2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class
Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13

Class Summary

Fran and Michael both finished mirrors today, and as you can see in the third photo, we had another good turnout with vibrant and energetic students.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Class Summary Fran completes another one (10" f/6). We have lost count at how many he has completed now!

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Class Summary Michael made a mirror in his youth, but this is his first one as an adult (8" f/5.6). After it got a 'done' in class, he retested it at home and has some questions, so we will retest it before the next class.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Class Summary As you can see from this shot, we are at the Fletcher House in Chester again, and we have filled the place up.

Grinders

Three students were still working hard at grinding this session.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Grinders To apply more pressure without more muscle, Meredith uses a weight stack on top of her tool.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Grinders Meredith, John & Nicholas grind away on the benches.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Grinders John & Nicholas grind in the foreground; Liz knits and Paul computes in the background.

Lecture: Building a Telescope

Dave Tabor gave an excellent lecture "What to do after you finish your mirror". No, don't store it away - build a telescope!

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Lecture: Building a Telescope Students settle in as Dave prepares to talk about making telescopes.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Lecture: Building a Telescope Dave hit the bulls eye with this lecture (fortunately, no one hit the target bulls eye during the talk).

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Lecture: Building a Telescope Dave makes a point during his talk.

Randy's Electric Channel Cutter

Randy brought along this very nice channel cuter made from a standard electric soldering gun, complete with cup to catch the drips. You can see the nice results in the last photo.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Randy's Electric Channel Cutter In true ATM fashion, this very functional electric channel cutter is made out of items on hand. The electric soldering gun is the key component, with a brass blade clamped to the tip.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Randy's Electric Channel Cutter Close up of the blade clamped to the soldering gun tip.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Randy's Electric Channel Cutter The results speak for themselves: nice deep channels with good width.

Polishing & Figuring

As expected at this time of year, most students are polishing & figuring.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring Katie Figures a 6" f/8. iPods help.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring Kayla, Terry & David polish at a table. In the left rear, Dave talks with Michael about final figuring while David looks on. In the right rear, Fran and Randy set up the tester.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring Tatiana is polishing a 4¼" f/8. Dave is giving her some instruction on how to do this.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring Carl presses with body weight while Rick warms a lap under the heat lamp. In the foreground, Ray is saying something to Carl and Claudio reacts.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring Jean figures an 8" f/6 with the help of an iPod also.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring David figures an 8" f/5.5. He worked through the lecture, which is why this normally busy corner looks so empty.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring Rick & Terry warm a lap using a portable chair as a lamp holder.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring Cecilia figures an 8" f/5.5. In the background, club treasurer Wayne checks some reports.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Polishing & Figuring Claudio seems to be casting a spell over his lap, which is being warm pressed in a bucket of hot water.

Testing

We had some long lines at the tester this class, even with a video display to speed things along. Many folks are closing in on having their mirror complete.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Testing Our chief tester, Dave, is always cheerful, and here he is caught having a good time while looking at a shadowgram on the monitor.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Testing Cecilia leans into the test to get a good look at her mirror.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Testing Paul lines up the image as he prepares to take a look a Fran's mirror. Fran has his back to us.

Socializing

Club members and others who accompany students always find some time to socialize or do some club business during mirror class.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Socializing Ray, Julie & Wayne keep an eye on the class while guarding the beverage station.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Socializing Paul, Al & Deb chat in the lobby area.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Socializing Rick & Paul work on an optical design for a refractor.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Socializing Webmaster Ken with Carl's nice camera, taking shots of mirror class. Wayne is working on his laptop in the background.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Socializing Treasurer Wayne, President Jeff & Ray talk over some club business in the rear of the class.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 6 held on 2010-Mar-13 Socializing Wayne, John, Ken & Ray never get too far from the coffee station!