2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class
Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02

Last Regular Session

This was the last regular session of the year (we will hold a bonus session in May for final figuring and telescope construction) and we were very happy to have four more mirrors completed.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Last Regular Session Tatiana worked hard to complete her 4¼" f/8 mirror. Dave T., Dick, & Dave K. are proud of her hard work and good results.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Last Regular Session Carl shows off his tiny mirror (4¼ f/6) that should have been months ago :-) Dick and Dave K are relieved this finally got done.
	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Last Regular Session Erin shows of her 8" f/7 mirror and completion certificate. Another fine mirror, helped along by Jay, Dave K. & Dick.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Last Regular Session Fran shows off his 12½" f/4.5, and we can't remember how many mirrors he has completed at this point! Another good job.

Hauling the Test Tunnel Around

Its hard work every session hauling the test tunnel up from the basement and getting it set up inside.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Hauling the Test Tunnel Around Carl, Ray and Jay get the front end up through the bulkhead.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Hauling the Test Tunnel Around Jay helps Dave lower the back end onto the parking lot.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Hauling the Test Tunnel Around Ray and Carl navigate the tight corner and get it into the house - Dave is inside, Jay is outside the door. Michael is watching this monthly show.

Grinders

Josh & Dixie were grinding this session. Dixie got done and moved on to polishing, Josh is still working on pits at #220.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Grinders Josh grinds the 24" with the 18" tool.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Grinders Phil is checking for pits while Josh and Rick look on.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Grinders At the end of the session, Josh cleans up the big piece of glass.
	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Grinders Dixie is finishing up fine grinding with the micron size grits.

Polishing & Figuring

A lot of work in this area, with four mirrors completing today, and others have started figuring or polishing.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Polishing & Figuring Michael & Rick are both figuring, with work stations near the tester for quick and easy access.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Polishing & Figuring Oral is figuring her 8" f/6 while Erin, who finished earlier, relaxes on her bench. Zhenya who finished a few sessions ago listens to some tunes in the background.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Polishing & Figuring Earlier in the day, Erin works on putting the final figure on her mirror. David is figuring his second mirror at mirror class.
2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Polishing & Figuring Tatiana is carefully figuring her 4¼" mirror - she completed it later in the day.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Polishing & Figuring Michael is doing some lap maintenance over the trash barrel.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Polishing & Figuring Dave checks the softness of a lap place under the heat lamp to soften it up.

Testing

This month, we highlight the testing done in the game room with Dick's auto-collimator and Jay's Ross Null Tester. Dave K used the main test tunnel out in the main room, but we have no photos of that this time around.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Testing Dick check's Tatiana's mirror in the auto collimation test, with Tatiana and father Carl listening to the results.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Testing Jay lines up the Ross Null tester on a student's mirror.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Testing Dave is checking on a mirror on Dick's tester.

Other Stuff

Random other things going on at Mirror Class.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Other Stuff Carl explains what Tatiana's mirror surface looks like, so she can understand how to correct it.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Other Stuff Jay uses a 6" reference flat on the 12" flat he is figuring. It's under a monochromatic light source to look at the fringes, which can be made out as the curved lines between the flats.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session 7 held on 2011-Apr-02 Other Stuff David is looking at Ken's new Android Tablet in the game room testing area.