NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Artificial Horizon K&E No 6 repaired
From: Alexandre Eremenko
Date: 2013 Jan 9, 17:36 -0500
From: Alexandre Eremenko
Date: 2013 Jan 9, 17:36 -0500
Bill, > "Quick" is an archaic word meaning "living" or "Alive", Yes. It really looks alive when you try to catch a drop on the floor (my childhood experience:-) > The method requires tin or silver foil. I have the method description in some XIX century navigation book. I thought that sometime I might try it. (Neither at that time, nor at this time I own/owned an ancient sextant that needs resilvering. I only sometimes contemplate buying one:-) I just thought that tin foil is not likely to be prohibited any time soon, so I hurried to buy mercury:-) Then I also learned that one does not need this amalgam on the mirror back side. Back side painted black is supposed to work almost just as well. > If anyone > has an antique tea chest in the attic, I would appreciated > a few square cm > of the tin foil lining, as I too would like to try the old method > described by Lecky. Yes, Lecky. I am surprised with your request. I will try to find this chemical shop I used again... I remember finding it on Google, just typing something like chemicals, metals ... for sale. Few years ago they has all Mendeleev's table for sale:-) (Of course I payed $100 plus (+$100+ delivery) for a pound of chemically pure mercury, but we don't really need large quantities, do we?) Alex.