Re: plop auto cell 36 and 54 points bugfix [was: Re: [ATM],mirror cell design]

["Jerry B. Hillman" <JBHillman@ev1.net>]

Hi all,
I can only say what prompted me to attempt to fabricate a thin mirror.  Cost
of a thicker piece of glass was completely out of reach. Russ Jocoy sold me
this 16.5" piece of glass art a very reasonable price.  My
time, doing what I do for a living, would have made this attempt foolish had
I had to pay for it, but my time is mine and it costs me nothing if that
does not prevent me from making a living, and it keeps me busy when I am at
home alone. Isn't that what a hobby is?
The total actual cost of the 16.5" scope still has not cost me what a 2"
thick piece of glass would have cost.  I have faith that I can overcome the
problems of the thin mirror, and enjoy seeing not quite so faint fuzzies.
Nothing will show me the sky the way I would like to see it short of maybe
setting up my scope on the moon. :)
I would not recommend for any ATM'er that has not built enough mirrors to be
comfortable with the process to attempt a thin mirror.  It is the hardest,
most frustrating thing I have ever done. In a few weeks I will know for
certain if I 'jumped the gun' on getting this one coated. I think it will do
just fine, although I know it will not hold 50x per inch magnification.
Except on the moon. It will hold 35x per inch though on a good night and
that is plenty for deep space observing.
Although I have thought about attempting to cast my own blank to be able to
make an even larger mirror in the 30" range, I know this also would be
foolish.  Even if I overcame the innumerable problems I would face in
casting and annealing a blank of this size, I would still be physically
unable to grind and polish it unless I built a machine to do it for me.  I
am not ready to face that.  I now have three telescopes.  A Meade 5" which
is computer driven and the 10" and 16.5".  I think I will use these for
awhile before I take up another, even more difficult, scope project.
I will let everyone know how this turns out.
Clear skies, Jerry




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