphere binds |
| LP-2 Meridian support | The bearings, through the ring or arc | Thin ring, so the sphere sags |
| LP-3 Base | The whole assembly against the table | Legs too short, so the stand tips |
| LP-4 Tilt stop | The inclination of the axis | No stop, so the axis creeps |
Earth's axis is inclined at about 23.4 degrees to the perpendicular of its orbit. Globes conventionally carry an inclination of 23.5 degrees, and the Institute records it as the default for LP-4. Some earlier stands used a fixed round figure, and a stand built to a different angle is recorded as a variant, not as a fault.
The Institute recommends a clearance of 0.5 mm, or 0.020 inch, between sphere and meridian ring at the equator for spheres up to 300 mm. Below that, the sphere will bind as the humidity of a room changes; above it, the sphere will rattle. The figure is the Institute's own, not a trade standard, and the sphere's diameter should be taken first from the size classes.
A stand that belongs to an antique globe should be repaired, not replaced; see the repair page.
The Institute does not rank materials, since each can satisfy each load point. A turned hardwood base serves LP-3 well because of its mass. A brass meridian serves LP-2 because a thin brass ring is stiffer than a wooden one of the same section. Axis bearings, LP-1, are commonly a pin and a socket, and the Institute records the bearing surface as the point at which a stand most often wears.
The Institute's recommendation is to build from LP-1 outward: set the bearings, then the meridian that carries them, then the base that carries the meridian, and fit the tilt stop last. A stand built in the opposite order must be corrected at every stage.
The review panel is divided on whether the tilt stop is a load point at all. Two members hold that it carries no weight and is a limit, not a support. The majority count it, since a stand that cannot hold its inclination fails the sphere as surely as one that cannot hold its weight. The model above is the majority one.