I’m going to make something called an isolation table, and I’m going to try and do interferometery which uses a laser to create an interference pattern through a two way mirror, and based on how that interference pattern forms you can identify how stable your worktable is. Just to show what I’ve got, I’ve got these sorbathane feet. They are hemispheres and quite large. I’ve also got some inner bicycle tubes – I think these are 16 or 18 inches – 16 inches across. I’ve also got four carpet tiles. I also got a few other things, laser goggles, I’ve got a red laser that was sent to me by banggood. I also have these rather beautiful prisms. They are really lovely things. Initially I thought I could use two of these to split the laser beam but really I needed 90 degree prisms and these are not. Maybe I can find a use for them because they do look pretty cool. I’ve got some cabling to connect to connect my laser to the control box of the CNC machine, which is how I’m going to turn it on and off. I also have some magnets. I’ve got this thing here which I had to buy from Knight Optical which is actually the 50/50 half silvered mirror. This is basically the sort of stuff they use when making teleprompters and they get damaged, so you’ve got to be really careful . But this is what I’m going to use to split the laser beam. Now the next thing I need to do is find a bicycle pump.

The secret to cutting glass is pure confidence.