Mirror grinding machine

[Astroman]

I began work on the Mirror-O-Matic machine this weekend.

http://www.mirror-o-matic.com/

I'm building the one with the "upgrade" to accommodate up to a 20" mirror. :shock: I hope to finish it by the end of August and start grinding my own mirrors. Cross your fingers for me. 8)

[AndyMac]

Fingers crossed Astroman. If anyone can do it, you can!

[Rob]

All power to you on that Astroman... good luck.

20" Mirror... wow!

Rob

[AndyMac]

Not just a 20" mirror, Rob. We're talking 20" mirror combined with dark Arizona skies!!! :shock: :shock:

[Rob]

Oh blimey... of course.

You can go off some quite quick!!!

[Rob]

JUst kiddin

How cool is that going to be!!!... cant wait to hear about the results you will get from that Astroman.

[Astroman]

My plan is for the 16" pulled primary. I'll start with a bunch of smaller ones, naturally. I have a bunch of 5" blanks I can screw up before I put the big one on. 8) I'll keep you posted.

[AndyMac]

Rob I reckon that one day our group is going to have to take a trip to Stone Haven to see the great man, himself - together with all his modifications & equipment - not forgetting his drums!

........And of course be treated to one of his infamous talks at his observatory!

[AndyMac]

Have things cooled off yet, Astroman? heard you've had quite a few people perish in the Phoenix heatwave.

[OXO]

Astroman that looks like one Cool project please keep us posted on that.... Brought back memorys of being 17yrs old and hand polishing a 6" mirror for a friend took nearly a year before it was finished, he later made a Dob with it and i later had the chance to view with the telescope. Wonderfull observing deep sky objects i remember seeing M81 for the first time with that scope/mirror.

Wax on Wax off as they say

James

[Ant]

Cool! I'd love to grind my own mirror - but haven't the time or the skills to do it!

I like the idea of a "Lounge" trip to the states... Maybe all meet up at the TSP?

Russ, you know that we've both got the go ahead for Kelling next year - reckon we could change that to Texas?

Ant

[Astroman]

Thanks guys, I'm really looking forward to this machine's completion. There's a dearth of good "glass pushers" out there, and I'd like to join their ranks.

James: I've done a couple 6" mirrors and 5" mirrors the hard way, and it's a major pain, literally. Standing, walking around the barrel and pushing add up to major back problems for me. Not to mention not being able to lift my arms the next day. :? Hopefully this thing will work well. Tests on the site show great results.

Andy: "Cooled off" is relative. It's "only" been in the low 100's F, but humidity is high and thunderstorms thrash us nearly every day. Saturday, we got pounded twice-once from the west, once from the east. Over 1.5" in an hour, which is roughly 30% of our annual average rainfall, PLUS 60 mph winds. Power went out for 7 hours and it was major sticky at 60% humidity. Ugh!

Unfortunately, people die here from the heat every year. Mostly elderly and/or homeless, they have no defenses. Another incentive for socialized medicine here, but that seems unlikely, given the current political climate.

Well, thanks again for the encouragement, guys!

[daz]

Hey Astroman,

How goes this project - did you / are you grinding your own now?

I can only imagine the time and effort involved in doing it manually :shock:

daz

[Adrius]

very cool man thanks for the link, i am a scope builder myself allso.

[Astroman]

Project is stalled, as are many others.  Time and money being main culprits. Main box and some smaller elements are completed, though. Progress is slow and sporadic.

[daz]

Those two seem to get in everyone's way!

[FLO]

Thats a serious piece of kit you have there Astroman; I look forward to hearing more about that 16" reflector you are building.

Steve

[AndyMac]

Very sorry to hear that things haven't worked out as planned, Astroman. I hope things improve soon.