Re: [ATM] Silicone Failure

["David Harbour" <scarab2@cox.net>]

Guy,

Once my wife and I built  a cabin in the wilderness. It took us a lot of
work (foundation laid by hand, concrete mixed in a six cubic foot
contractor's wheel barrow, etc., concrete block lower story; laying
cponcrete blocks was not easy for a guy who had to teach himself how to do
it out of a book) We lived in a tent to do this for almost  year. We had a
neighbor who whacked together some boards, with nails and a hammer, in only
a couple of weeks. Later, he said:

"Your place sure turned out a lot better than mine"

I read this maxim in a book about owner/build construction. "The more you
invest in time to build your shelter, the better it will turn out."

But, I concede the possibility that this maxim is not true. But I wouldn't
want to live in a house that was whacked together in a few weeks with hammer
and nails. A construction book I read said that nails, which are the easiest
fastener to use, are also the poorest. We live in "tornado alley"; homes
just fall apart when tornados waltz through here. We built our upper story
using lag bolts.

On the other hand, perhaps all this is bosh: that taking more time to build
stuff makes it better. It might all be poppycock (does anyone know the
etymological origins of the word "poppycock"? The word is a
transmogrification of the vernacular; it once meant (200 years ago) "poppy
talk"; meaning, the talk of one under the influence of the poppy (opium)).

Davey

"There are rough carpenters and finish carpenters"




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Guy Brandenburg" <gfbrandenburg@yahoo.com>
To: "David Harbour" <scarab2@cox.net>; "ATM List" <atm@atmlist.net>;
"Gilbert Gagne" <gil5941@earthlink.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 9:27 PM
Subject: Re: [ATM] Silicone Failure


> Dave,
> In my opinion, silicone works better than the normal
> clip-and-metal-bolt type of mounting for small
> mirrors. Large mirrors might be another story.
>
> I think that your remarks about how all shortcuts make
> things worse is excessive. Some shortcuts are very
> elegant and save lots of time and cause a better
> product in the long run, not only in amateur telescope
> making but in other areas as well. Of course, some
> other shortcuts don't make things better at all. Not
> all shortcuts are created equal.
> Guy B
>
> --- David Harbour <scarab2@cox.net> wrote:
> > Gilbert, all:
> >
> > Ritchey would have laughed at the silicone trick, I
> > believe. Go back to
> > first principles (absolutely no offense intended:
> > there is a principle in
> > craftsmanship: "shortcuts" degrade the end product).
> > Silicone is a shortcut
> > for mounting mirrors; but it is SUPERB for making
> > polishing lap molds.
> >
> > Dave
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Gilbert Gagne" <gil5941@earthlink.net>
> > To: <atm@atmlist.net>
> > Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 9:06 AM
> > Subject: RE: [ATM] Silicone Failure
> >
> >
> > > Jay Kirkland wrote:
> > >  >...Siliconed the mirror onto its cell about two
> > weeks ago and let it
> > > cure.... As soon as the mirror neared verical, the
> > top 18 support
> > >  >points sheared away from the metal. ... But what
> > did I do wrong? Wrong
> > > silicone?
> > >
> > > I would suspect oily contamination of the metal
> > parts. Next time, try
> > > using a good degreaser like trisodium phosphate
> > (TSP), available from
> > > Home Depot/Lowe's.
> > > Gil Gagne
> > > Port Orange, FL
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > ATM mailing list http://www.atmlist.net/
> > >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > ATM mailing list http://www.atmlist.net/
> >
>
> Guy  Brandenburg
> Washington, DC
> My home page:
> http://home.earthlink.net/~gfbranden/GFB_Home_Page.html
>


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