Masonry bases for the installation of Microscopes ... [1916]

[MichaelG.]

I have put this under 'Microscopy Accessories' ... because a rock-solid mounting is perhaps the ultimate accessory.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3221523.pdf

... We can but dream.

MichaelG.

[ebenbildmicroscopy]

I love that you posted this! In college, I worked for a microbiologist, James F. Wilson, who had a DeFonbrunne micro-injection apparatus mounted on a marble analytical balance table. When Wilson retired and had to move to a smaller lab, I had to dismantle the table that weighed in at about 400 lbs. It worked like a charm for damping vibrations. Wilson's work involved micro-injection into non mating type Neurospora hyphae.

[MicroBob]

Not a bad method. I have my microscopes on a nice desk on a springy old wooden floor that is not even halfway horizontal. My microscopes are quite a bit better than their place of use!

I think of makeing a second table for preparation work and had the idea to use a heavy cast iron sewing machine base and a stone measuring plate on top.
But a wheelbarrow of concrete might also be a good idea.

Bob

[Hobbyst46]

...We can but dream

Earth-deep pillars and anchors and marble benches are most stable, next come heavy wood/cast iron table tops, specially constructed thick-gauge benches etc...

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2645&hilit=furniture

Besides heavy and sturdy bases and fixtures, what cost-effective solutions for the home microscopist ?
The ones that I have met or thought about:
(1) Hydraulic/pneumatic table tops - yet they are still heavy, large, expensive and need compressed air;
(2) Damping polymer sheets or foot-rests (e.g. "Sorbothane", "Sylomer") - elegant, but sold at wholesale quantities,
And the thickness and size of the sheets must be computed to fit the application AND to the frequency of vibrations (a seldom known quantity);
(3) Cross-clamping of the microscope to shelves or other construction anchors;

I believe the stabilization issue is less annoying for heavy microscopes.

[MicroBob]

For me it came unexpected when my Sony NEX 5 images suffered from shutter shock. Mounted over a dovetail connection an a halfway sturdy Lomo Biolam I thought that there is not much potential for movement. But I was wrong. So it is likely, that a heavy and dampening mounting of the microscope would be of advantage.

A real world solution would be a steel plate of ca. 30 x 30 cm, 10mm thick plus additional weight around the foot of the microscope, and below it an elastic material of 1cm that just starts to be compressed by the weight. This would not be too much weight for a sturdy desk and would not lead to too much height increase. My Zeiss Jena NF with trinocular adapter is already very high for me, so this might already be just too much for my circumstances.

Bob

[wporter]

Here is another solution: a granite slab. Sometimes these can be found locally as surplus. I used to have a granite-cutting facility near me that would put out defective slabs on the ground in front of their company yard for passersby to take for free. They made tombstones, and slabs for machine tools.

Below is an image of a slab with a focussing riser that I found at an industrial-park junk sale for a little over $50 USD (minus the Olympus bino head and lenses and scissor-action lab support, which I already owned), made by McBain instruments as part of one of these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Reichert-Mcbai ... SwGitajw0k

I haven't tried photography with it yet, but I'm sure the base vibration will be low! It weighs easily 100 lbs.

[MichaelG.]

...what cost-effective solutions for the home microscopist ?

The most cost-effective solution I have ever seen was devised by Lester Lefkowitz, and described in his 1979 book 'The Manual of Close-Up Photography' ... He modified an inner tube to put the valve on the outside diameter, and then sandwiched this beneath a paving slab: Air pressure is then easily adjusted to achieve the appropriate resonant frequency.

Brilliant !!

MichaelG.
.
P.S. I've just found this video on YouTube:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eXldgQaaa_U

[Hobbyst46]

MichaelG - what a treat! thanks for the link to this tutorial!

[ebenbildmicroscopy]

I have one of these (refer to link) - As you can see, they're dirt cheap BUT, in this case, the shipping exceeds the cost of the surface plate!! Mine suffered a little damage to one of the corners because UPS ground freight was a little aggressive in handling it. I actually use mine for metrology reference in a machine shop.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/18-x-18 ... edge/G9653