Custom optics and more

You didn't get any positive responses from last month's nearly-identical spam posting, either here or the other places you multiposted it to: sci.optics, alt.lasers, and Pangolin.

Your job shop is not getting any more popular.

If I'm mistaken and you're for real, then please tell us exactly what you had done, how much it cost, and how well it worked.

Phil Hobbs

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Hmm, I guess my problem is that you represented yourself as NOT affiliated with the place of business. That=92s a bit dishonest. I then wonder if you will be dishonest in other regards. Confirming that optics meets spec can be a pain. It=92s nice to have a place you can trust.

George H.

Yup. Lots of them out there--might as well deal with the straight shooters.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

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I'm not affilliated. They are one of my vendors. Just sent an email to Sam directly explaining. copy below:

Hi Sam, Just promoting one of my vendors. They've been in bus. since '92. Finally they have a website as of like a month or two ago. Just wanted to share them with others that can use their services. I only posted twice, at least I'm not pushing extra income or viagra or be an overnight millionaire. Didn't realize it was such a bother to some to post to a public group. I'm sure their pricing will be very competetive and it varies, as you know, depending on the material used, dimensions etc etc.... Rgds, Jim

If someone is looking for having some optics made, you might try

I am not a customer, but have been to his shop. I met him through the BPAA amateur observatory on Bainbridge Island. Nice guy, has helped numerous amateurs grind their own mirrors.

Dan

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Tried to edit last post. Just to confirm I'm not affilliated. I deal in board level components.

Rgds, Jim

Dan, could you let me know where you source glass for such things? I'm looking for suppliers of small quantities of all kinds and qualities of glass supplies for hobbyists. I used to enjoy making not only the main optics for telescopes, but also the eyepieces. So variety of materials, in small quantities, without the value-added part, is important. I like to do my own work, figuring, and testing -- though I don't mind getting parts in roughed-out preshapes, at times.

I'm already aware of Willmann-Bell, by the way. Not a complete answer there.

Thanks, Jon

Okay, if so, what have they made for you exactly, what did it cost, and what did you like about it? Were they better or worse than other optics shops, and in what ways?

The Pangolin folks asked you for that sort of detail last month, and explicitly said that it was to find out if you were a spammer. You didn't answer, which pushed the spam-o-meter well past half scale. When you didn't answer my first pointed query with any details, it hit the peg.

Spam is *really* not appreciated on Usenet, and since Google started piling it on in steaming heaps, folks are a bit twitchier about it.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Okay, if so, what have they made for you exactly, what did it cost, and what did you like about it? Were they better or worse than other optics shops, and in what ways?

The Pangolin folks asked you for that sort of detail last month, and explicitly said that it was to find out if you were a spammer. You didn't answer, which pushed the spam-o-meter well past half scale. When you didn't answer my first pointed query with any details, it hit the peg.

Spam is *really* not appreciated on Usenet, and since Google started piling it on in steaming heaps, folks are a bit twitchier about it.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Gee Phil, it's not like he is trying to sell penis enlarging pills. BTW, that's not really much of a web site.

[snip likely spam URL]

Depending where you are in the world various Schott glass dealers can usually be persuaded to part with small ex stock cut glass in sizes that are appropriate for ATM. Though you would probably find it cheaper to buy obvious ATM parts for mirrors through a third party retailer that specialised in supplying telescope makers with bits. There may be a minimum order quantity so you might need to find 5 or 10 like minded individuals wanting the same size piece.

In the USA Surplus Shack sometimes has interesting bits of ex military gear that includes glass blanks and/or part fabricated lens assemblies. You would probably get some more up to date info on sci.astro.amateur - it is a while since I last made a telescope!

Here is one of the lists for the USA/Canada:

Regards, Martin Brown

Yes, this last part is a problem. There used to be, years ago, perhaps more than a dozen vendors in the US each selling specifically to individual hobbyists and selling the quantities that a single hobbyist would require.

Having to coordinate buys is yet another barrier to moving forward. Particularly, as getting 10 people to agree on much, both the timing of the need as well as the details of that need, is already a significant barrier by itself.

And buying value-added parts is decidely NOT what I want to do. I'm not looking to pay for a finished lens. I'm looking to make it per my custom requirements and put in the work myself. I want the raw material .. at most, generally shaped per need, but rough. (For example, a Maksutov or Gregorian corrector might be given a rough curvature I would spec, but the grinding work is mine to do.)

Me, too. 30 years? Things have changed so much, since then.

Thanks. I will carefully go through that list and read it. But for example, while Edmund used to sell some of what I want, now just about all they sell is finished goods. So I can't really use them. And Coulter used to be a supplier of raw materials, but no more. Jaeger (not on that list) used to, no more either last time I called them. Etc.

Jon

Wish I could help, but I do not have a clue. The BPAA had someone who had worked for Boeing and got a big chunk of Zerodur donated. It was surplus and had some strange profile.

I once got some thick glass from the local glass company. It was something like a door from a bank or commercial building. The glass was scratched and they were replacing it. So asking all the glass companies in your area might get some plain glass.

I also got some fused quartz directly from GE. Not shapes useful for optics, but I wasn't looking for those shapes. They may not sell small amounts anymore.

I would try looking at glass from China. There was a article in the WSJ recently about how a lot of large glass for buildings comes from China.

Dan

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Sorry, didn't see the Pangolin email, maybe it went to my spam email box and I missed it... My customer supplied the material(quartz) and Florida High-Tech made

300 pcs of a 1" dia. 5 minute wedgde .375 thick 1/10 wave flatness both sides and charged $28ea. They were easy to work with, asked very detailed questions about due dates etc. Delivery was on time, surface quality was excellent, packaging was green friendly. I just figured I would share the experience. I don't normally broker deals like this, but my customer was in a jam. I usually sell them IC's'. Rgds, Jim

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Sorry Jim, Please accept my apology. It seemed like you were wroking for the optics company.

George H.

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Jon if you are looking for cheap optics like Edmunds use to sell. Then I think I saw that Anchor optics is now selling cheaper stuff in onesies. I could not find their catalog on my shelf... I must have tossed it.

George H.

A lens grab bag for $8.00

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No problem George, I guess it looked that way from the outside.. or with a little influence.. Have a good weekend. Rgds, Jim

Thanks, George. Actually, that's a nice deal (depending on shipping.) But I'm NOT looking for value-added parts. By value-added, I mean with labor added to them to make them into a finished lens. I do custom work. Asperics, astigmatics for design goals, etc. I can design to use stock parts, but in some cases I'd rather not. Also, i polish and figure to about 1/20th wave and I simply cannot afford to pay someone else to do that for me. Too costly. And not to mention specialized types of glass are often called for and almost _never_ in these grab bags.

I'm looking for sources of a variety of glass types, such as BaF, BaK, LaK, LF, SF2, ZBaF, and so on. I'd like to be able to select these per my need. Raw.

Absolutely NO LENSES. Glass. Not lenses.

Jon