Slide Etcher/Marker

[vendav]

Is anybody able to help me with this?

Along with a box of Olympus objectives I recently acquired the item shown.

It has a diamond at the sharp end and an RMS thread at the other. My first thought was that it was a slide etcher or marker.

I assumed that the diamond was set a tiny amount off centre and that, when mounted in a turret and the diamond in contact with a slide, the body containing the diamond could be rotated thus scratching a small circle around the point of interest.

What scuppers this assumption is the fact that the body is fixed, nothing revolves.

Am I missing something in its operation or have I made a completely erroneous assumption, and it has some other purpose entirely?

Thank you,
David

[MicroBob]

Hi David,
this is part of a hardness tester, probably Vickers type (it should be 136° between opposing faces). You put a load on the diamond and make an impression in a piece of fine ground metal. Then you switch to the objective and measure the diagonals of the impression.
Vickers hardness testing can be carried out with a wide span of weights beginning at 1g or so for micro hardness testing of smallest areas.
You could put a small electronic balance below the sample and thus determine the pressure used. Don't put too much load on the revolving nosepiece of a normal microscope though. Nosepieces with ball bearings at the perimeter are much more robust than older nosepieces with just a bearing in the middle.
What other parts came with this diamond?
Do you have a wife that likes diamonds - don't make her jealous!

Bob

[billbillt]

MicroBob is correct.. It is the braille from some type of hardness tester.. Also maybe a Rockwell tester.. Your wife would throw away the diamond.. It will have the ugliest color you have ever seen...

[billbillt]

On occasion, a slide etcher will come available on Ebay.. They usually command an incredible price...

[vendav]

Thank you both, mystery solved.

Kind regards,
David

[charlie g]

Thanks for this post, David. And I have a few 'slide etchers/ slide markers' which I am willing to sell for a very low price. These devices have wonderful work histories..but are of no use to me.

They came with vintage microscopes I have purchased over the years. PM if anyone wants a low cost 'slide marker/ slide etcher'. Charlie guevara

[MicroBob]

Hi together,

I'm not sure whether I understand the meaning of slide etcher. I thought that the object markers work with a diamond that scratches a ring around the object. Are you talking about the same principle?

Bob

[billbillt]

Hi Bob,

Yes..That is the marker I was referring to..

The Best,
BillT

[vendav]

Charlie,

I'm pleased to have served as a reminder. PM sent.

Kind regards,
David