The Light Sharpener

Intro Build Foil Mirror Burn Epilogue FAQ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 FAQ

 

It was a terrific party, but my poor dish! The next morning, I found the iron igloo had been assaulted by climbing drunks!

Almost all of the screens were out, and some were mangled. Arr! 

With patience, and experience, the screened segments came together again over the next few weekends.

I also began to make sense of the mounting hardware. The breakthrough was realizing that these two pieces fit together with the means of a long bolt.

The lower piece was a sleeve that would slide onto a vertical pole. The top piece was attached in a way which would make it tilt easily and controllably. I call this the tilting hat.

Here is an illustration of how the tilt worked. It appeared that I would be able to aim the dish at the horizon, or almost straight up. 

In Sacramento during the winter, the sun is low in the sky, and in the summer, the sun is more directly overhead. I wouldn't have to change this tilt angle very often to track the sun.

I had hope that the dish would be held at its center of gravity, making it easier to move.

A heavy ring of iron bolted to the dish in nine places. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I tried this that I noticed that the holes weren't all in the correct ribs. I hadn't paid attention to the sequence of the six segments, so a couple were mismatched. 

I got this sorted out, but it was another setback. 

 

The ring ring (in red) provided the two spots (in yellow) where the dish would be connected to the tilting hat.

The bolts running through those yellow connections would be the hinge for the left-right swing of the dish.

This left-right swing would allow the dish to track the sun from the left to the right, as the sun moves across the sky from 6am to 9pm.

The dish was finally coming together, and was ready for a very sturdy pole, out in the sun.

Please continue reading page four of the Light Sharpener

Intro Build Foil Mirror Burn Epilogue FAQ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 FAQ

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May 19th, 2007.   Terms and Conditions  Copyright 2007 Cockeyed.com