2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class
Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13

Mirror Class at the Fletcher House

Here we are at the Fletcher House in Chester, Vermont again, for the fifth session of this mirror class. Fran completed a 6-inch, the fourth completion for this class, and it looks like we will have a lot more before we are done.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Mirror Class at the Fletcher House Fran proudly shows off his most recently completed mirror, a 6-inch. But you will still see him at mirror class, he is working on others (see below).

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Mirror Class at the Fletcher House Here's a view of the Organized Chaos we call mirror class - plenty going on in every nook & cranny.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Mirror Class at the Fletcher House Jay examines and discusses substrate disks held by Kate & Cecelia while Paul sips coffee on the left.

Grinding

Fewer and fewer grinders every session now, as many have finished up this stage and moved on to polishing.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Grinding Leonard grinds early in the day (the benches have not filled up yet). Behind him, Wayne checks his netbook.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Grinding Paul is a blur of motion as he one-hand grinds a 6-inch.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Grinding Paul rinses off his tool after several wets.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Grinding Paul checks a small scratch on Cecelia's mirror which she later ground out.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Grinding "It's just a little scratch!" Randy and Kate are polishing, while Cecelia hangs back at 12 micron grit to grind out a little scratch by the edge.

Pressing (He-man Style)

It seems in winter, laps need a bit of man-handling to press correctly, and we have a few photos to show you the proper technique for doing this :-)

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Pressing (He-man Style) Jeff presses with a little body weight applied.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Pressing (He-man Style) Samantha watches father Dave give her 10-inch lap an extra press with upper body weight applied.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Pressing (He-man Style) If a little upper body weight won't get the job done, then just climb onto the mirror to give it everything you have!

Polishing & Figuring

Most students are now polishing or figuring, and they are excited to be near the completion of their mirror!

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring Fran figures a 10-inch f/6	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring Michael figures an 8-inch f/6, while Dr. Al chats with Jeff and Carl who are pressing.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring Francis works on his 12½ flat. Dave, Michael and Carl in the background.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring In the kitchen, Dave does some manual pressing on Rob's 8-inch f/6.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring Jean polishes her 8-inch.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring Sarah & Tatiana have their eyes on a TV while Tatiana polishes. Michael doesn't seem to be interested in the cartoon.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring Sarah sprays water on Tatiana's lap. Carl (legs visible) keeps an eye on this operation.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring Kate is attentive as Jay demonstrates a polishing stroke. Don is listening in.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Polishing & Figuring Nickelodeon provides entertainment as Tatiana, Carl & Zhenya (behind Carl) polish. Michael (far left) ignores the TV, while Sarah (in pink top) is mesmerized.

Foucault Testing: Lecture & Practice

This year, the traditional Foucault lecture by Ken was followed up by a practice session by Jeff, so students could apply what they learned right away. Carl's new collapsible test stand saw its first use.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Foucault Testing: Lecture & Practice Ken talks about Foucault testing to a full house.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Foucault Testing: Lecture & Practice Jeff is setting up data reduction software on his laptop for the practice session.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Foucault Testing: Lecture & Practice Glenn makes a practice run at testing, coached by Dick & Jeff.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Foucault Testing: Lecture & Practice The new portable test track with a mirror and Couder Mask on the far end in a test stand, and Jeff's tester up front. To the left is one of the original Stellafane testers.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Foucault Testing: Lecture & Practice The horizontal brass rod is a complete miniature Foucault tester on a machinists gauge stand. The gray cable runs off to a power supply for the lamp.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Foucault Testing: Lecture & Practice Using the little allen wrench at far left, it can be disassembled into (1) stand clamp, cable and light source; (2) connector sleeve; (3) collimating lens; (4) slit (on end); and (5) right angle mirror.

Testing Student's Mirrors

As usual, Dave was on hand to do help with the testing of student mirrors using the big test tunnel and his rugged machined tester.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Testing Student's Mirrors Fran watches Dave do the final test on his 6-inch f/6 test at focal length. This mirror was declared done!	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Testing Student's Mirrors Dave explains to Rob what he sees in testing Rob's 8-inch f/6.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Testing Student's Mirrors Jean looks anxiously over Dave's shoulder at the first test of her 8-inch mirror.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Testing Student's Mirrors Jean's 8-inch, fresh from being polished out, has a central hill that should be easy to remove.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Testing Student's Mirrors Rick watches Dave measure an accurate Radius of Curvature for Jean's mirror.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Testing Student's Mirrors Wayne hold the mirror end of the tape measure while Dave takes an RoC reading. Rick (and Jean behind him) are watching this operation.

Social Time

The Fletcher House is such an inviting place that a lot of socializing gets done, which is part of the fun of coming to mirror class.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Social Time Some of the young people at mirror class chat in the kitchen before class gets started.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Social Time You might think this was a discussion about pressing, but having overheard the conversation, it was really a Vermont-New Jersey school board/school administration conversation.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Social Time Liz, having completed her mirror at an earlier session, gets some knitting done.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Social Time Wayne & Glenn relax in the lobby and chat.		2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Social Time Don examines Dick's clock, and is giving some advice on how to repair it.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Social Time Jay & Glenn chat in the lobby. Glenn staked out an early position on the couch, and did not surrender it all day :-)	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Social Time Sarah & Tatiana take a coloring break.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Social Time Before the Foucault lecture, Ken showed a movie from the 1941 Stellafane Convention which several people enjoyed.

Club Business

Club business gets done too, some of it preparing for the club meeting that was held here that evening.

2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Club Business Jay & Ray. Maybe Ray is saying "It's Jay's Fault"	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Club Business Dave reads a proposal to the finance committee (or the upside-down comics - you decide)	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Club Business Dave & Dr. Al discuss finance committee issues.
2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Club Business New club treasurer Wayne ponders something. He hid in that corner and looked like this all day!	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Club Business After mirror class, our cleanup crew prepares for the evening meeting.	2009-10 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 5 held on 2010-Feb-13 Club Business Ken vacuums, and Ray gets as far away as possible as quickly as possible.