Stage has me befuddled

Everything relating to microscopy hardware: Objectives, eyepieces, lamps and more.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
Crater Eddie
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
Location: Illinois USA

Stage has me befuddled

#1 Post by Crater Eddie » Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:10 am

Image

Ok fellows, maybe I am just being a dunce here, but I can't seem to make this work. Obviously I can move both ends of the capturing mechanism back and forth, but I can't seem to get it to grip the slide properly. I am beginning to wonder if I have a mismatched set.
Am I missing something?
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

User avatar
lorez
Posts: 735
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:48 am

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#2 Post by lorez » Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:20 am

I don't think the specimen holder is designed for a slide. The geometry of the spring finger is 90 degrees off. I think it is designed for a special configuration, but what I think does not necessarily make it so.

lorez

User avatar
mrsonchus
Posts: 4175
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:42 pm
Location: Cumbria, UK

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#3 Post by mrsonchus » Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:47 am

Looks like it can hold the giant square slides or even a conventional slide 'the other way around' (lengthwise that is) - looks like 'whole plate' holder to me....

Hmm :)

Mind you - still doesn't look like that would work either - only one side would be held....

You've a fine puzzle here my friend! :D :D ;)
Last edited by mrsonchus on Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
John B

User avatar
zzffnn
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2015 3:57 am
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Contact:

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#4 Post by zzffnn » Thu Mar 30, 2017 1:50 am

Adjust the two knurled set screws and nearby screws of the slide holder, maybe? Or it could be just like what Lorez said.

User avatar
Crater Eddie
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
Location: Illinois USA

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#5 Post by Crater Eddie » Thu Mar 30, 2017 12:26 pm

Thanks for the comments everyone. The knurled set screws just loosen and tighten the two ends of the slide holder allowing them to be adjusted farther apart and / or closer together. The other screws just hold things together. I think that either this is designed for something other than a "standard" slide, as some suggested, or someone assembled this from random parts and didn't notice that the two ends didn't match.
Heck
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

Charles
Posts: 1424
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:55 pm

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#6 Post by Charles » Thu Mar 30, 2017 12:42 pm

Try moving the slide holder further apart and use the square area further back? Don't know if you would have better slide support from the right side since it does not have a notched out area for the slide to grip.

User avatar
75RR
Posts: 8207
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:34 am
Location: Estepona, Spain

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#7 Post by 75RR » Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:46 am

It would seem that you have an extra piece below the slide holder pincer that raises it too far, can you remove it and place the pincer directly on the rail as in this image?

Note: The extra piece most likely goes on the other side as an alternative to the one placed there now in order to allow different slide height positioning. (you need to flip it)

Image
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

User avatar
Crater Eddie
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
Location: Illinois USA

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#8 Post by Crater Eddie » Fri Mar 31, 2017 12:50 pm

Image

Is this what you meant 75? That could work, though the "pincer" wouldn't really be doing anything. Another problem is that the end with the mount and slide for the rail is pinned and the screw hole countersunk for the original configuration. To screw it back together this way I would have to do some machining on it.
Dang it.


Image
Here it is back in the original configuration but with the pincer removed.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

User avatar
75RR
Posts: 8207
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:34 am
Location: Estepona, Spain

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#9 Post by 75RR » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:00 pm

No, as in the previous image I posted. There is an extra piece that does not go where it is now.
Place the pincer on its own on the back rail.

Image
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

User avatar
Crater Eddie
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
Location: Illinois USA

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#10 Post by Crater Eddie » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:11 pm

Oh! I see what you mean now.
But without that piece there is no way to mount the pincer to the rail. The holes in the gib that fits in the rail do not line up with the holes in the pincer.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

User avatar
75RR
Posts: 8207
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:34 am
Location: Estepona, Spain

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#11 Post by 75RR » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:45 pm

The holes in the gib that fits in the rail do not line up with the holes in the pincer.
Pity. Yet now that I look at it again it would seem to need somewhere for the slide to rest on the pincer side...
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

User avatar
Crater Eddie
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
Location: Illinois USA

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#12 Post by Crater Eddie » Fri Mar 31, 2017 3:17 pm

Yes, I agree. I might be able to fabricate a replacement plate of a size and shape that would work.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

