MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

The pictures are as well made as the objects in them. As beautiful as any industrial item, be it steam engine or sports car. The wear and age only add to to the beauty of such items.
Bill.

I'm certainly no engineer but this is fascinating, the OPs industriousness and lathe skills are to be applauded, the trivia on measurements fascinating and I love the practical measuring techniques discussed latterly. Bravo one and all.

I always was a bit strange though, don't worry for me.

Sorry to hear that, better luck next time old chum.
Bill.

As always old bean, agape and agog to see your results! A masterclass indeed.
Let the Mighty Shandon roar!
Your friend Bill.

Good sleuthing skills Rick, it's a beauty!
Bill.

Good luck.
Bill.

Will you be bidding on this, Radazz? Looks like a corker! Well found that man.
Bill.

How do members here dispose of FAA and other noxious nasties? I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do, tipping formaldehyde down the drain doesn't seem very environmentally friendly.
Regards from Bill.

Fabulous slides and images as always John. I feel a well prepared slide is one of those items one could refer to as "artisan", and you definitely fit that bill.
Regards from Bill.

Very nice work. The pictures are great, and the work that they illustrate is fascinating. Thanks for posting.

Bill.

Hi, in the early nineties my school had a library of rolls of transparencies that used a microscope with a similar stage to yours. Obviously yours is older than that, but it maybe something similar from a school or college.
All the best from Bill.

Very grateful for the advice John.
Many thanks from Bill.

Hi does anyone put a couple of coats of ringing solution onto their gelatine mounts to be sure it's properly sealed? Does something like Brunseal need thinning before use? My mounts are quite messy looking, although I hope things improve as I get back into the swing of things. Any advice welcome. Al...

Thanks chaps, I'll give both methods a go.
Regards from Bill.

Thanks John, I guess half an hour under a tap it is then! Thanks for your prompt reply old chap, talk again soon.
All the best from Bill.

I like to identify mosses (I'm a taxonomy nerd), but I often find microscopic debris around the samples. I like to keep my slides as a record, and the debris looks a little untidy. Can anyone suggest a good way to wash or clean the samples? I usually swill them around in a test tube of distilled wat...

Jim: try looking in wildlife ponds in gardens, or even flooded ditches in late spring, if the water contains small free swimming life like daphnia, try looking on submerged vegetation or twigs below the waterline. If you find a really pristine pond you may find freshwater sponges in the same sort of...

Thanks for looking everyone. Yes, hydras do look like flowers don't they? I actually saw one grab a daphnia once, very grisly but exciting to witness. I have heard from aquarist friends that large ones may take fish fry as prey! Many thanks for the kind comments on a very bad photograph! All the bes...

Hi again, if you look at the link to the positive review that one of the other posters has given in their post, if you scroll down the review you will find a picture of the bulb required, and the writer tells you that it is a 6 Volt 30 Watt bulb. When I said that they had the unfrosted version of th...

I found this sited www.bltdirect.com they seem to sell the non frosted bulb you need. Hope this is of use.
All the best from Bill.

My dear lady, it is well established in scientific literature that the "Funk Soul Rebel" gene is formed from a combination of the recessive genes that give us suceptability to bad hair days and the infamous "grinding your teeth" gene. This gives the coolness present in James Brown, Graham Parker, an...

Cheers John! That's far more help to these good people!
All the best from Bill.

Hi there, if you want to pm me your email, I'll send it through.
All the best from Bill.

John, I have a very interesting little PDF ibooklet on staining mosses with multiple stains, I can email you a copy if you like, it's inspiring stuff with lots of great photos. Glad you are finding inspiration from my crazy obsession, i hope the help you have given me has been paid back, even in a s...

Thanks Bill, each photo has a set of GPS coordinates embedded in the picture details too. Glad you approve.
All the best from Bill.

Okay, we have Mnium hornum in the top picture (leaf from near top of stem hasn't got a nerve that goes to the tip of the leaflet, and the lower leaves are narrow and triangular). In the lower picture we have (I am 8/10 sure ;) ) Polytrichum commune, due to the spiny edges of the leaves with an even ...

Hi John, yes there is a "nerve" in the "leaf" of the top specimen, but under low magnification on the binocular 'scope, it can be seen that the central nerve doesn't reach the tip of the leaflet. I'm going to get a good look at this tonight, and see if I can get an ID. There's a good chance that the...

Hi John, here's two of the pictures, the other one I will have to do some work on first.
All the best from Bill.

I can post in situ shots tomorrow John, but I am not yet set up for microscopy images.
All the best from Bill.

Cheers John, a fount of knowledge as usual.
I've got a dinky little Polytrichum species, an interesting Mnium like moss from a rock face, and I'm currently rehydrating a peculiar species from a tree trunk, it has long tassel like unbranched stems that creep down the trunk!
All the best from Bill.