Stellafane 2010-2011 Mirror Class
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Announcements
This class started in October 2010 and is full.
To sign up for a future Mirror Class, see the pink box on the Mirror Class Main Page. We expect the next class to start in October 2011.
Please email any questions or corrections to mirrorclass@stellafane.org.
Schedule & Class Pictures
A photo album of a session is typically added to the table below within a week of when the session was held.
| Schedule Including brief notes about the session |
Class Pictures Click Image for Photo Album |
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0: Saturday, September 25, 2010 at Stellafane:
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1: Saturday, October 9, 2010 at Stellafane:
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B1: Saturday, October 23, 2010 at Stellafane:
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2: Saturday, November 6, 2010 at Stellafane:
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3: Saturday, December 4, 2010 at Fletcher House:
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4: Sunday, January 9, 2011 at Fletcher House:
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5: Saturday, February 5, 2011 at Fletcher House:
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6: Saturday, March 5, 2011 at Fletcher House:
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7: Saturday, April 2, 2011 at Fletcher House:
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B3: Saturday. May 28 at Stellafane:
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Students & Mirror Status
Here is a list of our students and their progress on their mirrors:
| Mirror Maker *Club Member |
Mirror Size |
Focal Ratio |
Mirror Status |
Start Date |
Status Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl M* | 4¼" | f/6 | Done! | 2009 Dec | 2011 Apr |
| Claudio V | 8" | f/6 | Done! | 2008 Sep | 2010 Oct |
| Dan W | 8" | f/7 | Done! | 2010 Oct | 2011 Jan |
| Dave B | 8" | f/7 | Done! | 2010 Oct | 2010 Dec |
| Dave B | 4¾" | f/7.5 | Done! | 2010 Dec | 2011 Jan |
| David A | 4¼" | f/4.5 | Done! | - | 2011 Mar |
| Erin D | 8" | f/7 | Done! | 2010 Oct | 2011 Apr |
| David N | 8" | f/6 | Done! | 2009 Oct | 2010 Jun |
| Fran E | 12½" | f/4.5 | Done! | 2010 Oct | 2011 Apr |
| George P | 8" | f/7.25 | Done! | 2007 Sep | 2010 Nov |
| Jay D* | 8" | f/7 | Done! | 2010 Oct | 2010 Nov |
| Meredith M* | 8" | f/6 | Done! | 2009 Sep | 2010 Nov |
| Orla D | 6" | f/8 | Done! | 2010 Oct | 2011 May |
| Rick K | 8" | f/6 | Done! | 2010 Oct | 2011 May |
| Rob B | 8" | f/6 | Done! | 2009 Sep | 2010 Nov |
| Samantha* | 10" | f/5 | Done! | 2007 Sep | 2011 Mar |
| Tatiana* | 4¼" | f/8 | Done! | 2009 Oct | 2011 Apr |
| Zhenya* | 6" | Done! | 2009 Oct | 2010 Oct | |
| David N | 6" | f/7 | Figure | 2010 Oct | 2010 Apr |
| Gary M | 8" | f/5.8 | Figure | 2008 Sep | 2010 Oct |
| Jean Z* | 8" | f/6 | Figure | ? | 2011 Feb |
| Katie S | 6" | f/8 | Figure | 2009 Sep | 2011 Jan |
| Michael P | 6" | f/4.5 | Figure | 2010 Sep | 2011 Apr |
| Amy & Steve R | 8" | f/7 | Polish | 2010 Oct | 2010 Nov |
| Dave T* | 6" | f/10 | Polish | 2010 Sep | 2011 Mar |
| David H | 8" | f/7 | Polish | 2010 Oct | 2011 Mar |
| David M* | 8" | f/6 | Polish | 2007 Sep | 2011 Mar |
| Dixie D | 6" | f/6 | Polish | 2007 Sep | 2011 Apr |
| Francis O* | 12½" | Flat | Polish | 2009 Sep | 2010 Dec |
| Leonard B | 8" | f/6 | Polish | 2009 Sep | 2010 Nov |
| Wayne Z* | 10" | Polish | ? | 2010 Feb | |
| Eric F | 6" | f/6 | Rough | 2010 Oct | 2010 Dec |
| Josh R | 24" | f/5 | Rough | 2007? | 2011 Apr |
| Liz S.* | 8" | f/10 | Rough | 2011 Feb | 2001 Feb |
| Paul S* | 6" | f/8 | Rough | ? | 2011 Feb |
| Peter C | 8" | f/6 | Broken | 2009 Sep | 2011 Jan |
| Dave T* | 4½" | f/10 Lens | R4 120 | 2010 Sep | 2010 Dec |
| Ken S* | 4½" | f/10 Lens | R4 120 | 2010 Oct | 2011 Jan |
| Jim E* | 4½" | f/10 Lens | Tools | 2010 Oct | 2010 Oct |
| Ray* | 4½" | f/10 Lens | R3 120 | 2010 Sep | 2010 Dec |
| Rick H* | 4½" | f/15 Lens | Rough | 2010 Sep | 2010 Dec |
| Optics | Done | Figure | Polish | Rough | Other |
| 36 Mirrors | 18 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| 5 Lenses | - | - | - | 4 | 1 |
Instructors
Thanks to our large group of volunteer instructors, we can hold these mirror class and give everyone the individualized attention they require. Several of our instructors work professionally in the optics industry, and many have competed dozens or mirrors and more complicated optics as amateurs.
