Re: ATM 6" or 8" mirror

[Dave Sopchak <das@po.cwru.edu>]

>Ok, I am planning on buying a kit from newport glass. There is a 6" and
>an little more expensive 8". Everyone here has said that making a mirror
>is a almost a success every time do you think it would be wise to go
>with the 8". I read that its 3 times harder but it still is that much
>harder, or should I do the 6" and use it for a while and make another
>later on?
>Its a big choice since I will devote my life to it for the next couple
>of months
>Tim
>"Bigger is better"

Your last line answers the question. An 8" isn't much tougher to do than a
6", and the doubling in light gathering power will be your reward. Mirrors
tend to be successes every time because the folks on this list, and glass
pushers in general, have a tendency to work a piece of glass until it's
decent enough. My first mirror was a real learning experience (learn to
grind, learn to polish with no scratches, learn  to use knife edge tester)
and although it took me three times polishing to get it right, it turned
out to be a superb mirror. I did all of this with only Texereau's book as a
guide. With this list and the smart folks on it, you'll do even better, I
have no doubt.
        The neat thing about a mirror is even if you do everything wrong,
short of shattering it to bits, you can erase all problems by going back to
rough grinding, and most can be remedied by going back to fine grinding!


Dave


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