Thread: Stereo Microscope

My father in law just gave me one of his old microscopes from when he used to work in a lab. I think it is a stereo microscope, but am not sure what its proper name is. It has two eye pieces and has a lamp which illuminates the sample from the underside.

Anyone know how these things work? The eye pieces say 10x, and the lenses rotate from 1.25x through to 5x. Do the magnifications multiply? So that, for example, using a 5x lens gives 50x magnification? I've already figured out that I need a light source coming from above to see anything (because, you know, I am quite intelligent... )

I am finding it very interesting to look at both my edges and my hones through it. The little red dots on my asagi look very cool, and comparing scratches of the different hone grits on the edge is interesting too.

James.

Yeah, I have an old B&L like that. On mine you can focus the left one to be in sync with the lens on the right. That one is fixed and there are knobs on the right to raise or lower the apparatus to bring the object on the table in focus once the lenses are in sync. A knob at the top to set the multiplication factor. I got a pair of 15x lenses off of ebay bringing mine from 30x max to 45x.

I also have a high intensity lamp off to the side to illuminate the object when looking through the scope. It is a handy for making sure tattoo needles aren't hooked or blunted before bagging them up and sterilizing. That is what I bought it for originally. It is useful for checking edges on straight razors but I use my Widget supply 30x loupe far more than the microscope. Great to have though.

Hi Jim,
I have a feeling from you described that you have a "garden" variety light microscope. What does it look like?

This (light microscope)



Or this (Stereo Microscope)

Thanks guys. Jimmy, mine sounds like what you describe but with mine the right eyepiece moves. Robert, of those two pics I'd say mine looks more like the bottom one. The one I have is old, maybe from the 60's or 70's I think

But bear with me for a few minutes and I will go take a pic of it.

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Anyone know how these things work? The eye pieces say 10x, and the lenses rotate from 1.25x through to 5x. Do the magnifications multiply? So that, for example, using a 5x lens gives 50x magnification?

James.

James, you're correct on the magnification. If the eyepiece is 10x and the objective lens is 5x then you'll be at a total magnification of 50x.

OK, here are some pics. Sorry, I am not really a good photographer.



James.

Darn, I thought this thread was in the contests and giveaways forum

That microscope looks built to last. I look forward to even more detail goodies in your future straight razor experiments

Originally Posted by Jimbo

OK, here are some pics. Sorry, I am not really a good photographer.



James.

Yeap, I'd say you have yourself a nice stereoscope. What you need with these things are good light sources. You can them from Zeiss (or even eBay)...you know those dual arm fiberoptic ones with a 9-12W light source. Without the light, it is hard to see.

I have one that I brought from lab (and old one that we were no longer using), but light source sucks and I don't use it that often. It's BIG and heavy too.

I wish I had the one I purchased a year ago from Zeiss for my lab...that sucker is a nice one (CCD camera, good light source and all). It is the one pictured here:

Here is my old beater. I have an equally old American Optical high intensity lamp off to the side. Forgive the dust. It is just me 'n the cat and he doesn't help me clean up at all.

Ahh - this thread takes me back! I was fanatical about microscopes when younger - Jimbo and Jimmy, you have a couple of lovely bits of machinery there. I still have my old B&L in the loft, haven't used it in decades. You have to watch for the heavy grease drying out in the rack and pinion arm with these - you will know if it happens as it offers resistance and when dry the resistance lessens and the scope keeps drifting out of focus.

On the stereo pieces, one eyepiece is often a diopter compensation control - you can adjust it to suit your eyes and therefore tie in the focus. The last time I used mine was to inspect cantilever arms and diamond tips on my record player cartridges. You can have a lot of fun with them and the image is usually considerably better than that from a cheap USB microscope.

Thanks for posting this!

Regards,
Neil