This was mostly a wood working project but the principals of Solar Absorption and heating along with the angle of incidence (reflected mirrored sunlight) had to be planned for in advance. Young Mr. Bliss wanted something more than a box with a window glass, he wanted angle adjustments to track the elevation of the sun as it climbed in the sky and also a way to follow it as it crossed from East to West. This was adding much more complexity to a proven design but it did not discourage him. He drew sketches and discussed his ideas with me his mentor. My idea was only to guide him and to get the materials together so we could build his design. We worked on the project one hour per week in the parking lot of his school. Windy days, cold days and even some rain at times did not stop us. The partially built “Russell Solar Oven” is shown down below just about half way through. Some engineering changes had to be made after we discussed it and agreed upon the design improvements.
By Richard Williams
