To: atm{at}shore.net
From: "Matthew L. Brown" 
Reply-To: "Matthew L. Brown" 



>Standard things to try:

1. Let it sit for a while in a tub of water, standing on edge.  They'll
often just fall apart in about 20 minutes. 2. Try different temperatures of
water; pitch and glass have different expansion rates.
3. blast water from a hose into the channels.  This worked for me once. 4.
Put it into the freezer;  different expansion rates again. Some people
report success at alternating temperatures, but don't go to extremes, or
the glass may fracture.


Things that worked for me:
1. If wet, keep it wet.  Pitch plus polishing agent makes a great glue.  If
cold pressing, put a wet cloth over the mirror & lap.
  Or, wrap tape around the pair, to keep water in.  The only times my lap
stuck to my mirror was when I let them dry out.

2. When I hot press, I fill a tupperware tub with hot water, put the
mirror/lap sandwich in, and put a weight on top.  This keeps things wet. 
When the water is cold, the press is done.


To rebuild a destroyed lap, I wrap the lap using ordinary masking tape, and
pop it into a cool oven (200 deg F/ 95 deg C). When I channel, I save the
pitch dust generated (I use a razor blade to carve channels), and dump it
on top of the lap before remelting.  (Don't do this if your channeling
might
have liberated particles from your lap base -- scratches).

=Matt



>So far I love every aspect of this hobby...except for working with pitch!
>My problem right now is my mirror is totally stuck to the pitch lap which
>I just made and channeled.  It was just supposed to be a warm press, but
>now it looks like a ruined effort (lap, not the mirror...I don't give up
>that easily)
>Any suggestions for the best way to deal with this sort of situation?
>Also, any advice that makes pitch easier to deal with would also be
>appreciated.
>
>One more thing...I might need more pitch before this is over, does anyone
>know of a source for pitch or any other ATM supplies in the Toronto area?
>Thanks
>Lance Clarke
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online
>http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
>
>

--- BBBS/NT v4.00 MP