ATM Figuring

[BOB PRABOWO <BOB@bahana.co.id>]

Hi Guys,

After leaving the mirror untouched for a few days (a week, perhaps) and
read  Tex' and Berry's book and also your responds to my post (I read
them over and over again) I went back to the mirror last night.

I know that the next step after polishing is figuring. But for me it's
not only figuring the mirror that I have to do, I also have to figure
out what to do :-)
Anyway, after playing with my tester, here's what I found.

What the books mean (and I guess this is what you guys mean too) with
the "mirror is dark at COC" is that the mirror is not completely dark
(black), but the mirror (KE at COC) is still iluminated but not as
bright as when the KE is inside or outside COC. I guess this is what you
mean by "the mirror turns gray". 

If the mirror is completely dark (black) I have to adjust the KE, so
that a tiny amount of light pass the KE, this will make the mirror dimly
iluminated (or gray, though actually it's not gray, it's yellow just
like when KE inside and outside COC but dimmer). Is this correct?

Now, last night that's how I did it. At COC, I adjust the KE so the
mirror surface turned gray. At this point I noticed that the edge of the
mirror was not as bright as other zones. There's a darker zone along the
edge of the mirror. I guess this is TDE. And you know what, I was happy
and relief, because I believed that I got it right this time :-) I
finally saw what I'm supposed to see, did I?

Following Tex, I polished for another 30 minutes (TOT), but after that I
did 20 minutes of 1/4D stroke TOT (tool slightly overhang on the left
hand side, pressure applied with right hand). 

I tested again and the darker zones at the edge did not disapear, but it
became wider. BTW, after the figuring, I wash the mirror, let it dry for
maybe 5 minutes and did the test.
Now questions:

1.Is this really TDE that I saw?
2.How long should I wait before testing the mirror after figuring it?

3.The pitch lap is slightly smaller in diameter than the mirror (the
lap, not the tool). I beveled the pitch squares on the edge of the tool
so it's a few milimeter smaller than the mirror. Is it alright to leave
it that way? Or should it be the same diameter?

4.How do I get rid of this TDE? The last action I took made it wider.

5.How many strokes should I do before I rotate the tool and walk around
the barrel?

6.Can figuring a TDE (an any other corrective stroke, which is
recomended to be done TOT) be done with MOT? During polishing (and also
during figuring last night), it's always easier to do it MOT than TOT.
When doing it TOT, after the second stroke the tool always "stuck" and I
had to use more power to move it backward.

7. I don't really understand why I should apply pressure on the right
side of the tool, which is near the central zone of the mirror, when
what I want to correct is the edge. I thought I should do a tangent
stroke, TOT, the tool center over the edge of the mirror, for this
action (like during grinding) will remove the glass from the edge of the
mirror.

8. The most important thing, is my conclusion on how the mirror looks
when the KE is at COC correct?
I apologize if some of you think that my post is too long. TIA
Regards,
Bob P. Sumitro
Jakarta, Indonesia

True Victory is Self Victory!
Harmonize yourself with the
Divine Parent Mind -
salvation lives right within
your own body and soul.

-Morihei Ueshiba-