Amber Listserv / loup

[tamber12 at aol.com]

All I can say is, I'm glad it's you being the creative genius on this project, than me!!!  Yikes!!!  But what a nice piece of work!!!
 
Tammi 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: theedgars at shaw.ca
To: amber at ambericawest.com
Sent: Sat, 21 Apr 2007 5:29 AM
Subject: Amber Listserv / loup


Hey Group
Since there were many requests on what was required to make the loupe I’ve decided to post it instead of send many different emails. 
The first problem with making the loupe is the huge amount of waste in amber to make the outside handles. Since they are 3 inches in length it required a very large clear piece of amber that was at least 4 inches in length and 2 inches in depth and width. This had to be slabbed up to find flawless material at the cost of about 80% waste. Once you have the slabs you must make them a consistent thickness that cant be more than 2000th’s out. This I do on a sheet of glass with 2000 grit sand paper because at that tolerance even one extra swipe can remove to much material. The pressure must be precise so not to sand one end more than the other. Once you have made 2 identical slabs, you use a water soluble wood glue to adhere them together. Once dried you draw out the shape and with a large amount of math mark out the holes that must be dead on. If they are out even 2000th’s of an inch you have to make new slabs again. But before you drill the holes you need to know the precise size of your dowel which you can’t measure until you have polished. Once you have polished your dowel you can then take the correct measurement and chose the right size drill bit that will be close but leave enough room so by the time you have polished the holes the dowel fits tight, so you don’t need glue. Once that’s done you can grind out the shape of your handles. Since they are glued together they will be identical when done. Then sand on the outside of the handles only till you’re happy, but not on the flat surfaces or your piece won’t be square. Soak them in warm water to separate them now that you have them roughed out. Measure the length of the handle and write down the length of 60% and 90% of its overall length. Cut another piece of amber at about ½ inch deep. And make both sides perfectly flat and square. Make it a ¼ inch longer than the 60% with one end perfectly square, and make it a ¼ inch wider than your handles. Use your protractor set to find center. Once that is done mark the 60% mark on your handle with a marker and use the wood glue to hold the handle tight to the piece on each side. Make sure to put an undersized dowel in the far side so that your handle stays congruent and glue the piece in place and let dry. Once dry, use a marker to mark the hole using the hole in the handle as a guide. Use a sharp awl to scribe the shape of the handle to each side of the ½ inch piece. Dissolve piece out and shape to lines, drill with the same size drill bit use protractor set to find center for the lens hole and desired outer diameter of the lens retainer after polished. Remember that the hole must be 2000th’s under so it will be the right size when polished. Now take a digital caliper and measure the width of the inside end where your 2nd lens will attach. Find the width for 60% of it and divide it in half and set the caliper to this. Use it to scribe the outer marks of the channel and remove the material with a file. Make sure to leave just enough excess so it is correct when polished. Drill the longitudinal swivel pin hole 10% of the height down and 50% of the channel in. But before you drill the hole you must decide what the diameter of the pin will be polished and chose a drill that will leave you enough room to polish. Now cut a new piece that is ¼ inch thick making sure to keep both sides congruent with one end square that is an 1/8th inch wider than your handle and a 32nd’s longer than your distance between your 60% and your 90%. Transfer your channel from your last piece to the square end of this one using the calipers. And remove the excess with a file. Once this is done it should fit tight into the other piece. Place them together and run the drill through the first hole to match it to the 2nd piece. Turn the second piece upside down to align the hole and see how much material must be removed to line up your hole. Remove the material minus 2000ths to allow for polishing. And place undersized pin in the hole. Flip over second piece and use the first lens hole to find the center for the second lens hole. Now wood glue it all together with the undersized pins and use a scribe to trace the shape of the handles to the second piece. Take apart and grind to shape Making sure to use enough material from the un-channeled end to leave the last 10% plus a 32nd . Now glue back together and measure the distance between the second lens to the top inside of the handle and cut an appropriate thick piece and wood glue in place. Use the hole on that end of the handle to mark the hole in the spacer and draw the line between both holes on that side of the handle and drill the second hole at the 70% mark from the other end of the handle. Drill the hole through the handle and the spacer taking care not to drill into your lens piece. Using the same size drill bit as the other handle holes. Now measure the distance between the bottom handle and the top spacer for the 2nd lens plate and cut a new piece at that thickness with one end squared. Glue the piece into place with the square end towards the 2nd lens plate, leaving a 32nd of gap and let dry. Now using the holes on the upper and lower handles to make the drill hole, drill using the same drill that was used for the handle holes. Then use the scribe to match the shape and take apart and grind to shape. Now polish all drill holes, and use the right sized dowels and wood glue it all back together. Now use a black marker and color the outside of the piece and sand till all pieces are smooth and match. Do this process through all grits then take apart. Now find the appropriate size of topaz and grind one side flat. glue the size of the tube that you are going to use as a lens retainer to the flat end. Use the marker to color the tube and grind the topaz round till it just removes the marker from the tube. Make the topaz’s height to 50% of the lenses hole and grind the domes which must be done perfectly or they will not work. This takes practice so don’t give up. Once the lens is polished, place in the hole and measure the difference and divide in half to get the length of the lens retainers. Then cut and polish the tubes, and make sure they are 2000th’s short so they will be the right size when the amber is polished. Now cut lens swivel hole dowel to the right length and polish the hole to where it just fits. But leave it out and wood glue the whole thing back together. Cut the dowels flush and flat sand the outside of the handles to make the dowels flat with the handles on each side and then take it apart. Remove 2000th’s from each dowel and polish all the amber pieces. And assemble for the last time. Then fit the lens’s and retainers. 
And there you go. A nice light project to keep you from getting bored. 
 
w
_______________________________________________
Amber mailing list
Amber at ambericawest.com
http://ambericawest.com/mailman/listinfo/amber_ambericawest.com
________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ambericawest.com/pipermail/amber_ambericawest.com/attachments/20070421/85bae84c/attachment-0001.html