[ATM] ATM: Secret for you-

["David Harbour" <scarab2@cox.net>]

To all:

The thing that made my big optical bench so efficient, and would have very
conveniently lEnded itself to caustic (which I was preparing to do)  was the
availability of "sucker rod", for only pennies a foot. Sucker rod (oil well
pump rod) IS PERFECTLY STRAIGHT, very hard, and precisely round. It is the
perfectly straight feature which excited me. When one had a large mirror on
the cradle, and had used the tiny pylon peep sights (then removed them and
put the tester in the place of the rearmost peep sight) to make sure that
one's knife edge was EXACTLY ON THE OPTICAL AXIS, throughout the fourteen
feet of run of the bench, it was wonderful to make a movement of the cradle
in the I axis, and see the classic "doughnut" roll in and out, expand and
contract, NEVER SLIPPING TO ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER OF THE OPTICAL AXIS.

Kids used to come by to ride on the bench's big "trolley". In addition to a
little kid, one could also put one of those square, large "breeze box" fans
on the table; it would act as a propeller, and move the table along very
neatly.  Kids were amazed by it. I would put the kid on the trolley (go see
article, link below) and then put the fan on the carriage with them, and
turn it on. There were, of course, only eight TINY contact points, and so
the trolley would begin to move.

We've lived many places; children are naturally attracted to me, and in one
neighborhood, they circulated the rumor: "He can do magic". Wish I could; my
wife is dying.

You guys are the best club any guy could hope to be in. By the way, I may
not have explained the large opening in the middle of the trolley/carriage
that holds the test set-up; if I didn't, and one of you would like to know,
ask me, and I will publish it to the list. The article is sort of "half
baked"; I can't even seem to write "half backed" articles now, let alone
some slick, polished masterpieces-

Your colleague,

Dave

"Giant Measuring Engine for Testing Mirrors" (At center of curvature, only):

http://www.gordtulloch.com/harbour/Large%20Measuring%20Engine.html




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