He,he, no, but are you that insecure that you need to claim "I have been in this business for x years" on just about every subject. If I add them all up you should probably be 100 years old now, but more importantly "precision optics" is quite a bit away from the "glass industry" or comparing smoked plexi vs glass.
One can't create and or design precision optics without knowing about the materials one would use to do so. That would be like a carpenter not having any knowledge of the woods he uses.
I made that statement because, in public forums like this one, there are often individuals (like yourself) who make comments about things they have little to no experience with, in attempt to make themselves appear to be more intelligent than they actually are, often resulting in disservice to people looking for help by leading them down incorrect paths. In your specific instance, this happens as a side effect of what appears to be a personal feud with me or anything with my name on it.
Here's the deal. I own and am proficient with virtually every piece of hardware used in the creation of an arcade machine. I personally own (2) 36" printers, a 40" vinyl cutter, a 4'x8' CNC router table, a complete electronics assembly station, etc. , etc..... I write software, design electronics, cabinetry and kiosks. All of these things I seem to do well enough that people keep paying me (well) to do them. Should I apologize for trying to help people through my considerable experience in this field? It doesn't mean that my opinions are more valid than any one elses, but I can certainly identify BS when I see it.
My resume is simply that I compared the two side by side and I saw that smoked glass looks much better (apart from the advice to buy glass from people who actually ARE in the glass/plexi industry). Indeed it was more expensive and it had to be made by order, but that does not negate that it looks better. Also I always notice a substantial amount of scratches on plexi.
So in other words, just more of the same subjective commentary this board has come to expect from your posts. I was hoping you actually had a frame of reference on this one and not just "the guy at the glass shop told me so, and the context of the discussion isn't important."
After years of abuse in a commercial environment, glass will look better. In your living room, it just won't matter.
This thread pertained to a specific effect that could be achieved using a specific material with certain specifications. You won't find glass like this "off the shelf", if you can find it at all. The closest inexpensive glass material like this is "architectural glass" for environmental management. This glass has a coating that reflects more light on both sides of the material than uncoated stock, which is undesireable in an arcade machine unless you like looking at an image of yourself superimposed over the game you are playing (then again, you'd probably enjoy that).
But as usual, you've convoluted a thread full of good, simple advice by adding uncertainty and criticism about something you appear not to fully understand.
Well done.
RandyT
Darktemp: PM me if you have any questions. I think this thread is starting to go downhill fast

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