I just returned from the Okie-Tex Star Party in far western Oklahoma. The weather was generally clear, with fairly good transparency and good seeing on a few...
Hi Mike I was going to buy a type 2 from Rick for the main reason that I have a greenwood filter slide on my FX 20 and I assumed the unit would stick out too...
Hi Mike, What I am reading about the paracorr is that there is a slight tradeoff between coma which is reduced by the paracorr, and spherical aberration which...
Hi Mike, I had a chance to meet you and view through your 30" at Astrofest in 2005 when I was living in Chicago. Thanks for sharing the views and the company...
I would not glue the mirror to the sling. I would make another kind of support: two rollerskate bearings at 90° (as seen from the mirror center) touching the...
Hey guys! My name is John, and I am currently living in Austin, TX. Unfortunately for me, my mirror is the 25" f/4.2 featured in Mike's "In the Shop" section....
I recently completed a third 28" mirror for Astroworks. These optics are used in this instrument: http://www.astroworks.com/c28/info.html As I understand it,...
Rick Singmaster has some Paracorr Type 2s (tunable drop in model) in stock. Call him if you want one. If you are interested in a focuser-mounted Paracorr Type...
I just received a 36" Supremax blank that will be used in a research application (not in a telescope, so far as I know). If you are interested in a mirror from...
Can Mike or someone tell me what product is used to make the mirror molds for mirrors such as the 1.3m ARO Astrograph? I was looking into how they make their...
I had the pleasure of giving a talk about fast optics and large optics at the Indiana Family Star Party this last Saturday. Thanks to them for having me as a...
I have added a couple of new entries to the "In the Shop" section on my web site. All entries are linked from this page: http://www.loptics.com/intheshop.html ...
I just posted a new feature for my web site. It's a page called "In the Shop" that will show some of the projects that I'm working on, especially as I take on...
In the interest of getting some traffic going here, has anyone been observing with their LCO mirror recently? I was out last night with my 20" F/3 and despite...
Since this group has been fairly quite lately, I thought I'd post a little update on what I've been up to. My new shop is working splendidly. With a concrete...
Mike, somewhere you mentioned using Acetone for mirror cleaning and the cautions of using it also. But, what grade would I look for or is the Hardware store...
I'm making good progress with my work, and I managed to slip a "slow" 16" F/5 into my grind/polish sessions. It is now polished out and is ready for figuring....
Hello Mike, ... The cast cellular blank shown in the photo of me from that article focused the light for these (unprocessed) images of the Horsehead and M51: ...
Dick Wessling, an ATM and optician for over 40 years, suffered a stroke last weekend and is not doing well. Dick helped me get through figuring my first mirror...
Hey Mike, ... I hope to be back to mirror making at a torrid pace next week. Great to hear you are back. Torrid.... while you are at it can you melt all that...
Aloha all, After being without a computer for over two weeks, today I resurrected an old G4 and just downloaded over 2100 messages. Both my tower and laptop...
My WSP article with trip photos is posted. It includes photos and info regarding the new Paracorr Type 2, which will soon be out in the tunable top format. ...
Well, after 13 days of clouds, by some freak miracle of nature the skies cleared this Tuesday evening. Surprised because the forecast made no mention of clear...
If you've ever met me to talked to me, you know that I'm detail-oriented. Optical work is all about attention to detail, and I'm paying great attention to the...
Hi Mike; Could you tell me who make the mold for the 48 inch mirror for Astronomical Research Observatory and what is the lead time on making the mold? Thank...
Well, I'm about to move to a new house/shop, and before I do I think it's time to find homes for a few telescopes that I haven't used for a while. These are my...