Officers, Trustees and Full Members of the club have had to successfully make a mirror or other quality optical surface.
 Mirror Class Leader thru Feb 2011 Full Member Eats #80 Grit for a Snack! |
 Full Member & Treasurer Uncrating a 16" Blank in the Bunkhouse |
 Full Member Using the Foucault Tester |
 Full Member Demonstrates Polishing Techniques |
 Full Member & President Mechanical Judging at Convention |
 Full Member With a Mirror he completed in 2009 |
 Mirror Class Leader from March 2011 Full Member Showing a student how to Measure Sagitta |
 Associate Member Jeff with a Mirror he just finished in 2008 |
 Full Member At the 2007 Stellafane Convention |
 Full Member Making Pitch Laps at the 2001 Convention |
 Full Member, Trustee & Webmaster Explaining Foucault Testing |
 Full Member & Secretary Making a Pitch Lap in the 2006-07 Class |
 Full Member Grinding a Mirror in 2008 |
 Full Member At the 2007 Convention |
 Full Member At the 2006 Stellafane Convention |
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Final Report
People: This year it's all about people. People finishing their mirrors! At the end of the class season we had 18 mirrors completed, a record for the Stellafane Mirror Class. This class seemed to be inspired, there was so much positive energy present and so many mirrors finished. Class members included a student from Bennington College, a National Park Ranger, home schoolers, a plumber, teachers, IT pros, an architect, a graphic designer, an attorney, a classic car restorer, a karate sensei, a physician, children, a massage therapist, a postman, and retired folk. "Life long learners" all.
Mirror class leadership changed over from Jay Drew, who had inherited a smooth running mirror class from Ken Slater 5 years ago, to Springfield Telescope Maker and new Class Leader Ray Morits. Ray brings lots of enthusiastic new ideas to the mirror class and will be a great class organizer and leader. Thanks to our dedicated Instructors, many of them have been donating their time and talent to the project for extended periods now.
Equipment: This year saw new mirror class tee shirts for students and instructors with fun graphics designed by STM Matt Considine. This summer we spent several full days making up a batch of 16 Parker Barrels, which have served the class very well. After purchasing plate glass grinding tools last year, we returned this year to using our favorite tool material. Thanks to Webmaster Ken Slater, who also has the alternate title of Chief Dental Stone Tile Tool Builder, as he has stockpiled enough tools to last into next year. For several years we have anticipated a shortage of Pyrex mirror blanks, and it looks like our stock of this glass is dwindling. Next year will see some changes in the mirror substrate we use during class, most likely changing to the new (and more expensive) Supremax 33 that is replacing Pyrex.
Facilities: Our Site Manager John Martin and others have been very busy working in the Flanders Pavilion. John and his crew have been using our new sawmill and trees harvested at Stellafane to build a freestanding workshop inside the Pavilion. This will be a great asset to the club and to the mirror class. Fletcher House in Chester was again generously provided as a winter home by the Newsbank Corporation. Many many thanks to them for this facility which makes mirror making possible during the winter. Here in Vermont a beautiful but short autumn led to a cold, snowy, and icy winter. The Stellafane grounds by spring were buried in fallen trees and branches, which will keep us busy cleaning up until Convention.
Website: The stellafane.org website is an integral tool for our Mirror Class and for ATMs world wide. Aside from this specific mirror class page you are reading now, Webmaster Ken Slater also spent an extraordinary amount of time on the Mirror Making portions of the website. Enhancements in that section include a Testing Overview as well as a terrific guide to Reading Ronchigrams and pages about Autocollimation and Mirror Quality. He also added some very interesting historical information on Stellafane Conventions from years past. If that isn't enough, Webmaster Ken has completed work on and published Newt-Web, a powerful Newtonian telescope design tool that works "in the cloud." He did all this while actively teaching and mentoring students in each session of the mirror class. Thank you and congratulations, Ken!
Class mirrors were fast and slow, small and large, ranging from f/3.75 to f/9 and from 4 inches to 24 inches. During all the grit and pitch slinging, only one mirror was damaged this year, when a careless move knocked a large clamshell chip from the edge of an 8" blank. For once there were no significant scratches to be seen. Glass fabrication techniques included coring out glass tools with diamond cutters, motorized lens edging, as well as the usual hand work. Testing was done with Foucault (knife edge and ronchi), Autocollimation, Ross Null, Newton's Interferometry, and Bath Interferometry. Interesting but rarely seen techniques such as the Acetone Test for flats were demonstrated. We even had a grinding tool made of 5¢ nickels.
Refractor Interest Group: There are five 4½" achromat doublets in progress using several different designs. Much of the work on the lenses has been done by the members at their own homes, as well as during field trips to Dick Parker's home workshop in Refractorville, CT.
Stats:
- 18 mirrors were finished this year, with 9 completions from new 2010 students (start to finish in one season)
- 5 refractor lenses are in progress using Stellafane-brewed optical designs
- 6 mirror completions were from STM club members
- 5 kids completed
- 5 women finished
- 4 students joined the Springfield Telescope Makers as Associate Members and two youth Members qualified for Full Membership
- 14 beards were in attendance, this being Vermont
Conclusion: This was a fantastic, engaging class full of interesting people. We are delighted to report a record number of very high quality mirrors were completed this year, and we hope to see many of them mounted and on display at Convention this summer. We welcome Ray Morits to his new position as Class Leader. Until next fall, mirror class is adjourned.
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