MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

For what it's worth, Rick ... The vast majority of filter threads are 0.75mm pitch. This [of course] may, or may not, be true of Korean ones for Chinese telescopes. MichaelG. Yup, I tried a .75mm gauge when checking the threads, and the fit was very poor. The 40 TPI American thread gauge fit was al...

The last several days have been spending time in the garage on the lathe making these fittings for the scope. Sleeve_plug.JPG Both these fittings are shown upside down to make the threads visible. On the left is an adapter sleeve which is placed over the base illuminator opening. A telescope eyepiec...

Old AO-Spencer 160mm tube length phase systems show up on Ebay occasionally, but not as often as more recent types. They have a very nice turret condenser. Once in awhile one goes for auction at a pretty low price. About 8 or 9 years ago I was very lucky and in the space of a couple of months was ab...

Following on with the previous test, since everything was set up, decided to check the magnification and performance of two other antique objectives, the Spencer 95X achromat from the mid 1920s, and the Spencer 95X fluorite, also from the mid 1920s. First up was the 95X achromat. Image quality was d...

I went ahead and did an abbreviated form of the test. I didn't take any measurements with the micrometer slide. Instead I used an AO 97X objective from the late '50s, which aprochronaut had already measured at its marked 97X. I used one of my homemade stained bacteria film slides, knowing the mounts...

I have an old AO stage micrometer slide, and a pair of Cat 146 eyepieces, one of which has a reticle. These came on a Cycloptic. In the next few days, I will test my old Leitz objective marked 1/12 and 100X on my 4 Series stand. The tube length error from the Leitz specification will only be about 4...

I've never really thought about trying fluorescence illumination, but was wondering if it would be possible to convert a standard illumination system using UV LEDs, and then using a dark field stop in the condenser for low power and a dedicated dark field condenser for higher powers. Would that prev...

I looked at the date chart, too, following the link you posted. I think that chart is for serial numbers on the microscope frames. The objectives may have used a different numbering system. I think your objective was made after WW1, perhaps after WW2. Hopefully one of our knowledgeable Leitz owners ...

Apochronaut, My Leitz objectives came on a stand that I'm pretty sure was made in the 1930s. Of course, that doesn't mean the objectives are than old, but they look old. The 1/12 Oel and the 6L (45x) are both plated brass, some of plating has worn off leaving the brass with a dark patina underneath....

Do you know how old it's likely to be? One of our members who has a lot more experience with Leitz objectives could give you a better estimate. What little I know is early in the 20th century Leitz was marking its objectives with numerical designations but no magnification marking. The 3 was 10X, t...

I have an old Leitz 100x oil immersion objective that's also marked 1/12. That was a near approximation to the focal length in inches. In the early 20th century, the 1/12 designation was used on some oil immersion objectives where longer focal lengths by the same manufacturer were marked in millimet...

There are three pairs of 6X Spencer eyepieces up on Ebay right now. I think they were used with a binocular adapter that mounted in old monocular microscope tubes? I wonder if they would give decent service in the B&L microscope with the 2X tube correcting lens? Some of the material at Neeley's webs...

According the freshwater invertebrate reference books I have, polychaetes are almost exclusively marine. The few freshwater species are closely related to marine forms and are found in rivers and lakes not far from the ocean. The first worm shown in the upper left hand part of the screen when the vi...

Some of the books on use of the microscope from the beginning of the 20th century recommend putting darkfield and oblique stops next to the condenser iris. My 4 series condenser has a filter holder well below the iris. I suspect it's for filters only. That's why I unscrew the lens block to put the s...

Would the best objects be unstained, like Klaus Kemp's 8 form test plate?

In the past I had made a few by hand using black construction paper. These looked so nicely made I couldn't resist. I bought the largest sets at 35mm diameter. These fit on the annular shelf just above the iris diaphragm on my 4 Series 'scope. The opening is a hair over 36mm diameter, so after dropp...

Hi Penny, I was desertrat2170 over there at Yahoo. I still look at postings over there, but don't post anything there anymore. Strange, Yahoo never demanded much personal information from me, and I don't get any emails from them. I wonder what I did or didn't do? Then again, some of the personal inf...

I have one of the older B&L binocular models from the late '40s or early '50s, the one with the big, bulging, one piece binocular head and body combination. I'm guessing from the height of the eyepiece tubes above the objective turret that it has some kind of correcting lens above the turret to work...

That 8mm 21X objective will be great for getting a closer look at tiny pond critters and algae after you've looked at them with the 10X. After I got a 20X objective for my AO 'scope, I seldom use the 43X on pond life slides. The 20x shows almost as fine detail as the 43X and has more depth of focus.

Starting about 5 years ago, the vitreous sac in my right eye started to detach. The ophthalmologist said there was no damage to my retina, but there were lots of floaters. A couple of years later my left eye did the same thing. Now there are tons of floaters in both eyes. According to internet searc...

The most modern objective I could compare this to was made in the late 1950s for the 4 Series microscope. The more modern objective has a bit better contrast, but that can largely be compensated for by carefully adjusting the illumination. The old uncoated objectives need an illumination source with...

With correction collar. This is a late 1920s antique, based on the serial number fairly close to my 95x fluorite and some brass achromats. It has the same "Chinese hat" lower element cell as achromats and fluorites from this period. Obviously, it isn't coated, but my vintage fluorite from the same p...

Looks very impressive, but the seller refuses to ship, local pickup only.

Great for anyone living near Las Vegas, Nevada, or willing to drive there.

OK, the DDE went for $609.99. Did anybody here snag it?

There are some websites that sell hydroponic growing supplies. For ph management most have a "ph up" and "ph down" product. The ph down product is usually phosphoric acid, but sometimes is dilute nitric acid. The following hydroponic growing supply company is in the UK. Their best selling ph down pr...

I should add, that here in the USA, any company that sells lab chemicals, either to laboratories or the general public, gets occasional visits from federal agents looking to see if any illegal recreational drug precursors are being sold. If these companies have survived for several years, it's a str...

Following from previous posts, here's a more complete list of sources for chemicals and stains to make permanent slides: Supermarket: - Products mentioned previously, plus Borax from the laundry section, an ingredient in Grenacher's Borax Carmine. - Plastic pipettes holding a few milliliters, gradua...

Those are great looking sections! Several years ago I bought a small bottle of Euparal and Euparal Essence from a company in Southern California that sells entomology supplies, Bioquip. Recently I noticed they no longer sell Euparal products, saying the company owner has retired and these products a...

Those are great looking old slides!

Several years ago, I purchased a few antique prepared slides from an Ebay seller in the UK. That seems to be were most of the good antique slides are being offered for sale.

Hi Bob,

I didn't make the boring bar. It was made by Armstrong, who also made the boring bar holder, cutting bit holders, and "rocker" style tool post. These are kind of considered antiques now. Harbor Freight Tools, an importer of Chinese made tools, used to sell replicas of these, and may still.