My Errant Mind

Want to make your own parabolic mirrors at home to experiment with solar energy? Want to learn how to cut circles on your tablesaw? Here are two great videos that will help both woodworkers and alternative energy experimenters.

I discovered the first video some time ago on YouTube, and it shows a great way to cut circles with your tablesaw. It is by “The Wood Guy” George Berry. Check out his website at www.woodguy.com if you get a chance. This may already be familiar to many woodworkers, but I developed a serious interest in woodworking only three years ago. Before that, I mainly had an interest in carving and whittling which I have done off and on since they were introduced to me as a kid by my now departed great-uncle, Calvin McMillan.

Enjoy…

The second video demonstrates a second technique for cutting circles on a tablesaw. It also shows you how to apply that to cutting mirrored plexiglass and then turning the resultant circle into a parabolic mirror. This video has me stoked and wanting to try it myself.

I list both videos here because while I like both methods of circle cutting, I don’t want to drill holes in the top of my table saw and I bet there are others out there who don’t either. By watching both videos, you ought to be able to adapt the first technique to the second and make use of a cross-cutting sled or a sled/jig of your own devising.

You can find this and other cool solar energy related ideas on the Green Power Science website at www.greenpowerscience.com. I can’t wait to make a parabolic mirror of my own! Enjoy…