The Workshop In Action
Below is a collection of pictures from the different workshops over the last several years. The turnout has been very encouraging for everyone that participated. It's a good way to use some of that downtime during the cold winter months. And being in a room full of other astronomy enthusiasts can help you get through those sometimes difficult or tedious stages of mirror making. There's help and encouragement within arm's reach.... Enjoy.
Mirror makers at work in one of two rooms. Left to right: Alex, our youngest participant, Julian, Jay, Kathi (sorry we missed her face) and Scott. All working on rough grinding their first mirrors. Jay and Scott are checking something out on Scott's mirror.
(right) Tom works on his 10" f/6. He comes from New Haven and started his mirror in another workshop. He's finishing it here with us. (far right) Mary works on her 8" f/8. She also worked on this mirror at home between sessions. Talk with her and you'll be impressed with her interest.
(left) Victor shows us a wood master for a 17" cellular mirror that he to plans to cast.
(right) Andy washes his mirror. He's in the rough grinding stage and needs to check the progress of his surface curve.
(left) Julian is checking the surface curve in his mirror using a template cut to the shape he needs for his focal length.
(right) Jay and Ed are checking the surface of their mirrors for pits. Jay is using a backlight and loupe. He's at the fine grinding stage and needs to know if he can use the next finer grit. Ed is using a special microscope and is currently working with #500 grit.
(right) Carl uses a flashlight to check the focal length of his mirror. He has wet the surface and is seeing where the light focuses.
By far the most important part of the workshop is getting to know one another through our projects. There is plenty of coffee and lots of good conversation to go around.
The group is taking time out from actual work to watch some instructional video on optical theory.
Ed pours his pitch lap. Alex trims his lap after pouring and before making the squares. Jay makes his pitch lap into squares by melting them in.
Bruce (far right) is polishing away on his 8" f/6. This is his first mirror and it's coming out just great. Ed (right) joined us to resume work on a 16" mirror that he started 10 years ago.
(left) John shows us that, with 3 guys leaning on it, a cement based pitch lap can indeed break. Who could have imagined? He's made a new one out of dental stone. It took 3 of us to press this one into shape.
It's hard to capture all the activity in one image. That particular year, there were 7 workstations in each of the two work areas. All workstations were in use.
(right) "This @#$%#$^ mirror isn't coming out right!" Sometimes even the masters don't get their best laid plans to workout. There's no need to worry. It's part of the process. He eventually got it right.
Astronomy is about more than just the mirrors. People take this chance to show off some of their other projects.
On the first day of the 2001 workshop, John shows us a binocular pantagraph mount that he has been working on. He has seen these mounts work and did a nice job of fashioning one for his binoculars.
Charles shows us the oak observing chair that he made. It adjusts to compensate for different eyepiece levels. He did an excellent job.
(left) I adjust the mirror test bench while demonstrating the setup using an already finished mirror. (below right) Several people gather around as we set up the test bench to check Ed's 9" mirror.
(center) Ed gets to see the results of his work first hand. The mirror looks great, but needs just a touch more correction then it's finished.