User avatar
lorez
Posts: 735
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:48 am

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#13 Post by lorez » Fri Mar 31, 2017 5:59 pm

Here is a modification I made on a similar stage. This one is from an Orthoplan. The slide holder was salvaged from a generic Chinese microscope and within its limitations it works very well.
Slide holder_edited-1.jpg
Slide holder_edited-1.jpg (43.69 KiB) Viewed 7680 times

User avatar
Crater Eddie
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
Location: Illinois USA

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#14 Post by Crater Eddie » Fri Mar 31, 2017 6:58 pm

In the spirit of Lorez's do-it-yourself photo, I present:

Image

PC board material to the rescue! I put this together during my lunch break. I originally intended it as a mock-up, testing an idea for a "real" one, but this works so well I might just use it as is. I need to trim the length of the support stump to straighten the slide, but otherwise what's not to like?
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

apochronaut
Posts: 6272
Joined: Fri May 15, 2015 12:15 am

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#15 Post by apochronaut » Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:03 pm

To preserve the metal bodies of the original carrier, I had been thinking of this and will pass it on anyway.


The claw on this is unusually large and must have been made to grip some larger type of specimen carrier. The right hand( as per the pictures) jaw could be redrilled( two holes)and set back , so that the horizontal slide rest on it is level with the forward horizontal slide rest on the left jaw. This might provide poor geometry for the contact between the claw and the slide. I don't have it in hand, so I can't really determine that but if so, it may work better to set it back even further, to be equal with the middle horizontal slide rest on the left jaw. In both scenarios, it probably makes sense to cut off the overhang at the rear of the right hand jaw and dress it with a fine file and some emery paper.

User avatar
75RR
Posts: 8207
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:34 am
Location: Estepona, Spain

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#16 Post by 75RR » Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:37 pm

PC board material to the rescue!
Pretty neat!

If you drop the pincer section towards the rail as in the photo on the left, then there is no need to cut anything.

Image
Last edited by 75RR on Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

User avatar
lorez
Posts: 735
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:48 am

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#17 Post by lorez » Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:44 pm

CE,

My solution was probably easier, but yours is certainly more creative. Way to go !!!

User avatar
Crater Eddie
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
Location: Illinois USA

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#18 Post by Crater Eddie » Fri Mar 31, 2017 11:30 pm

Image

It works well the way it is, I think I'll just use it like this for a while and see how it goes. The extra length of the claw doesn't bother me, no need to trim it. If I end up "fine tuning" it later I might drop the mount back a bit as 75 suggests.
I had thought about re-drilling the right-hand plate as per Apo's suggestion, but this seems to work well enough for now.
Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions.
Something interesting about this stage, it has an insert that comes out to open up a large oval opening, take a look:

Image

I wonder what that would be used for?
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

User avatar
75RR
Posts: 8207
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:34 am
Location: Estepona, Spain

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#19 Post by 75RR » Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:28 am

I also have a stage that has a removable insert (sorry no photo at the moment), not quite sure why it does either.
If anyone knows what the reason or theory behind this is do let us know.
Not losing any sleep over this but it would be interesting to fill that knowledge gap. :)
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)

User avatar
zzffnn
Posts: 3200
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2015 3:57 am
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Contact:

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#20 Post by zzffnn » Sat Apr 01, 2017 12:25 pm

My (likely wrong) guess is that would allow you to put in a different insert, such as one that blocks light from beneath for reflected top light (that way condenser top lens won't produce reflection).

billbillt
Posts: 2895
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:01 pm

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#21 Post by billbillt » Sat Apr 01, 2017 1:22 pm

Hi CE,

I have seen(if memory serves me correctly)a stage like that on a microscope set up to hold large slides for observing geological samples.. The slides were 2x2" or 3x3"...


BillT

User avatar
Crater Eddie
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:39 pm
Location: Illinois USA

Re: Stage has me befuddled

#22 Post by Crater Eddie » Sun Apr 02, 2017 2:42 am

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.
CE
Olympus BH-2 / BHTU
LOMO BIOLAM L-2-2
LOMO POLAM L-213 / BIOLAM L-211 hybrid
LOMO Multiscope (Biolam)
Cameras: Canon T3i, Olympus E-P1 MFT, Amscope 3mp USB

Post Reply