NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Doug Royer's Artificial Horizon
From: Bruce Stark
Date: 2005 Feb 25, 17:41 EST
From: Bruce Stark
Date: 2005 Feb 25, 17:41 EST
Bill, Doug, Jared, Fred,
Thank you for your valuable input. If I can find a reasonable sized piece of Plexiglas mirror I'll try that. If the surfaces are parallel the reflections from back and front will reinforce each other, and be an advantage rather than a problem.
I'd be shy of stainless steel. The grade of stainless I'm familiar with is an extremely poor conductor of heat. You can heat a half inch rod cherry red and bend it with your bare hands only inches from the bend. So a sheet of it would probably warp in the sun, as one surface became warmer than the other. Also, it's a bitch to make things out of, as it "work hardens." If the cut or drill hole isn't gotten through fast the material the cutting edge is trying to remove becomes harder than it is.
I'm not sure Fred understood what I meant to say about the way I level a mirror horizon. I level in one direction, using one screw. Then I level in the other direction, using one screw. That's it, except to check.
Bruce
Thank you for your valuable input. If I can find a reasonable sized piece of Plexiglas mirror I'll try that. If the surfaces are parallel the reflections from back and front will reinforce each other, and be an advantage rather than a problem.
I'd be shy of stainless steel. The grade of stainless I'm familiar with is an extremely poor conductor of heat. You can heat a half inch rod cherry red and bend it with your bare hands only inches from the bend. So a sheet of it would probably warp in the sun, as one surface became warmer than the other. Also, it's a bitch to make things out of, as it "work hardens." If the cut or drill hole isn't gotten through fast the material the cutting edge is trying to remove becomes harder than it is.
I'm not sure Fred understood what I meant to say about the way I level a mirror horizon. I level in one direction, using one screw. Then I level in the other direction, using one screw. That's it, except to check.
Bruce
