Pyrex mirror "crisis"?

I seem to remember something about Corning no longer making Pyrex and that
this will result in the tripling in price of mirrors and mirror blanks. The
impact would be greatest on the large premium Newt mirrors used in big Dobs.
I've even heard that one or more of the premium mirror makers will soon be
going out of business because they can't get blanks. Does anyone know if
this is true? If so it may be time to buy the biggest mirror you think
you'll want in the future right now.



George N

"George Normandin" wrote in
:



I seem to remember something about Corning no longer making Pyrex and
that this will result in the tripling in price of mirrors and mirror
blanks. The impact would be greatest on the large premium Newt mirrors
used in big Dobs. I've even heard that one or more of the premium mirror
makers will soon be going out of business because they can't get blanks.
Does anyone know if this is true? If so it may be time to buy the
biggest mirror you think you'll want in the future right now.



George N

I'm sure the Chinese can produce borosilicate glass cheaper than Corning
were producing it. The quality might be an issue for a while.

Klazmon.

"Llanzlan Klazmon the 15th" wrote in message
7.6...
"George Normandin" wrote in
:



I seem to remember something about Corning no longer making Pyrex and
that this will result in the tripling in price of mirrors and mirror
blanks. The impact would be greatest on the large premium Newt mirrors
used in big Dobs. I've even heard that one or more of the premium mirror
makers will soon be going out of business because they can't get blanks.
Does anyone know if this is true? If so it may be time to buy the
biggest mirror you think you'll want in the future right now.



George N

I'm sure the Chinese can produce borosilicate glass cheaper than Corning
were producing it. The quality might be an issue for a while.

Klazmon.


....or, perhaps even better, move right on into a Chinese-made fused
quartz...

--
Jan Owen

To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address...
Latitude: 33.6
Longitude: -112.3
http://community.webshots.com/user/janowen21

A friend of mine makes telescope optics professionally. The telescopes he
has made (not many these days) are under a brand name most people here would
recognize. Several months ago I asked him about the demise of Pyrex, which
is true. Supposedly it was being made in a 100-year old factory that
Corning doesn't think is worth refurbishing. There is an similar glass
available from Schott, which is, however much more expensive. I must say
that I've assembled and looked through 8-inch dobs made by my friend using
soda-lime glass, and I couldn't see any deleterious effects from using this
"cheap" glass, but perhaps it would have been different with an
equatorially-mounted scope at 300x.
--
Curtis Croulet
Temecula, California
33°27'59"N, 117°05'53"W