Our Founder
Paul McNabb founded the mirror lab in 1997 in order to create the best amateur telecopes possible.
Inch for inch our mirrors surpass store bought or commercial grade scopes.
Where the 19th Century Art of Mirror Making Meets the 21st Century
The Saint Petersburg Mirror Lab is a small band of dedicated mirror grinders and telescope makers living in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. We offer a mirror making class for interested persons. We strive to create the best mirrors our home brew technology can muster. This includes robotic foucault testing and laser interferometry.
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Dave is back! 2013-04-06 |
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| Dave grinding 8in and Brittany grinding 10in | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Brittany with the spherometer 2013-04-06 |
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| Brittany checking her 10 inch mirror with the spherometer after 240 grit. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Brittany beveling her new mirror 2013-02-04 |
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| Brittany beveling the edge of her new 10 inch blank to prevent edge chipping while grinding. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Mike with students 2013-02-04 |
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| Mike Davis showing visiting students how mirrors are polished with a sub diameter tool. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Paul figuring his thin 16 inch mirror 2012-12-03 |
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| Paul figuring his thin 16 inch mirror with a 5 inch tool. A center over center stroke is used to parabolize the mirror. By keeping the mirror on the bottom it remains fully supported and flat. |
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Mike Davis figuring his light weight 12.5 2012-12-02 |
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| Mike Davis figuring his light weight 12.5 inch mirror that he made in his home kiln. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Lenny and his mirror have returned! 2012-11-18 |
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| Lenny Remetta polishing his 14.5 inch mirror with a subdiameter tool. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Nicholas and Donna with their finished mirror 2012-11-11 |
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| Nicholas and Donna with their finished 8 inch better than 1/4 wave mirror. This mirror has a beautiful polish and edge. Thanks for the Mirror Lab buttons Nicholas! |
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Steve Fredlunds wood strip tube 2012-11-03 |
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| Left: Steve, Irv and Ralph check out the 10 inch mirror cell for Steves wood strip tube. Right: Paul cuts the focuser hole on the tube. |
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Paul's 16 inch mirror being polished 2012-08-13 |
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| Paul's 16 inch mirror during the Huckleberry Finn polishing phase. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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