From: "Russell Jocoy" 
To: atm{at}shore.net
Reply-To: "Russell Jocoy" 


("atm{at}shore.net")

      Hello all,

                  I have been polishing, and polishing and have put down the
pitch lap out of frustration.
     The edge of my glass masterpiece is turned down. I refuse to figure any
more til I can make this
demon go away.... I know that high temps' are not the best working
conditions for figuring glass, but
  I live here (South Florida in summer). My workshop is my garage and temps.
are 80 to 85 degrees
with a fan blowing.. This time of year is great for work-shoping since the
sky is coated with thunder
clouds until the wee morning hours. Oh and if you want to observe any
celestial objects, be prepared
for insects the size of  frisbees, and dew like rain,  really..
           So this is my work time. I do believe that the high temps. have
made my pitch lap too soft and
caused my turned down edge. All my strokes have been classic and I have
adhered to the rules
of the basic mirror grinder.. I feel that I have overlooked the one  note
that  J. Texereau notes in his
book about temperature, and polishing.... he says above 86 degrees it is
hard to control the pitch.,
and I say this is a prime example  of too much heat on a pitch lap.
    Jerry Hillman had this  same problem on his 16 inch by 3/4" mirror that
al on the list have been
following. It's hard enough to try and figure a thin mirror , but try to
use a pitch lap in Texas in the
summer time, in your barn/ garage.
      I know  many on the list have no concept of the humidity and heat of
the south but as opposite from
our northern brothers we love to see the winter, and to the northern
observers..summer is a break from
the frozen fingers, frozen feet, and frozen focuser's
    I am rableing on here, just to say I have stopped polishing and have
begun making the scope's
skeleton during the thunder storms. Tonite  I actually used a diagonal fixed
  with masking tape to see
craters on  the moon....(in focus)  There is a long way to go and I will
not give up.. Once I get the focal
lenght set up I will star test as I Foucault and Ronchi test, and in
between maybe I'll gaze at Mars....
            Steady working on a mirror or its crutch..... Russ Jocoy
("atm{at}shore.net")

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