Today, we finally started building the frame of our solar still. We started with measuring the length and width of a bucket that we planned on using for our first solar still. Then we had cut long 2x2 pieces of wood for the frame. We didn't know how to connect the pieces together, so we tried using nails and a hammer. After getting the nail about three quarters a way through the wood, it had started to split and crack. So backing up and taking another path, my group and I drilled holes about half way through the wood. Afterwards, we held the pieces together and drilled a 4 inch screw into the hole that was on the side of one of the shorter 2x2's, through to the top of a longer piece. Screwing together four pieces of wood, we now had a rectangle that would be the side of the solar still.

Now we had to create the bottom of the filter. We laid two pieces of the same 2x2 wood that we used before (these will be longer than before, but equal length to each other) and set them on the ground so that they were parallel to each other. Holes were drilled in these too so we could connect them to the rectangle that we had just made. Then, we set the rectangle on the parallel pieces of wood and flipped it on its side so we could drill in the screw to keep it together. Lastly, a piece was screwed to the end of the bottom boards to create a right triangle. With the right triangle assembled, we had to figure out the length of the hypotenuse so the wood could be cut. Although, the ends of the hypotenuse side would have to be cut at a diagonal. We found the angle of one of the ends to be 25 degrees, but was not able to find the degree measurement of the other end. This was all that we had gotten done today, but we will be working more on Monday. I am excited as to how this filter will turn out.

P.S. Pictures of our frame and measurements of the pieces of wood are to come!