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Gary Fuchs
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/22/06
Posts: 618
Loc: Easton, PA, USA
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Re: Wondering what I would need?
07/03/08 05:20 PM
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It's a bit of a hike but if you could get to this years Stellafane you could see demos of every stage of mirror making and get your hands on pretty much all of it as well. Check out the photos. It's a lot to take in but a great intro and you'd meet lots of people you could learn from.
The chance to really hog, fine grind, polish, and see how a mirror is tested (more than one way too) is pretty valuable. After that you'd likely know what you need and have an idea of how much work is involved. Also a chance to see a lot of really neat scopes you might otherwise only see in pictures and not get to examine close up and ask questions about.
Gary
A few more thoughts about Stellafane...
The mirror making demos are set up in a large pavilion. Some things, like making a pitch lap, are done at specific times, or just once, but there are several barrels and other supports with usually 8" or 10" mirrors at different stages. People wander around throughout the day and just sit down and grind. One of the Springfield Telescope Makers or even a passerby will guide you. There's usually a really thick 20" or so(?) blank if you want to try something really tiring. It's not a classroom situation but you can learn plenty from a variety of sources.
Stellafane is oriented towards the amateur and there's an implicit understanding that we often have to make do with what we can find. Because of that you can get a "feel" for what you can substitute and what you might do if you don't have exactly what a book lists.
Edited by Gary Fuchs (07/03/08 07:02 PM)
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