Re: atm Cold

Bill Marriott (btk@ix.netcom.com)
Fri, 4 Aug 1995 21:34:44 -0700

You wrote: >
>
>I have found that when a mirror and a tool become tightly bound
>together during grinding, it is most helpful to place them in the
>freezer.
>
>I also find that cold is quite useful in removing pitch from a plate
>glass tool. I put the tool in the freezer for about an hour and then
>the pitch peels off easily (Say that three times fast!)

>Francis J. O'Reilly
>
>

We use the freezer at work for pitch stuff all the time, it makes pitch much easier to work with. Beside using it for pitch tools, we 'block' a lot of optics on glass plates (pyrex usually) for precision work that must be blocked stress free, and to deblock them on our blocking stoves is hot (200+ deg F) as well as messy, hense the optical phrase 'pitch is a bitch'. If we put the blocks in the deep freeze, after they're very cold, parts can be razor bladed off very easy, and the residual pitch can be scraped off into a trash can. Pitch tools can be frozen, and then wacked with a mallet for easy removal.

I keep my pitch tools in the fridge, when ready to use, warm up in hot water, press out, and polish......

Bill Marriott Forest Knolls, Ca. USA btk@ix.netcom.com