You will need to spend time with progressively finer grits until your to at least 9 micron. On to figuring. Reply. My 12.5" will cost around 75-100 dollars. [Fig 3]I attached a round piece of wood to the base of a fishing boat chair. Random is the golden rule that will make this mirror better than any machine can. I used the drill press to turn my table because the drill press has adjustable belts and I can adjust the rpm. [Fig 2] After I cut the table into squares I needed to make them round. The theory here is that if you rub 2 circular blanks of approximately the same hardness with an abrasive in between, you will end up with a concave blank and a convex one. I recommend the wood if you need to go very deep or else the blade will bottom out. Rustic Mirror Created with Clothespins. It is resting on my mirror with aluminum foil between the tool and mirror so it doesnt stick. Reply. 9 years ago The concave mirror is the converging mirrors, due to the fact that when parallel incident rays fall on the surface of the mirror, the rays will reflect and meet at a particular point, i.e. Yes I used a diamond cutoff wheel to "hog" out the initial shape.The 1st picture of the drill press shows a "fly cutter" it has 2 pieces of a diamond cutoff wheel attached at each end to cut the glass into a circle.The 2nd picture of the drill press shows the diamond cutoff wheel hogging out the initial curve.The cutoff wheels can be bought at any hardware store they are used for concrete mine was 7" diameter. I'm planning on making one for my sister this summer, I hope it comes out as well. Your better off letting someone else do it unless your going to make lots and lots of mirrors yourself. [Fig 5a]Above the glass you will see a small round wooden disk. 1. This allows me to rotate the glass so the diamond blade will make a spherical shape into the glass. Is there an advantage or disadvantage to the way you do it? Not quite sure what that is in your drill press. Its shape is identical to a spoon. Your mirror should be very clear with no visible pits! Why do don't you use a second plate of glass as a "tool" like others do? What matters that you leave grooves for the cerium oxide to flow through. You can see this tool at the very top of the picture with the spherometer. Plate glass Is cheaper but is easier to work with. Normal mirrors (not DIY) are made by sputtering a thin layer of (usually) molten aluminum on glass in a vacuum chamber and then coating it with waterproof paint. Discover (and save!) Sign up to get my free e-book, "how to decorate like a designer", plus, You'll get all the latest from Worthing Court, Where I'll brighten your inbox with affordable decorating ideas and DIY projects that are actually doable! DIY Projects & Tutorials I want to share a project with you that I worked on last week and finished up over the weekend. away from the light source. Definition of Concave Mirror. However, it is also possible to make mirrors without this chemical hassle, with other materials simply attached to … However, my Elinchrom beauty dish uses a concave reflector. Once the back is flat, we can start to carve the front into its spherical shape. Share it with us! You will need to make a tester. Community Answer. How did it all turn out? Making your own mirror allows you to get the exact curvature you need for whatever you might be burning, cooking or heating. This tool is called a pitch lap. Here things become a bit more difficult. Our goal is to have the mirror concave and the tool convex. Concave Mirrors And Convex Mirrors Concave Mirror. Cutting it into smaller sections can be difficult but scoring it with a glass cutter and tapping the line with a hammer will generally give you a good enough cut to make the piece small enough. [Fig 5]After you've ground the glass to the desired depth the mirrors surface will be opaque like this. on Introduction. A diamond blade is MUCH faster. I had done this exercise once, 1. Dental plaster will contour to the form after the shape is formed. This chemical process can be complicated and dangerous. [Fig 7] I attached a picture that shows what my setup was for polishing. [Fig 1] This is a large piece of glass a woman off Craigslist gave me. DIY Projects & Tutorials. Interesting, but a bit confused. [Fig 11] Here is a picture of a finished mirror according to FigureXP. }, Rustoleum Metallics spray paint in the color Aged Brass, respirator mask for breathing protection while spray painting. While fine grinding make sure you don't move to the next grit until your sure you've gotten all the pits of the previous rougher grit removed. Understanding what these lines mean at different focal lengths is a test of patience! As long as its at least half the diameter of your mirror it will work. XO. You can also skip this step and buy glass blanks cut already to size for a reasonable price. The surface will look similar to this until its polished out. 6 years ago Garden Clock, Free Printable – Motivational Words For Starting Your Day Right, How To Hide The Ugly Connection For Your Washing Machine Hose, How To Make Driftwood Using Paint And Stain – An Easy 4 Step Formula, Gardening Theme Front Door Wreath Tutorial Using Dollar Store Supplies. Thanks for linking back. If you don’t have a supplier near you, just Google “5 inch convex truck mirror” and several places that sell them will pop up.