P3D Re: Mounting Gauges

["KENNETH LUKER" <KLUKER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sez George:
> Any way I see this, there is little to no need for a mounting
> gauge in most normal situtations, IMO.

    There's probably enough wiggle room in George's statement that I 
can agree with its spirit, but I've mounted a few rolls myself and 
have slowly circled the landing field and now rest comfortably with a 
method that will stay with me until I run out of heat-seal mounts:  I 
use a pair of plano-convex lenses held by a bracket a few inches 
above my light table, on which I have a plastic ruler for a straight 
edge to which is scotch-taped a reel-3d gauge.  With the viewing 
lenses pushed out of the way for the time being, I put the heatseal 
mount against the ruler and slap the right-eye image (reversed, 
emulsion side up) into the left hand hole, rotationally-aligning it 
by using the raised boss on the bottom edge as a visual cue.  Seal 
the left window.  Repeat for as many slides as I want to do in one 
batch (usually eight to ten).
    Then I take the half-finished mounts in sequence and put in the 
other chip.  Put the lenses back in place and look downward at the 
mount which is flush against the ruler.  (I've used the back of my 
fingernail to squish the raised bosses of the right-hand hole back 
into place so they don't get in the way of the chip as I position it. 
Happens much more quickly than it can be described.)  As I watch the 
chip through the lenses I can slide it in a quick motion into 
synchronization with the horizontal lines, assuring vertical 
alignment and no rotation.  A slight sideways motion will put the 
window at just the right place.  Then holding the chip in place with 
the fingertips of my left hand, I fold the right-hand mask down with 
the right hand, pinching the folded top edge against the chip to keep 
it from moving.  Then I lift the mount with both hands over to the 
ironing pad at the right of the light table and seal up the right 
side.  This whole process is at least as rapid as any other method 
I've used, and the alignment is many times more accurate, using the 
gauge, especially with respect to rotation.  As the chip slides into 
place I'm continually reminded of the sweetness of hearing a guitar 
string sliding into perfect tune with its partner--something I never 
found before I used the gauge.  (BTW, the near-far lines are used, 
but that's another story.)
    As a postscript, I mentioned that I'll use this method until I 
run out of heatseals.  In the last two boxes (1250 mounts each?) of 
heatseals I've bought (from multiple suppliers, so the problem is not 
in the middleman but in the manufacturer!), the tolerances of the hole 
positions have been wayyyyy off for precision mounting, so I'm ready 
to try the Spicer mounts, which may or may not be susceptible to the 
niceties of my mounting setup.  Now if I could strike it rich, I'd 
use RBTs.

Ken Luker_______________________________________________________________
Kenneth Luker
Marriott Library Systems and Technical Services
KLUKER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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