ATM a few notes

[Ina Ron Lippard Renaissance Reproductions <renrepro@surfglobal.net>]

    After reading the great tile debate,I went to my wife for the rest of 
the story.
It seems that there is more then 1 type of porcelain tile. There is in fact 
a full-bodied porcelain
and a 'veneer' porcelain.
    The full-bodied stuff is hard and tough all the way through, where the 
single-side, or top
porcelain is just that, on top. So much for content. I was also informed 
that the hardest,
toughest porcelain tile comes from Crossville Tenn. This brand is 8 on the 
Moh's scale.
This makes ceramic tile sit in the back of the bus when it comes down to 
bad and tough.
   My wife just got back from a trip to the plant where this tile is made. 
She brought back
a small sphere of this material as a present to me from the owner of 
Crossville Tile. It
is white, and bounces higher then a golf ball when you throw it at a 
concrete floor.
Kinda makes you wonder if this stuff would make a mirror as well as a tool huh?
   On another note, I was cruising our local junkyard yesterday when I came 
across a 12"
piece of milling machine table. More like the end of one. Though short it 
is in good
condition; made of cast iron w/ slots for holding things down...like an 
optic. Is this anything
useful to the glass-pusher crowd? My warped imagination says it could act 
as a very
nice test stand component for either optics or machine shop. Nate, you 
interested??
clear views,Ron