"SOLAR-RISE" YOUR APARTMENT WITH HEAT GRABBER

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By following our cutting diagram and using our captioned photos as a construction guide, you should have no trouble putting this hardworking little beauty together in a matter of hours. And—although we don't ever recommend sloppy workmanship—as long as you maintain the 2-1/2" chamber depths and the 3" divider-to-foot space called for, your collector should function just fine, even if you're far from being a "master joiner".

Do be aware of one thing, though. If you plan to use this lightweight collector on a high-rise building, or anyplace where buffeting winds might be a problem, it would be best to safety-strap the collector in place . . . by running a sturdy wire across its face (or attaching screw eyes to its walls with body washers before putting the glazing on), and then fastening the box to something permanent—such as a window frame or a ventilation grille—to secure it.

Then, once you're "holed up" for the winter, you can enjoy the same free solar warmth that many others have been basking in for several years now . . . and at a price that's too attractive to ignore!

BUILD A PAIR OF BLOCK KNIVES

While developing our original Heat Grabber, MOTHER's researchers designed two simple cutting tools that made the task of trimming the foil-sheathed foam boards a whole lot less bothersome than it would have been if the crew had worked with conventional slicers.

Both these block knives are simply pieces of 1" X 2-1/2" hardwood sized to fit the hand comfortably, then sliced lengthwiseone at 45°, and the other at 90°—to the chunks' faces. To secure the Stanley 1992-5 utility blades used in these cutters between each handle's halves, merely drill crosswise and countersunk holes in the blocks and run some 10-32 bolts, secured with wing nuts, through them as pictured.

By screwing a strip of scrap to one face of the straight knife—3/8 inch from, and parallel to, its blade slot—you can create a dual—purpose tool that, when you use its flat cutting side, can be easily adjusted for making shallow, deep, or all-the-way-through square cuts. Or if you flip it over to the side with the scrap strip, it will, with the help of this built-in guide, accurately form the rabbets necessary to hold the Heat Grabber's plastic glazing in place.

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