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Cover slip container

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 12:34 am
by NEILH
Hello; My fingers do not work as well as the did in the past. I am having a difficult time handing cover slips. Checked all over the web looking for a handy container for clumsy fingers. Has anyone seen any for sale or know how to construct one?

Re: Cover slip container

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 12:55 am
by KurtM
I bought one of these about 4 years ago and have been living happily ever after. https://tinyurl.com/yxrhnvpu Seriously, it's so great I ordered a second one for backup, haven't needed it yet, and I makes lots of slides. This baby makes picking up cover slips fun!

In case the URL doesn't work: eBay item number:153453589693 . "Solder Desoldering Vacuum Sucking Suction Pen Remover Tools"

Re: Cover slip container

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 3:17 am
by PeteM
Thanks for that tip, Kurt.

Re: Cover slip container

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 3:05 pm
by NK7Z
KurtM wrote:I bought one of these about 4 years ago and have been living happily ever after. https://tinyurl.com/yxrhnvpu Seriously, it's so great I ordered a second one for backup, haven't needed it yet, and I makes lots of slides. This baby makes picking up cover slips fun!

In case the URL doesn't work: eBay item number:153453589693 . "Solder Desoldering Vacuum Sucking Suction Pen Remover Tools"
One is on the way, thanks!

Re: Cover slip container

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 3:22 pm
by Sauerkraut
That's a brilliant idea. I just ordered one too.

Even though my fingers are nimble, it can still be difficult to drop the coverslips just right during slide making and this solder sucker might assist. Also, and maybe I am the only one, but I wash and resuse my coverslips whenever possible (can't bring myself to waste unnecessarily), and sometimes they are hard to pick back up.

Re: Cover slip container

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 1:15 am
by KurtM
In his epic thread on making diatom slides... viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3036&start=60 ...my friend rnabholz mentions getting one and digging it! Now I wonder where I got the hint, as I'm 99.99% sure I didn't think it up all by myself. Oh well, thank you whoever you were...

I also have nimble fingers, but a recurring problem was inadvertently hoisting aloft more than one slip, then having the "extras" bail out in midair. This vacuum pen makes that very easy to avoid, and when I persist in finding new ways to be an idiot, it, along with a flashlight (torch) shone at grazing angles, makes retrieving them from off the floor a (relative) snap.

And the quality is truly remarkable for something so inexpensive by anyone's standard.

Re: Cover slip container

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 5:34 pm
by MicroBob
Hi together,
my vacuum grip helper didn't work at first: No gripping power.
Today i checked it and found the problem: It was not air sealed at the mating surface between the metal needle and the main body. I sealed it with an elastic glue and now it work s nicely.

Bob