Re: ATM

["John Lynch" <john_p_lynch@hotmail.com>]

Hello,

Actually, my first project was a 6" Edmund kit, and after several
months of frustration I sold it.  That's when I had no money and
all the time in the world.  A few years ago, I decided it was a
really fun hobby and time to get back into it, even though I wasn't 
successful the first time, and got a 6" kit from Willmann-Bell.  
Now I have an income but little time.

I have a wide range of literature that I like to read and pick up
different ideas from (like Brown, Texerau, Howard, Thompson, and 
John Dobson's video) and try them out.  My intent was to go through the 
entire process and understand what I was doing; if I had any doubts, I 
would stop until I got a better understanding (either from this listserv 
group's archives or reading about it further in one of the books).  I've 
tried Thompson's idea of a button lap mat, but the 
edge of my mirror wasn't polishing very well.  So, I switched to 
the pitch square technique from Texerau's book and things improved
remarkably.  One idea from the archives a few months ago was a 
suggestion of covering the wooden mold strips with aluminum foil (works 
like a charm) and then cutting the pitch strips with a sharp
knife and a propane torch.  Makes a beautiful little lap.  So far, I've 
got about 3 hours of polishing completed with no turned down edge, but 
just a little haze on the outer 1/4" of the mirror.  I'm using rouge, by 
the way, and recently switched from Burgundy pitch 
to Gugolz.  I was aware of Gugolz a few years ago because Telescopics 
(now out of business) sold it with their mirror kits.  I got mine 
from Salem, as recommended by the list.  I used Howard's book "Standard 
Handbook for Telescope Making" for the design of my basement shop and 
equipment assortment, and Texerau's book for design of both the Foucault 
tester and Twymann viscosity tester (both work wonderfully).  I've 
already procured the materials and made the
wooden mandrel for making a fiberglass tube, the procedures for
which are in Howard's book.  

I also take a great deal of interest in materials and design, and
in some of the products that were once offered by such companies
like Telescopics, The Optical Craftsman, Cave, Pacific Instruments,
Edmund, A. Jaegers, Criterion, UNITRON, Star-Liner, W.R. Parks, 
University Optics, to name but a few.  Ah, the good old days.

John Lynch
John_P_Lynch@hotmail.com

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