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Mirror Making Class?

Glasspusher

By Glasspusher
in DIY Astronomer

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Glasspusher

Glasspusher

Posted
Posted

I am thinking about starting a telescope mirror making class in Stockton-on-Tees, in the north east of England. If anyone is interested in attending such a class please get in touch with me. I can provide mirror blanks etc if required. At this stage the whole thing is just an idea, if I can get enough interested parties I will finalise details. I do not have a start date in mind; again this is dependent on the level of interest.

PM me your email address if you are interested.

John

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saac

saac

Posted
Posted

John,

I'm a secondary school teacher in Scotland (Physics) and I run an astronomy club. Our club is fairly active and this year we aim to complete our build of a 12 inch dobsonian. We've already made the mirror cell and upper OTA, just the mirror box, rocker and of course, the mirror itself to go. After much thought we have decided to grind our own mirror - we are all new to mirror grinding but what we lack in experience we will make up with enthusiasm.

I followed (lurked) and was greatly impressed by your previous thread on mirror grinding and was certainly planning to make reference to the guidance there as we go along. Again, distance would preclude our direct involvement but if you are able to make anything from your classes available say on-line (videos, tutorials, blogs etc) it would be greatly appreciated. I know this would place an extra burden on you but the knowledge and experience you have is invaluable.

Jim

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Gina

Gina

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Posted

Yes, I think a tutorial on making mirrors would be very good. And if you could include some info on the turntable, such as the rotation speed, that would be very useful too. Links to sources of materials would also be handy. This is something I'd quite like to have a go at sometime.

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barkis

barkis

Posted
Posted
John,

I'm a secondary school teacher in Scotland (Physics) and I run an astronomy club. Our club is fairly active and this year we aim to complete our build of a 12 inch dobsonian. We've already made the mirror cell and upper OTA, just the mirror box, rocker and of course, the mirror itself to go. After much thought we have decided to grind our own mirror - we are all new to mirror grinding but what we lack in experience we will make up with enthusiasm.

I followed (lurked) and was greatly impressed by your previous thread on mirror grinding and was certainly planning to make reference to the guidance there as we go along. Again, distance would preclude our direct involvement but if you are able to make anything from your classes available say on-line (videos, tutorials, blogs etc) it would be greatly appreciated. I know this would place an extra burden on you but the knowledge and experience you have is invaluable.

Jim

Jim, I've sent you a Personal Message.

Ron.

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Beulah

Beulah

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Posted
....but if you are able to make anything from your classes available say on-line (videos, tutorials, blogs etc) it would be greatly appreciated. I know this would place an extra burden on you but the knowledge and experience you have is invaluable.

Jim

I second this. I'd even pay for the online lessons.

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nightstang

nightstang

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Posted

For those that want a turntable what I did was use my drill press and 2 pulleys. One was a 1" and the other was 8". I could set the RPM by the belts on the drill press it work good for me. Instructables is holding a contest for space related how-to guides. I put one up on there you might want to check out even vote for if you like it =). Like all the instructables on the site its not a complete guide but a good overview that can fill in the gaps where you might get stuck or give ideas on what route to take.

Here is a link How to make your own telescope mirror

Dave

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Gina

Gina

Posted
Posted
For those that want a turntable what I did was use my drill press and 2 pulleys. One was a 1" and the other was 8". I could set the RPM by the belts on the drill press it work good for me. Instructables is holding a contest for space related how-to guides. I put one up on there you might want to check out even vote for if you like it =). Like all the instructables on the site its not a complete guide but a good overview that can fill in the gaps where you might get stuck or give ideas on what route to take.

Here is a link How to make your own telescope mirror

Dave

Thanks for the info and link :)
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  • 2 months later...
fwm891

fwm891

Posted
Posted

Glasspusher - most people here can send images, post KE readings etc., is it not possible to do a distance learning thing with this ? I've made a few mirrors but would like to do a 12-inch.

Just a thought

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Glasspusher

Glasspusher

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Francis, I am more than willing to help any aspiring mirror makers either through this forum or via personal email. I do have the aim of producing a tutorial video sometime in the future. The mirror making class did get off the ground, started with 5 students, ended up with 2, both are progressing well and enjoying the process.

John

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