QuietJourney Forums
Boundary Waters / Quetico Discussion Forums >> What's Cooking? >> Reflector Oven
https://quietjourney.com/community/YABB.cgi?num=1168415012

Message started by DentonDoc on Jan 10th, 2007 at 7:43am

Title: Re: Reflector Oven
Post by jamgarr on Mar 19th, 2007 at 3:40am
  Plans for the stainless steel cookie sheet reflector oven mentioned in my post above are attached to this post. The dimensions given are the maximum dimensions that would work for the cookie sheets I had. If you have larger stock available you may want to increase the size, but try to keep the dimensions such that the angle for the top reflector panel is close to 45 degrees. Standard metal shears are sufficient to cut the steel.
  The dotted lines on the plans indicate perpendicular bends (except for the bottom reflector). With the exception of the bottom reflector, the bends are one-half inch from the edge of the piece. The bend on the bottom reflector is one inch from the edge. I did the perpendicular bends by placing the piece at the edge of a wood stair tread, clamping a 1 X 2 on top of the piece along the dotted line and bending the steel upward with a rubber mallet.
  A metal hole punch borrowed from my wife's scrapbooking supplies (Yes, her scrapping addiction has progressed to the point where she actually has a multi-diameter metal hole punch!) worked wonders for hole making along the edges. A similar diameter cold punch worked fine for the interior grate bar holes but be sure to dress the opposite side of those holes with a tap or two to eliminate the sharp edges.
  Hole placement does not need to be precisely measured, but should be done piece-by-piece to assure proper match on adjoining pieces. I started by punching the holes in the bottom - then holding each side piece in position on the bottom piece and marking the side piece holes with a Sharpie through the existing bottom piece holes.  Progress in that manner from piece to piece.
  The thing is assembled using standard brass brads from the office supply store. I have found it to be easier to insert the brads from the inside  as shpwn in the pix.
  If there is a tricky part to assembly it's installing the bottom reflector. The bend in that piece is not perpendicular. It's whatever angle it takes to produce the desired finished angle of the bottom reflector. Anyway, the bottom reflector attaches to the back. It has been easier for me to attach the reflector to the back before the back is attached to the sides.
  Technically, you could fine tune the dimensions of the pieces to account for whether you attach adjoining pieces to the inside or the outside, but that's not necessary. There's enough give and take in the pieces to assure a fit. One thing to be careful of is not to place holes too close to any corner. All holes should be at least one-half inch from a corner in order to accomodate the bent tab portion of the adjoining piece.
  Standard coat hangers are an easy source for the grate bars. Bend a small handle in one end. I fashioned 3 X 1/2 inch tension springs from the stock steel to place on the straight end of the bars to prevent accidental slippage of the bars, but I have a feeling they aren't needed. I placed the grate level just below the top of the back piece because that was the place which seemed to allow the deepest pan insertion ( man, that sounds bad) while keeping the grate relatively centered between the reflectors. Once you've cut the grate holes in one side piece you can repeat the Sharpie procedure for the other side and be sure of ending up with a level grate.
  You will find that the pieces nest together very well for storage and transport - with the minor exception of the bottom reflector (because of the larger bent tab). I plan to bend that tab more for storage and bend it out again for assembly.
  I made this thing for a two-person trip and I think that it will meet our needs. It will easily hold an 8 X 8 pan and may accomodate a 9 X 9. The steel stock is thin so you will need to be cautious of sharp edges.
         

Reflector3.jpg ( 102 KB | 0 Downloads )

QuietJourney Forums » Powered by YaBB 2.6.0!
YaBB Forum Software © 2000-2026. All Rights Reserved.