Trying to Identify a B&L Accessory

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Bryan
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:31 pm

Trying to Identify a B&L Accessory

#1 Post by Bryan » Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:44 am

I was at an estate sale recently for a University of Washington professor where I found these interesting B&L accessories. There were no microscopes for sale, a lot of lab glassware and a few other laboratory items. The item on the right looks like a micrometer and the one in front looks like a diaphragm for a condenser. The item on the left is what has me stumped. It has what looks like a part number, 970MD, but other than the B&L logo there are no other identifying marks. It looks like it may insert into a microscope stage. There is a small lens or filter in the arm that rotates when the large round knob is turned. If you look into the prism you can see a scale that goes from 0 to 27. At 0 the small lens or filter looks like it would be flat with the stage and as the knob is turned it rotates so that it's at an angle to the stage. The number could be reading the angle of the lens. Looking at the scale through the magnified prism it looks like it was meant to be read from a distance so that you would take your eye away from the eye piece to read it. below are a few better photos of it. It looks like it would take a specially designed stage to insert it. It looks like there is a slot in the box where a missing part may have gone.
P9170600.JPG
P9170600.JPG (113.75 KiB) Viewed 4711 times
P9170601.JPG
P9170601.JPG (83.6 KiB) Viewed 4711 times
P9170602.JPG
P9170602.JPG (84.61 KiB) Viewed 4711 times
This is a view of the scale in the prism.
P9170608.JPG
P9170608.JPG (52.08 KiB) Viewed 4711 times
These items came in very nicely made wood cases. I doubt I would ever have a use for the mystery item but I bought it for a few dollars because I am very curious and would be interested to know what it is. I would also be interested if anyone knows what microscope the micrometer and diaphragm may go to. Would the micrometer work in other microscope brands like a Leitz? The micrometer looks very similar to others that I have seen but it also looks older than any that I could find pictures of on the internet.

PeteM
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Location: N. California

Re: Trying to Identify a B&L Accessory

#2 Post by PeteM » Tue Sep 18, 2018 6:39 am

As you say, the one on the right looks to be a standard eyepiece micrometer.

I'm baffled, as well, by the other one. Any chance it's an attachment to an eyepiece micrometer??

Bryan
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:31 pm

Re: Trying to Identify a B&L Accessory

#3 Post by Bryan » Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:46 pm

Pete, you could be right, it may insert into the optical path somewhere. I attached another photo to give a better view of the part that would be inserted. The total length of the tab is 2.5 inches but there is a stop or raised edge that looks like it would only be inserted 1.5 inches. The tab that would be inserted is 9/16 inches wide and 5/32 thick. Do any B&L microscopes have a 9/16 by 5/32 opening in the optical path or in the stage that would take an accessory?
Microscope part.jpg
Microscope part.jpg (134.55 KiB) Viewed 4674 times

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wporter
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Re: Trying to Identify a B&L Accessory

#4 Post by wporter » Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:08 pm

It looks to be a "tilting compensator", used in polarization studies of birefringent materials. It has nothing to do with the other item (the micrometer eyepiece).

Here is a manual (top row, middle) for the Leitz equivalent (go to the pdf page 16 of the manual for the English version):


http://microscope.database.free.fr/Acce ... nuals.html

Bryan
Posts: 101
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Re: Trying to Identify a B&L Accessory

#5 Post by Bryan » Tue Sep 18, 2018 8:41 pm

wporter wrote:It looks to be a "tilting compensator", used in polarization studies of birefringent materials. It has nothing to do with the other item (the micrometer eyepiece).

Here is a manual (top row, middle) for the Leitz equivalent (go to the pdf page 16 of the manual for the English version):


http://microscope.database.free.fr/Acce ... nuals.html
That's it wporter! The link below shows the one I have along with examples of other tilting compensators. The funny thing is I should have known that, my degree is in Geology and I did a lot of lab work with Polarizing Microscopes when I was in college. In my defense it has been almost 30 years since I sat in an optical mineralogy lab. Maybe we didn't use them or I just didn't recognize it detached from the microscope. It sounds like there is a slot above the objective revolving nosepiece or the objective centering clutch that it inserts into, not the stage. At least that's how it would mount in a Leitz microscope.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=ht ... g..i&w=540

Bryan
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:31 pm

Re: Trying to Identify a B&L Accessory

#6 Post by Bryan » Tue Sep 18, 2018 9:05 pm

This 1970 B&L microscope catalog has it listed on page 10, they call it an accessory slot compensator. Anyone have a use for one of these?

http://earth2geologists.net/Microscopes ... atalog.pdf

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