EOI: Mirror making/refiguring service

[Lognic04]

Hi all,
gaining confidence and interest in mirror making lately, and i'd like to know if anyone would be interested in a telescope mirror making or figuring service?

Price depends on a number of factors, but if you posted the size and focal length of the mirror i could let you know.

The mirror would be finished to at least 1/8 wave p-v, or to the point of no image breakdown at higher power.

I can do fast mirrors too!

Let me know!
:thanx::thumbsup:

[Wavytone]

Make a few and put them up for sale. Then you’ll know if it’s worthwhile pursuing - and work out where this leads. Others have beaten this path before, including some here on IIS.

One aspect is that I’d suggest don’t bother with configurations people can buy from say GSO - the point being you can make something that isn’t a standard commercial production item.

If you’re going to offer any kind of warranty as to their accuracy you’d better be able test them properly, or you risk having them returned from people who do know how to test them. Ideally engrave a serial number on them, and use DPAC with a photo of the interferogram and the point spread function (ie image of an artificial star) - and linked to the serial number.

[Lognic04]

Thanks nick... the thing is glass is expensive, and i cant just make mirrors out of nowhere. I have my first customer, a 10 inch f/3! I do know how to test them, with ross, ronchi and bath IF tests.
Thing is GSO generally doesn't have high quality mirrors (AFAIK), but i'd be happy to be proven wrong.
My speciality will really be smaller fast mirrors, not done by lockwood or zambuto, and the first mirror service for the australian market, something i'm pretty sure hasn't been done.
Again, this is just EOI to see if anyone actually wants mirrors!

[RB]

Moved thread to Equipment Discussion from IceTrades.
Also Logan you"ll need approval from Mike to make an exception from the TOS for you once you start selling these.

RB

[Lognic04]

Thanks Andrew, sorry bout that, saw some other similar ish threads (eg mount tune up). I might make a website instead.

[Ukastronomer]

I can do mirrors fast

Is there fast and then is there properly ?

[gb44]

What about 18-25 inch newtonian mirrors with f-numbers such that the user isnt forced up steps or up a ladder?

Can you provide light mirrors - conical or cellular?

GlennB

[Lognic04]

Thanks for your question. I just completed a 6 inch f3 mirror to 1/8 wave pv and will be making another 10 inch to the same standard for an american customer. Unless you meant fast as in mirror turnaround?

[Lognic04]

Hi Glenn,
I haven't ventured that far yet but that is certainly the ambition here! Maybe within a year or so i will be able to make mirrors approaching 25" :)
I will be working on a 16 inch f3 meniscus (which only weighs 5kg!) for myself, which could be interesting in terms of light, big, fast quality mirrors.

[Ukastronomer]

I get confused, is it fast or fast

[JZ]

Hi Logan,

I have a pyrex ~100mm f7 mirror that has been sitting in my garage for many years. I'm guessing that it at least needs recoating.
I would be interested in having it refigured to something around F4.5 if you are interested.

Cheers,
Ross...

[roddz]

Do you re-coat mirrors? I need a 400mm mirror re-coated.

[Ukastronomer]

Don't run before you can walk "properly"

[Logieberra]

Mark Suchting?

[xelasnave]

Hi Logan
Great to see you making plans.
Perhaps consider getting a chamber to do your own coatings.
I have not looked into it but if I were you I certainly would.
There must be a youtube vid on how to make one☺.
But given the folk getting into astronomy and the huge number of reflectors out there being able to provide figuring and surfacing must provide opportunity...and you dont have to do it all next week but long term a chamber seems something you sure could use.
I will now look on youtube and see if there are any diy vids☺.
Alex

[xelasnave]

Well as I suspected there seems to be plenty of folk who are doing something in this area...probably the main stumbling block is getting nitric acid to clean old mirrors so you need to look into how and if you can get your hands on it ..price of course...and look up how to make it at home.
Alex

[Wavytone]

Mark went to CSIRO, the telescope mirrors were a hobby for him.
Also Wayne Stewart, late 1980's
Before them, Glen Davis at AOS, early 1980s
Another before Glen in the 1970s though name escapes me.
And a chap who worked in the optical workshop at Mt Stromlo also made a few for amateurs on the side in the 1970's. He aluminised a couple of mine.

[sharpiel]

Mark Suchting was active on this forum until quite recently though I can’t remember his avatar. Haven’t heard from him in a while...a bit like a couple of other well known posters...also now silent unfortunately.

Anyway sorry for sidetracking your thread Logan.

[xelasnave]

Logan just keep at it.
The most sucessfull folk I have met in life followed a dream everyone around them said could never work...you will see a dirt bike magazine called Australasian dirt bike, if its still around..I helped my mate get that started ( by supporting him) and it started as a hopelessly printed folded a4 sheet with a circulation of the 40 members in our racing club...he built that magazine up and another massive advertizing company that spun off as a result of the adds he did in the bike mag.
He got killed in a desert race unfortunately but there you go died doing what he liked best.

Folk always try and help by pointing out the negatives which is good but dont let the weight of the problems you may face stop you from having a go...as I said check out if it is possible to do mirroring as well...its something you need in the mix...and in time folk will win things using your stuff and you will be the man.

Also look into the paytreon? thing ..its where folk send you money cause they like what you are doing...a gold prospector I follow Jeff Williams has about 950 folk who send him $10 and more a month cause they like his videos.

I recon you could pull something like that off you know.
Alex

[gb44]

Logan
The meniscus mirror at f3 sounds good.
Must send some pics of your progress, please.

GlennB

[Lognic04]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Thanks for the encouragement Alex! No vaccum coating unfortunately, but my machine is almost complete. Sorry to hear about your friend Alex. Hopefully I'll finish this 10 inch and 16 next, then I might start thinking about selling mirrors.

[Saturnine]

Hello Logan

I may be interested in the figuring service if your still harbouring those thoughts. You may remember about a year ago a women came on to the forums with an offer of several glass blanks that belonged to her recently departed husband and if no one wanted them they would be thrown out. Knowing what blanks are worth, at a rough guess, I decided to collect the blanks as I would've hated them thrown out and I have had a desire to make my own mirror(s) one day.
Have assembled several newts from home made bits and commercial mirrors so the next logical step would be to push glass but in the cold light of reality I probably don't have the time and space to do that, in the foreseeable future. If you are interested in the blanks I can send you a list of what is there and what sort of glass they are, again at a guess.
Distance would be the biggest hurdle if you wanted them, unfortunately, but something could be possibly worked out.

Cheers