Carl Zeiss Jena Nr. 154618 help!
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:04 pm
Hi there! I was wondering if you guys could help me a bit with a microscope i just acquired.
This was sold to me as a 1968 Olympus, but it most certainly is not that. It did come in an Olympus box. I pretty much bought it blind because it was only 55 dollars, and i figured, I wouldn't mind a 1968 Oylmpus to mess around with, even if it wasn't in the best of shapes. But when I went to go pick it up, it was this Carl Zeiss Jena, and that was a nice surprise. And he gave me 5 dollars off because I had to wait in the parking lot for 20 minutes for him.
I have a few questions about this scope.
How old is this scope? I have seen some that claim to be 1904 CZ Jena, and are full black enamel or japanning. That probably would not be accurate, i thought the full black scopes weren't really around till at least 1920 or so.
I'm thinking that this particular example is probably from 1910s or so, maybe earlier.
What do you guys think about the condition of the scope?
What is the best way to go about cleaning this? I'm not really looking to polish it to a super shine, and re-enamel it, just looking to take off any crud and what not. I typically use IPA to clean more modern scope parts, but I noticed a small light yellowish color coming off onto the rags i was using, so i assume that's me stripping off some of the enamel. I've stopped this process, and probably won't continue till i figure this out.
Typically when I get a new scope, I clean everything, especially the mating surfaces with IPA so i can re apply some new damping grease. In the past, all the mating surfaces I've worked on are non-enameled brass. How to i go about cleaning these mating surfaces, as well as the aesthetic surfaces? Do they need separate treatment? I don't mind the antique look, just trying to make it nice, and not have stuff stuck to it.
The scope has clearly been maintained and re-built before. The action is very smooth, so i can only assume it has been re greased at some point, and I can see some damage done to some screw heads, and the spanner bolt that holds the turret to the main tube is so damaged it will probably never be able to be removed.
I do have some more questions, but I'll post some pictures to better frame my questions.
Here is the box it came in, as well as the Olympus certification card that was inside.
And well here are a few pictures of the scope.
So a few more questions about the scope.
Is that the original mechanical stage? It seems a little modern. What does the text on it mean?
Why does this scope have a rotating stage? Does this mean it is some sort of polarized light setup? There are no graduations on the stage to delineate rotation.
And concerning the stage, what part am I missing in the middle of the stage? I assume there was a piece of circular glass at some point? How can I get this part, or what can I replace it with?
Why does the condenser have a rack and pinion to move iris back and forth in the xy?
The scope came with 4 objectives and 2 eyepieces.
Here are the eye pieces. one is an Olympus with a micrometer scale thing on the inside. The other is a CZ Jena, maybe original? Looks quite modern.
What does the "Mobini" on the CZ mean?
And the objectives.
There are 2 CZ Jena objectives. Are these original objectives? I have been told at some point that these scopes were sold with no objectives, and you had to sort of build your own setup back then, as needs were probably more specific.
The "A" is an 8 times, and the "D" is a 40 times.
I also got this CZ 100 times Oil immersion objective.
The most interesting objective is this one, made by Zanger & Endres.
It is also an Oil Immersion Objective, and has the ratio 1/12 on it. I think this means it is a 95 times objective, but I am not sure.
Can anyone tell me more about this objective? Seems very cool.
And here are some more pictures of the scope taken a bit apart.
How do I clean the nasty off this turret? If i unscrew the main central screw, will a bunch of ball bearings fall out? Is this even the original turret?
This was sold to me as a 1968 Olympus, but it most certainly is not that. It did come in an Olympus box. I pretty much bought it blind because it was only 55 dollars, and i figured, I wouldn't mind a 1968 Oylmpus to mess around with, even if it wasn't in the best of shapes. But when I went to go pick it up, it was this Carl Zeiss Jena, and that was a nice surprise. And he gave me 5 dollars off because I had to wait in the parking lot for 20 minutes for him.
I have a few questions about this scope.
How old is this scope? I have seen some that claim to be 1904 CZ Jena, and are full black enamel or japanning. That probably would not be accurate, i thought the full black scopes weren't really around till at least 1920 or so.
I'm thinking that this particular example is probably from 1910s or so, maybe earlier.
What do you guys think about the condition of the scope?
What is the best way to go about cleaning this? I'm not really looking to polish it to a super shine, and re-enamel it, just looking to take off any crud and what not. I typically use IPA to clean more modern scope parts, but I noticed a small light yellowish color coming off onto the rags i was using, so i assume that's me stripping off some of the enamel. I've stopped this process, and probably won't continue till i figure this out.
Typically when I get a new scope, I clean everything, especially the mating surfaces with IPA so i can re apply some new damping grease. In the past, all the mating surfaces I've worked on are non-enameled brass. How to i go about cleaning these mating surfaces, as well as the aesthetic surfaces? Do they need separate treatment? I don't mind the antique look, just trying to make it nice, and not have stuff stuck to it.
The scope has clearly been maintained and re-built before. The action is very smooth, so i can only assume it has been re greased at some point, and I can see some damage done to some screw heads, and the spanner bolt that holds the turret to the main tube is so damaged it will probably never be able to be removed.
I do have some more questions, but I'll post some pictures to better frame my questions.
Here is the box it came in, as well as the Olympus certification card that was inside.
And well here are a few pictures of the scope.
So a few more questions about the scope.
Is that the original mechanical stage? It seems a little modern. What does the text on it mean?
Why does this scope have a rotating stage? Does this mean it is some sort of polarized light setup? There are no graduations on the stage to delineate rotation.
And concerning the stage, what part am I missing in the middle of the stage? I assume there was a piece of circular glass at some point? How can I get this part, or what can I replace it with?
Why does the condenser have a rack and pinion to move iris back and forth in the xy?
The scope came with 4 objectives and 2 eyepieces.
Here are the eye pieces. one is an Olympus with a micrometer scale thing on the inside. The other is a CZ Jena, maybe original? Looks quite modern.
What does the "Mobini" on the CZ mean?
And the objectives.
There are 2 CZ Jena objectives. Are these original objectives? I have been told at some point that these scopes were sold with no objectives, and you had to sort of build your own setup back then, as needs were probably more specific.
The "A" is an 8 times, and the "D" is a 40 times.
I also got this CZ 100 times Oil immersion objective.
The most interesting objective is this one, made by Zanger & Endres.
It is also an Oil Immersion Objective, and has the ratio 1/12 on it. I think this means it is a 95 times objective, but I am not sure.
Can anyone tell me more about this objective? Seems very cool.
And here are some more pictures of the scope taken a bit apart.
How do I clean the nasty off this turret? If i unscrew the main central screw, will a bunch of ball bearings fall out? Is this even the original turret?