Will Wetzlar Compound Scope

[elaniobro]

Howdy, I posted recently in error, and wanted to correctly post.

I was recently gifted an old microscope, that I am/was planning to use for parts. I am unsure of what I got, because I do not seem able to find any information on this microscope.

Will Wetzlar is the name on the head. It appears to have a model number? stamped on the side: 600249.

If anyone is able to shed any light on what I have, I would be very grateful. I would also like to know if the objectives are any good, and how, if needed, I should go about trying to clean them.

Here is a link to some large format photos: https://imgur.com/a/wL8TNNn

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[Alexander]

This looks like a Will BX100 made in the 70th to the mid 80th. Will was acquired by Hund Wetzlar in 1988, a Company that today still makes microscopes. Hund support staff is quite friendly and helpful to amateur microscopists.

The BX100 is a scope of very good build quality but was designed for 37 mm object distance. Tube length is 160 mm. Threads are RMS and the eye pieces are standard 23,2 mm. It had two bigger sisters, the BX200 and BX300. They only differ by the illumination unit. All other things are equal.

The optics are of good quality but one step below the level of Leitz optics from the same era. They easily compete against most contemporary Chinese makes. You may use older Leitz objectives made for 37 mm object distance e.g. objectives from black enamel Leitz scopes. There are a lot of those in the used market.

[apochronaut]

I believe, like other German makers struggling in that era, Hakker, CBS, Steindorff : their objectives were made by Seibert.

[elaniobro]

Wow, thank you both for the very informative reply.
Should I keep this intact, or salvage the objectives? I have a swift 350T https://swiftoptical.com/products/sw350t and may see if these will fit on it assuming these objectives are of higher quality then what I currently have on my Swift.

[Alexander]

Should I keep this intact, or salvage the objectives?

Keep it intact! This scope is mechanically far superior of any Swift product. The objectives might be a poor fit on the Swift anyway.

[apochronaut]

Double that. The mechanical quality of the Will, is old school. Built to last and my experience with the objectives from Seibert made for others of that era is quite favourable. The N.A.'s were high for their type, and probably from the coated era. The 5X was .11, 10X .30 , 100X 1.30 for the ones I have seen. While that isn't a lot and won't make a staggering difference, it does show attention to detail and a design ethic above the pale.
Even that illuminator, while simple, can do a great job when the condenser is properly adjusted.

[MicroBob]

Hi,
the Will is for sure better than your swift. Will was operating from Wetzlar like Leitz and used similar design values for their microscopes. You might try whether the focus mechanism can accomodate 45mm objectives. From there on some interesting choices would be available when using older Leitz Periplan 170mm eyepieces.

This is an older model and you might have to dismantle, clean and relubricate the stand.

Bob

[elaniobro]

Thank you all for your feedback; the lighting portion is pretty old school, so I will need to see about cleaning that up. I wonder if I can easily replace that and or upgrade to something more modern.

As for cleaning, this something I, myself can do? If not, what is a reputable service that I might use, specifically one in NYC if possible.

[MicroBob]

Working on microscopes is about as difficult as working on a bicycle, but different in part of the techniques.

[elaniobro]

What do you mean by "N.A's" Sorry, not familiar with that term nor the "coated era"

...The N.A.'s were high for their type, and probably from the coated era...

[BramHuntingNematodes]

If you are going to continue using this fine bit of hardware I insist you read the first forty pages or so of this book:
https://archive.org/details/handbookofbasicm1958gray

[elaniobro]

N.A. = Numerical Aperture. Thank you for the book link

If you are going to continue using this fine bit of hardware I insist you read the first forty pages or so of this book:
https://archive.org/details/handbookofbasicm1958gray