Looking for a NICE dust cover

Here you can discuss DIY adaptations to the microscope.
Post Reply
Message
Author
Sure Squintsalot
Posts: 393
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 3:44 pm

Looking for a NICE dust cover

#1 Post by Sure Squintsalot » Sat Jun 18, 2022 5:17 pm

My microscope looks kind of cool and I'd hate to cover it with a "grocery bag" when I'm not using it.

Has anyone made a nice transparent dust cover?

Specifically looking for anything that doesn't turn my unit into an ugly pile of cloudy plastic.

Greg Howald
Posts: 1185
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:44 am

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#2 Post by Greg Howald » Sun Jun 19, 2022 2:31 am

I'm sure we can all relate to your quagmire. Spend hundreds if not thousands for a piece of equipment that you protect with a piece of crud.

Greg Howald
Posts: 1185
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:44 am

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#3 Post by Greg Howald » Sun Jun 19, 2022 2:52 pm

The lack of response to your post from others might indicate the number of viable solutions which have been found. ;)

Greg Howald
Posts: 1185
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:44 am

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#4 Post by Greg Howald » Sun Jun 19, 2022 3:04 pm

My wife, the artist, says you need to take your mind off science and put it on art. Your dust covers could become R2D2, Astronauts, flower garden, a set of minions. She says prospects are endless dependant upon your personality.

Sure Squintsalot
Posts: 393
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 3:44 pm

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#5 Post by Sure Squintsalot » Sun Jun 19, 2022 5:47 pm

Yeah, it looks like I'm going to have to come up with something; I just thought there'd be an obvious off-the-shelf solution besides a garbage bag.

Good thing we have some sewing skills in this household. Can you think of any useful features that would be worth having in a dust cover? Disco lighting? Soothing music? Integrated terrarium?

Hobbyst46
Posts: 4277
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:02 pm

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#6 Post by Hobbyst46 » Sun Jun 19, 2022 7:49 pm

Sew a rectandular sack made of thick double-layer cotton. A colorful ornamental heavy upholstry cloth will do just fine. Can be bought by the meter. Make it tall enough to protect the camera (if there is one attached on top) as well. Then place it over the microscope. Not transparent, but it will not catch static charge so wo'nt catch dust. And it is permeable to air, so will not create a sauna around the scope in humid weather.

GerryR
Posts: 183
Joined: Sun May 22, 2022 11:44 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#7 Post by GerryR » Mon Jun 20, 2022 11:45 am

If you want to display it, get some Lexan or Plexiglas and make a display case for it. You could also find an appropriately sized fish tank and set it upside-down over your 'scope on a wooden platform. Just some suggestions.

DWSmith
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2022 12:07 pm

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#8 Post by DWSmith » Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:14 am

I use old pillow cases. Perfectly functional for keeping off dust. Much more durable than the thin plastic covers.

User avatar
imkap
Posts: 750
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:44 pm

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#9 Post by imkap » Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:48 am

I have Olympus dust covers and there is a lot less dust on my microscopes since I use these... It's a shame they are a bit ugly greyish white, as BHS is in the living room. Maybe it was white when it was new I don't know, I did wash it thoroughly when I first got it with various products.
Earlier I had one DIY black cloth cover for my GFL it looked better but more dust would enter.

Maybe transparent plexi display case might look great, but a bit impractical as it would need to be huge... Disco lights would make it a house party highlight... :D maybe a drawing projector with a wide eyepiece projecting the image on the glass and a disco condenser would do...
Last edited by imkap on Tue Nov 08, 2022 2:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
woyjwjl
Posts: 325
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2022 1:55 pm
Location: Wuhan, China

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#10 Post by woyjwjl » Tue Nov 08, 2022 2:37 pm

Although she is not elegant, it is simple to make and convenient to use
hood.jpg
hood.jpg (150.21 KiB) Viewed 4031 times
If anyone is interested, I can paste the drawing
Micrographers from China, thanks to the forum for providing a platform for exchange

Dennis
Posts: 674
Joined: Wed May 13, 2015 3:19 pm
Location: New Jersey, USA

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#11 Post by Dennis » Tue Nov 08, 2022 2:37 pm

I bought my dust covers off Amazon.com years ago. They are not transparent but semi, and are Leica brand which I do not see on Amazon now.

See you want transparent but I just thought of an easy cover that isn't.
In New Jersey single use plastic bags are not allowed at stores. Shop Rite grocery store sells these bags which are like less than 50 cents and made of a cloth type material similar to Tyvek but actually it is washable cloth. Perfect size also !

ldflan
Posts: 134
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 11:36 pm
Location: Morna Moruna

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#12 Post by ldflan » Tue Nov 08, 2022 7:04 pm

There are folks on Etsy who make and sell sewing machine dust covers of all different shapes and sizes, including from clear vinyl. It might be worthwhile contacting a few. If you find a person who does a nice job, let us know!

enricosavazzi
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 11:50 am

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#13 Post by enricosavazzi » Fri Dec 23, 2022 6:29 pm

The German https://rotri.de/ makes dust covers to measure. You design them in the tool they have available on their web site, then after a few days you get them by mail.

