searching for parts for 1916 Spencer monocular no. 15

[J_WISC]

Hello. I'm looking for a source of parts for a 1916 Spencer Buffalo Monocular No. 15 (I think) microscope. More specifically a working turret or nosepiece. I was going to repair what I have, but alignment turned out to be a problem. I really just need the detent spring. I think that's the correct term. But I'd purchase more (entire body and turret) if I know the spring inside is good and shipping isn't outrageous. Thank you for your help. Probably a US source. I don't know what overseas shipping costs are for microscope bodies!

[dtsh]

Hello. I'm looking for a source of parts for a 1916 Spencer Buffalo Monocular No. 15 (I think) microscope. More specifically a working turret or nosepiece. I was going to repair what I have, but alignment turned out to be a problem. I really just need the detent spring. I think that's the correct term. But I'd purchase more (entire body and turret) if I know the spring inside is good and shipping isn't outrageous. Thank you for your help. Probably a US source. I don't know what overseas shipping costs are for microscope bodies!

I have a spare Series 15, but it's from the 40's so not sure it's the same thing. Shoot me a PM if you think this might be what you're looking for,
Here's a link to my Series 15 thread if that helps clear up any confusion.
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=15618&p=123533#p123120

[J_WISC]

Hello dtsh. Thank you, but the 1916 model is quite different from later models. It looks like the internal mechanism for locking objectives into place was abandoned a few years later. I'm quite torn. Maintain the historical integrity by finding the precise parts? Or "upgrade" to a 1920s body if I can find one? I really like the fact that the early Spencer tube for the eyepiece is adjustable from 150 to 180 mm. Was or is this common? So it's possible to experiment with a variety of objective lenses (160, 170, and a weird B&L that might be 180) I've accumulated. I really have almost no idea what I'm doing, but it's fun to learn about this stuff.

[apochronaut]

I have a nosepiece for it.

[dtsh]

The adjustability of the tubelength would be handy with a variety of objectives, can't imagine what that would be like to use such a mix-and-match setup though.

[apochronaut]

There used to be dozens of microscope manufacturers, some using proprietary tube lengths and some of them also manufactured objectives in more than one tube length. Additionally, the use of a nosepiece was not a given. Microscope optical tubes were designed to receive an objective in the end. A nosepiece was an accessory and could be fitted instead . That's why most standard nosepieces had an R.M.S. thread. Microscopical research demanded long hours and objectives from various manufacturers could be employed. Objectives were more often chosen based on their individual merit, rather than brand adherence and threaded into
the tube of any model stand as needed.
In educational institutions there might be 15 objectives of a certain magnification and not all from the same manufacturer.

Many ocular tubes went from 140mm to 250mm because 250mm and 8 1/2" were fairly common tube lengths at one time and objectives marked with those lengths were around.
By about 1890, many of the principles of objective quality were known and up until the second W.W. most advancements were at the research level, so at the institutional level or in common lab microscopy an objective made in 1908, possibly even 1898 coould easily be just as good as one made in 1938, maybe better. Objectives were expensive with used ones available mostly as dealer trade ins so in many cases it made sense to use what you had and tube lengths could vary.