...I hope. 

   So, the second vacuum pump, which is an Edwards E2M12, just had its maintenance and looks like it also works... kind of.

Before I explain, here's a few pics of the weekend-long overhaul process:

   There's a lot of rust gathered at the bottom of the gas ballast valce (where a ball bearing sits) and the ultimate vacuum I can reach right now is ~ 1 x 10e-2 mbar, which is pathetic. But at least it's enough for the X-ray experiment....just barely. I'll have to take the pump apart again and try to see if I can do something about that.

Alsom this has been a nightmare, from finding and getting the overhaul kit to getting the Pirani gauge. But at least the pump is back together and it works.

Next thing is to think about a small vacuum enclosure to put the crystal in and how to make some isolated feedthroughs for powering the TEC inside the vacuum chamber.

  This is gonna be fun :D

Will update things as they progress, of course. Oh, and I'll do  a separate thread about how I took apart the pump and changed some O-rings and seals.