December 2008 page 193
Val Cowham
Janet Jenkins
Graham Aldred
Doug Bateman
Fred Sawyer
Don Petrie
Gillian Nicholson

BSS Sundial Safari to the Alsace, 6-10 September 2008

A report on the BSS Sundial Safari to the Alsace region of France, detailing visits to various towns and villages. It describes numerous sundials encountered, including those at Strasbourg Cathedral, Soultz, Guebwiller, St-Marc convent, Colmar, Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Bergheim, Mont Ste-Odile (featuring a polyhedral dial), and Freiburg (Germany), as well as the Kirschgarten Museum in Basel.
Dials: Vertical, Dials: Multi Faced, Historical Dials, The BSS and Members

June 2007 page 82
Fred Sawyer
Michael Faraday
Tony Wood

Readers’ Letters

This section contains reader correspondence. Fred Sawyer corrects an article on dual sundials, attributing the self-setting property to Vaulezard (1640) rather than Tuttell (1698). Mike Faraday asks for a website to track the terminator for sunrise times. Tony Wood clarifies the location and movement of the Ross-on-Wye pillar dial.
Dials: Analemmatic, How Sundials Work, Historical Dials

June 2003 page 74
Fred Sawyer
Frank Evans

Book Reviews

Two review of a book published by the British Sundial Society: 'Biographical Index of British Sundial Makers from the Seventh Century to 1920' by Jill Wilson.
Book Reviews

March 2002 page 7
Fred Sawyer

The Foster-Point Sundial: Time in a Perfect Round

Explains the design of a novel sundial based on Samuel Foster's 17th-century concepts, with modern adaptations and detailed geometry, incorporating latitude, longitude, equation of time and daylight savings time adjustments.
Dials: Horizontal, How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling

January 1997 page 2
Fred Sawyer

Samuel Foster of Gresham College - The 1996 Andrew Somerville Memorial Lecture

A detailed biographical and technical account of Samuel Foster, a 17th-century diallist, highlighting his innovations in dialling techniques, instruments, and his influence on later gnomonists. Explores historical context, plagiarism controversies, and posthumous publications.
How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling

February 1995 page 18
Fred Sawyer

Bifilar Gnomonics

An explanation of the bifilar sundial's geometry and time-telling principles, including its unique two-thread gnomon and analytical methods for calculating its layout.
Dials: Bifilar, Mathematics of Dialling

February 1995 page 39
Fred Sawyer

Of Analemmas, Mean Time and the Analemmatic Sundial – Part 2

Continued discussion on the analemma and its use in sundials, particularly analemmatic types, including the relation to mean solar time and design techniques.
Dials: Analemmatic, Equation of Time, Mathematics of Dialling

February 1995 page 44
Fred Sawyer

Analemmatic Sundial

A companion piece offering additional commentary or diagrams for analemmatic sundial design, expanding on the previous article.
Dials: Analemmatic

February 1994 page 22
Fred Sawyer

A Three-Point Sundial Construction

Provides a geometric technique to design a sundial based on three shadow measurements. Practical, educational, and includes construction guidance.
DIY Sundial Projects, Mathematics of Dialling

June 1994 page 2
Fred Sawyer

Of Analemmas, Mean Time and the Analemmatic Sundial - Part I

An in-depth historical and mathematical exploration of the analemma and its application in sundial construction. This first part traces its etymology and use from ancient times through Ptolemy, Vitruvius, and Renaissance scholars, connecting it with the development of the analemmatic sundial. Richly referenced and scholarly, it bridges history and design.
Dials: Analemmatic, Historical Dials, Mathematics of Dialling

October 1994 page 18
Fred Sawyer

A Universal Nomographic Sundial

This article introduces a new sundial design that combines the simplicity of a Capuchin dial with the universality of a Regiomontanus dial through the use of nomograms. It explains the principles of subtraction and multiplication nomograms, demonstrating how they are integrated into the dial's coordinate system to calculate solar declination and latitude. The article details how to read the time by aligning a thread and bead, and notes its ability to show sunrise/sunset times and day length. The design aims for an acceptably accurate, universal dial that is easier to construct than other universal types.
DIY Sundial Projects, Dialling Tools, Mathematics of Dialling

October 1994 page 23
Fred Sawyer

Contemporary Mottos for Sundials

This article offers a collection of contemporary mottos suitable for sundials, aiming to add to existing literature which often focuses on mortality or religious themes. The author presents various thought-provoking quotations from diverse sources, including Pierre Kohler, Heraclitus, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Carl Jung, Omar Khayyam, Robert Boyle, and others. The purpose is to provide fresh, insightful inscriptions that capture different facets of time, nature, and human experience, encouraging readers to appreciate the philosophical depth that a motto can bring to a sundial's design and message.
Mottoes

February 1993 page 36
Fred Sawyer

Bifilar Gnomonics

This paper elaborates on the theory and construction of bifilar sundials, a twentieth-century type invented by Hugo Michnik. It highlights their equiangular hour-lines, allowing direct reading of standard clock time by simple daily adjustment, and explains how time is indicated by the intersection of shadows from two horizontal threads.
Dials: Bifilar, Dials: Unusual, How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout

June 1993 page 25
Fred Sawyer

A Qibla Line Construction

This article provides a graphical technique for constructing a qibla line on horizontal Arabic sundials, which indicates the prescribed direction of Mecca for Islamic prayer. It details the mathematical formula for determining the inhiraf angle and outlines a step-by-step construction procedure using a specific template. The article also notes the adaptability of this construction method for finding the azimuth of any other location.
DIY Sundial Projects, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout

February 1992 page 16
Fred Sawyer

Foster's Diametral Sundial

This article describes Samuel Foster's diametral sundial, a horizontal dial with a movable stile where hour-points lie on a straight line. Its unique feature is that the shadow becomes retrograde daily at a selected hour, allowing for the recreation of the Biblical miracle of Ahaz's dial. The article provides construction details and mathematical justifications for this special form of elliptical dial, also attributing the original discovery of the circular hour-arc dial to Foster.
Dials: Unusual, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout

July 1991 page 34
Fred Sawyer

An Equant Dial

This article introduces the equant dial, a horizontal sundial design inspired by Ptolemaic astronomy, addressing uneven hour spacing in classical dials. It describes how a specific curve is drawn on the dial face, against which an equi-spaced hour-line circle is rotated. This mechanism enables manual adjustments for the equation of time and other corrections, simplifying time reading on such a dial.
Dials: Horizontal, Equation of Time, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout

October 1991 page 24
Fred Sawyer

A Self-Orienting Equiangular Sundial

Fred Sawyer presents a self-orienting equiangular sundial, a modification of the Foster-Lambert hybrid dial, capable of correct orientation without external devices. It functions as both a solar clock and a solar compass, determining true celestial north. The design involves a V-shaped gnomon and two sets of hour-markings, allowing for simultaneous readings of Standard and Apparent time and a straightforward orientation process.
Dials: Foster-Lambert, How Sundials Work, Sundial Design & Layout