--- product_id: 6319803 title: "Sundials: Their Theory and Construction" price: "₹ 3450" currency: INR in_stock: true reviews_count: 12 url: https://www.desertcart.in/products/6319803-sundials-their-theory-and-construction store_origin: IN region: India --- # Sundials: Their Theory and Construction **Price:** ₹ 3450 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Sundials: Their Theory and Construction - **How much does it cost?** ₹ 3450 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.in](https://www.desertcart.in/products/6319803-sundials-their-theory-and-construction) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Sundials: Their Theory and Construction [Waugh, Albert] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Sundials: Their Theory and Construction Review: For the dial-builder - No other book, as far as I know, gives such clear detail about making your own sundials. That word seems so narrow; Waugh covers much more of solar time-telling than just dials. One thing that amazes me is his passion. He writes with clear pride about his own sundials, good to within (he says) ten seconds! This book covers graphical or analytic techniques for laying out sundials on just about any surface that doesn't move, horizontal, vertical (facing any direction), slanted, or even the ceiling. He also discusses the movable kind, like a "shepherd's dial". It has nothing inherently to do with sheep, but can be used anywhere, even without knowing true north. The historian may be disappointed. This is not a catalogue of sundials through the ages, although bits of history are scattered throughout. In one sense, though, this is a view into the time of its writing (1973). A modern reader, with access to modern calculators and computers, will be amused if not puzzled by some of tricks used to make hand computation more feasible. I don't know anyone any more who multiplies by adding logs, and the circumlocutions around negative logarithms look positively quaint. The only real flaw in this book is its systematic omission of half the world: the southern hemispehere. It wouldn't have been so hard to add just a paragraph or two about sundials that work "backwards". Although this book celebrates the craft and art that can go into a sundial, its real value is technical. This book gives the essential methods for the functional side of a solar time-piece; bring your own artistry. Review: A good single-source book - I bought this book and one by Milton Stoneman (Easy to Make Sundials – Dover Books) because I had a casual interest in sundials and their construction. I'm not a mathematician, astronomer or a serious scientist, so the technical side isn't as important to me. I did want to better understand how sundials work and get some ideas about their construction. This book is more advanced than the book by Stoneman. There is significantly more technical information and more of the math to improve the accuracy of your sundials. As I said, I’m not a mathematician and the math in this book is still within my grasp. While I felt the Stoneman book was written and presented to be within reach of the average mortal, this book is at a higher level and certainly satiated my desire for understanding sundials. If you understand and learn everything in this book, you’ll be the local sundial expert, provided you don’t live next door to the university PhDs. I liked the book and it was as good as I expected. The book goes beyond the basic theory of sundials and gives some information on projects. This clearly is a stand-alone book but I'm glad I also bought the Stoneman book as a companion purchase. The two books combined were pretty much what I was looking for. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #747,590 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #89 in Physics of Time (Books) #215 in Astronautics & Space Flight #943 in Astronomy (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (171) | | Dimensions | 5.4 x 0.52 x 8.46 inches | | ISBN-10 | 0486229475 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0486229478 | | Item Weight | 9.6 ounces | | Language | English | | Print length | 256 pages | | Publication date | June 1, 1973 | | Publisher | Dover Publications | ## Images ![Sundials: Their Theory and Construction - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81fmsbFdCdL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ For the dial-builder *by W***D on March 29, 2004* No other book, as far as I know, gives such clear detail about making your own sundials. That word seems so narrow; Waugh covers much more of solar time-telling than just dials. One thing that amazes me is his passion. He writes with clear pride about his own sundials, good to within (he says) ten seconds! This book covers graphical or analytic techniques for laying out sundials on just about any surface that doesn't move, horizontal, vertical (facing any direction), slanted, or even the ceiling. He also discusses the movable kind, like a "shepherd's dial". It has nothing inherently to do with sheep, but can be used anywhere, even without knowing true north. The historian may be disappointed. This is not a catalogue of sundials through the ages, although bits of history are scattered throughout. In one sense, though, this is a view into the time of its writing (1973). A modern reader, with access to modern calculators and computers, will be amused if not puzzled by some of tricks used to make hand computation more feasible. I don't know anyone any more who multiplies by adding logs, and the circumlocutions around negative logarithms look positively quaint. The only real flaw in this book is its systematic omission of half the world: the southern hemispehere. It wouldn't have been so hard to add just a paragraph or two about sundials that work "backwards". Although this book celebrates the craft and art that can go into a sundial, its real value is technical. This book gives the essential methods for the functional side of a solar time-piece; bring your own artistry. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A good single-source book *by A***N on April 30, 2015* I bought this book and one by Milton Stoneman (Easy to Make Sundials – Dover Books) because I had a casual interest in sundials and their construction. I'm not a mathematician, astronomer or a serious scientist, so the technical side isn't as important to me. I did want to better understand how sundials work and get some ideas about their construction. This book is more advanced than the book by Stoneman. There is significantly more technical information and more of the math to improve the accuracy of your sundials. As I said, I’m not a mathematician and the math in this book is still within my grasp. While I felt the Stoneman book was written and presented to be within reach of the average mortal, this book is at a higher level and certainly satiated my desire for understanding sundials. If you understand and learn everything in this book, you’ll be the local sundial expert, provided you don’t live next door to the university PhDs. I liked the book and it was as good as I expected. The book goes beyond the basic theory of sundials and gives some information on projects. This clearly is a stand-alone book but I'm glad I also bought the Stoneman book as a companion purchase. The two books combined were pretty much what I was looking for. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not Much On Theory. More of a "How To" *by P***R on April 23, 2016* A pretty good introduction to sundials but more of a "How To" book. A little too light on theory considering that it touts "theory" in the title. Not much discussion about the way the Sun moves, the Equation of Time and what causes it, the changes in the Sun's declination and how it effects your sundial; the difference between clock time and solar time, and so on. It is sort of there in bits and pieces as he discusses how to lay out various dials, but no comprehensive overview is offered and any explanations offered are cursory. If you already know enough about that stuff to read a sundial properly and you just want to know how to make a sundial, or set up that sundial you just bought, or you don't really care that much about studying the theory, you will be fine with this book. If you really want to dig into the theory, the math, and the design; or if you want to understand how an unusual sundial you have come across in real life or the internet actually works; or if you want to understand what all those "extra" lines on a complex sundial do and how to read them; or you want to design an unusual dial of your own, this book is not going to be much help. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.in/products/6319803-sundials-their-theory-and-construction](https://www.desertcart.in/products/6319803-sundials-their-theory-and-construction) --- *Product available on Desertcart India* *Store origin: IN* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*