They are neither transparent nor semi-transparent, but made of a relatively thin, grey non-woven synthetic cloth that seems to be made by pressing together loose fibers under heat. The surface is embossed with a regular dot pattern. The material is perhaps not the most resistant to wear, but it does its job. All seams and edges are sewn. I have at least three for some of my microscopes.

enricosavazzi
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 11:50 am

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#14 Post by enricosavazzi » Fri Dec 23, 2022 6:56 pm

imkap wrote:
Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:48 am
[...]Maybe transparent plexi display case might look great, but a bit impractical as it would need to be huge.[...]
I have considered a lighter alternative. Plexiglas (= acrylic) is quite heavy and a bit expensive, but the best DIY stores sell lightweight semi-transparent plastic panels with hollow internal channels (like the hollow-channel plastic roofing for greenhouses, but with smaller channels - the panels I mean are about 3 mm thick). The thing that made me stop these plans was the problem in finding a suitable plastic profile for the corners (to bind together the panels). There should be suitable plastic corner profiles, only I did not find them. Aluminium T-slot profile would work in principle, but is too heavy in practice.

User avatar
blekenbleu
Posts: 300
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2020 5:55 pm
Location: South Carolina low country
Contact:

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#15 Post by blekenbleu » Fri Dec 23, 2022 8:29 pm

US$60 for three, $25 for one, 18" W x 20" H, maximum circumference of 32":
Image
https://benzmicroscope.com/products/mic ... yl-bzdc-xl
Metaphot, Optiphot 1, 66; AO 10, 120, EPIStar, Cycloptic

Sure Squintsalot
Posts: 393
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 3:44 pm

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#16 Post by Sure Squintsalot » Fri Jun 16, 2023 5:04 am

Finally bit the bullet and decided to make my own custom dust cover. You want to make one too? Here's what I did:

Step 1: Make a 1:1 outline of microscope profile. My optiphot is built like soviet era apartment complex and getting a profile was a little tricky. Some poster board and an extra long pencil fixed that. I threw on all the bell and whistles I owned onto the microscope for a worst case scenario:
Screenshot 2023-06-15 223032.jpg
Screenshot 2023-06-15 223032.jpg (50.9 KiB) Viewed 2518 times
Step 2: Draw a cover profile to fit and cut material accordingly. I used 16 guage clear PVC that you can buy at any fabric store; total cost w/ online coupon was about $12. Sure, it was pretty heavy duty but the added stiffness is actually quite nice and won't drape over the scope like a wet dish rag:
Screenshot 2023-06-15 223702.jpg
Screenshot 2023-06-15 223702.jpg (82.84 KiB) Viewed 2518 times
Step 3: Clip all of the edges together but DO NOT sew the bias tape and panels in one go. Doing so will cause loud uncontrolled swearing and result in a stern talking-to from the missus.
Screenshot 2023-06-15 224302.jpg
Screenshot 2023-06-15 224302.jpg (74.28 KiB) Viewed 2518 times
Step 4: Undo the crap sewing job you just wasted 2 hours on and do this instead (it's tedious but won't risk your relationship a lot): Hand stitch the seams together...yes, that's right. It's a PITA but makes for far easier feeding through the machine when applying the bias tape.
Screenshot 2023-06-15 224744.jpg
Screenshot 2023-06-15 224744.jpg (80.21 KiB) Viewed 2518 times
Step 5: Apply the 1/2" folded bias tape with two seams taking special care at corners and edges where 3 panels meet. It's not easy and will test your patience but the results will be worth it:
Screenshot 2023-06-15 225307.jpg
Screenshot 2023-06-15 225307.jpg (114.47 KiB) Viewed 2518 times

Sure Squintsalot
Posts: 393
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 3:44 pm

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#17 Post by Sure Squintsalot » Fri Jun 16, 2023 5:07 am

Step 6: Cover your baby and contemplate installing a disco light or maybe a laser light show:
Screenshot 2023-06-15 230015.jpg
Screenshot 2023-06-15 230015.jpg (136.23 KiB) Viewed 2517 times
Screenshot 2023-06-15 230628.jpg
Screenshot 2023-06-15 230628.jpg (148.17 KiB) Viewed 2517 times

Phill Brown
Posts: 603
Joined: Mon May 24, 2021 1:19 pm
Location: Devon UK.

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#18 Post by Phill Brown » Fri Jun 16, 2023 6:18 am

Step -1, 6mm double sided tape and Bernina 930 with hands free.
For many layers of testy materials the basting stitch is good.
It skips a stitch but walks the material so the flywheel keeps good momentum.
Step -2, Check for ASD,got to love those special interests.

User avatar
blekenbleu
Posts: 300
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2020 5:55 pm
Location: South Carolina low country
Contact:

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#19 Post by blekenbleu » Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:06 pm

Filtrete 20x30x1 packages of 4 come wrapped in clear film
which if carefully opened at one end can be repurposed:
cover.jpg
cover.jpg (68.53 KiB) Viewed 39 times
Metaphot, Optiphot 1, 66; AO 10, 120, EPIStar, Cycloptic

macnmotion
Posts: 524
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2022 3:13 am

Re: Looking for a NICE dust cover

#20 Post by macnmotion » Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:30 pm

I'm in Bangkok. I found a place online that makes outdoor covers for grills and furniture, and also had a heavy clear material for taxi seat covers. I had them make me a cover for my scope, and one for my flat top. Total cost about US$12. I had it made with some extra room so that it would slip on and off without catching on anything.
20240328_222533.jpg
20240328_222533.jpg (96.02 KiB) Viewed 25 times
20240328_222550.jpg
20240328_222550.jpg (95.55 KiB) Viewed 25 times

Post Reply