Abstract: An improved cutting machine including a thin, elongated cutting blade and a guide block with an opening which is shaped to conform to the cross-sectional shape of the elongated cutting blade. The guide block with the defined opening both guides the elongated cutting blade and maintains it clean.

Abstract: A watch pierced bearing jewel forms the end of a sheathed optical fiber termination. The jewel is located on axis of a ferrule. The fiber is threaded through the jewel aperture and cemented in position. The jewel and ferrule may be held concentric in a resilient molded jig during assembly of the fiber thereto.

Abstract: An optical fiber splice is formed by means of a pair of watch jewels concentrically aligned within a cylindrical ferrule. The plastic is stripped back from a pair of fibers to expose their cores and each core is inserted into one of the jewels for precise alignment.

Abstract: A method of holding the bared end of a plastic sheathed optical fiber accurately on axis of a metal ferrule through which it is threaded while a potting compound is cured which cements the assembly. The method uses a silicone rubber jig cast from an accurately machined mold. The resilience of the jig enables variations in diameter to be accommodated so that holes for locating the ferrule and the bared fiber end need to be coaxial, but their size is not critical. Many jigs can be cast from a single mold reducing costs and increasing output as compared with prior methods.