Re: [ATM] Flat making on You Tube

[Mike Lockwood <melockwo@uiuc.edu>]

Francis,

Thanks for posting the videos.  I am going to call your cat "Fortunado
the Contaminator".  Thanks for plugging the list.  It's fun to drag 
the slider and watch you spin around the barrel.

Since I can see the work, I can say a few things about what you're
doing, if you don't mind a little feedback that might benefit you and 
others (and you invited comment in the video).

First, I got headsets for both of my telephones, and they're great.
They save a lot of time.  I can talk while grinding, polishing, and
figuring.

Second, when you start your wet of 5u, you put on quite a bit of
slurry.  When you put the top disk on, most of the slurry is forced 
out and over the edge of the disk on the bottom, and thus wasted.  So, 
use less slurry.  When you get too much ground glass building up, wipe 
it off, apply a few new drops of slurry, and continue grinding.  There 
is no problem with adding grit in the middle of the wet if necessary. 
  You can judge the grinding action by the sound.  When it gets quiet 
there is either too much glass in the sludge, or the grit is spent.

Third, when fine grinding you don't need to use both hands.  One hand
or even just fingertip pressure is fine, since you don't need to apply
downward pressure for 5u.  This helps randomize the strokes, too, and
reduces any zoning.  You can do spirals, circles, ellipses, straight
strokes, etc.  This is easier on your back.

Lastly, if your stand was smaller in diameter, it would be easier on 
your back.  It is best if you can stand up straight, and a smaller 
stand would help this, as might a slightly higher stand.  When you get 
your technique, the stand height, and the stand diameter right, you 
can grind for hours without back issues (or neck issues from looking 
down at the work).  Also, putting your bucket on a table keeps you 
from having to bend over, which saves your back too.

By the way, 1u grit does save polishing time, and you can use it since 
you are grinding glass on glass.

	Mike Lockwood

Francis J. O'Reilly wrote:
> I just posted a video of my optical shop and my endeavors making an
> optical flat (or three) on You tube / Google Video. If you would
> like to view it, Go to www.YouTube.com and type in Optical Flat. It
> goes from Part 1 to Part 6 in ten minute increments.
> It is a home video and not too professionally done, but I had a
> great time making it. Early on, my co-star, one of the cats
> (Fortunado) makes a cameo appearance 




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