I had a lucky break this evening, in that my wife has taken the kids to her sister’s place leaving me with a sleeping baby and time to grind glass.  I spread newspaper out on the kitchen table, laid out my kit and started grinding with #400 carborundum.  After a little less than an hour, I dried off the mirror and set it up on the latest makeshift testing station.  Our dining room table is a round four-seater with a very clever mechanism that allows the two halfs of the circular top to slide apart so that an extra rectangular section can fold out, turning it into a 6 seater.  But if I just slide the two halfs apart a few centimeters, and grip an upwards shining torch between my knees, I can place my mirror over the gap to inspect it for pits.  Using a reversed 40mm eyepice as a loupe, I studied the surface for about 15 minutes before resigning myself to the seemingly impossible:  No pits anywhere on that surface.  Not a single one, apart from the general roughness left by the current grade.  I attempted to photograph the surface through the eyepiece, but the surface is so uniform that I can’t even be sure if the images are in focus.  Yay, I think?

Anyway, I’ve attached the photos (Comments?  Send them to the usual place!), and now have to wait a whole week before I return to the class for a supply of the next grade of grit.  Also, WOW, this fine stuff works fast.  It won’t be long before I’m spending more time cleaning and inspecting than actually grinding!