140520 TimC comments

On 5/20/2014 11:21 PM, Tim Crawford wrote:

 Well, was that cool or not! We had 12 people including three students from UCSB tonight. I ground a little with my newly trimmed tool and freshly beveled Pyrex disc. The scratches and gouges are disappearing slowly. Paul mentioned one thing tonight very promising. Some of the lighter scratches and lesser gouges will disappear in the polishing stages. At that point we are smearing glass around at a molecular level. I think these were great comments that we can test in time. Thanks Paul!

Tom poured not one but TWO laps tonight. Thanks Tom!!!!!! We set up two different mirrors on the test stands. Both are on track to becoming great mirrors.

 Remember, we are working with wavelengths at this point- although the Ronchi patterns look sometimes different from ideal, they are very close to the end. It is just tweaking from here. There is a tendency to get overwhelmed by what you see through the tester. Do not be discouraged. You are very close! Stay in there. Don't rush- enjoy it. In the end, the absolute joy in looking through optics you have crafted is nothing short of spectacular.

At the near end of polishing, the laps Tom is pouring for us are just fabulous. In the past we poured pitch into dams created by using masking tape on the tools we were grinding with. Now, Tom and others are using molds they have purchased. But I'm the hands of a craftsman, these new laps can look flawless and clean! A true artist preserving an art form that would be easily lost in time if there were not people like you Tom.

My new disc that Christopher gave me, complete with a "king tooth" drawn on it is just great. I am pleased to say the Cerium Christopher purchased looks like it is going to be just fine. I was getting nervous with the deep red color of the Cerium. I thought it might be less than optical grade, but with just a little touch tonight, I realized it is really fine material and dispersed in water it looks a lot less red. It's good stuff. What a pleasure this class has become. Thank you all for your participation. We missed Jerry tonight. That would have made it an 11 on a scale of 1-10. Hope you are okay Jerry. We miss you. T

 [ChrisU small pitch lap tool not set to match his mirror, so contact surface shows spots of polishing compound in center of each square of pitch...possibly heat caused each square to sag?  tt]

[see more photos/vids: https://www.flickr.com/photos/27241501@N03/sets/72157644761492162 ]