Loupe / eyeglass / eyepiece

[phuckaduck]

Hi all , if i do not reply it is i i am not computer savvy,idon't even know what blog is . Any way what i was referring to is called 3.5 x 420 mm dental surgical binoculars and surgeons actually just have the binocular lloupes mounted directly to your persription glasses, hope that helps  

[sstakoff]

I believe you are referring to surgical eye loupes, like the one below. These come in a range of magnifications and the working distance can be customized for the user. But they tend to be rather expensive.  I have not tried them personally, but I did discuss with a dentist friend of mine. Dentists typically require 2.5-3.5x magnification, but their working distance is quite far compared to a watchmaker.

[dadistic]

Check this thread out -

Carl Zeiss - Eye Mag Pro

[Deggsie]

5 hours ago, Rob said:

The Incabloc lyre spring

.

 

YES!!!  Thank you sir, that is exactly the item.  now to find its home.

Regards Deggsy

[Deggsie]

YES!!!  Thank you sir, that is exactly the item.  now to find its home.
Regards Deggsy

Here it is back in place. The Russian design isn't ringed on the end like the one on the incabloc web site. Instead the closes end of the lyre slips into a retaining slot. My rakita now runs without immediately stopping. Thank you so much for helping.


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[Federico]

Surgical eye loupes are great if you can get use to the working distance and low magnification they don't usually have a zoom feature. I personally use a B&L stereo microscope. I use a 8x loupe occasionally like 10% of the time, but I much prefer my stereoscope which i can use at anything between 3x and 75x magnification all while not having my face directly in the movement.


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[sperki77]

Here's my two cents (which, owing to inflation and all, isn't worth a plugged nickel).  Use your naked eye for what you can.  If you need more, use one of those jeweler's headband magnifiers.  To get in closer, use a 3x, 4x, 10x loupe.  To get down to the nitty-gritty (hairsprings, roller jewels, etc) use a 20x loupe or resort to a microscope.  The more the power, the closer you have to get to your work and the more distortion you'll have around the edges.  My eyeballs are older than Accutrons, so I use a 10x loupe as pretty much a standard practice. 

No matter what you use, be sure to have some fun with this rewarding hobby!

[Deggsie]

On 3/5/2017 at 6:53 PM, Deggsy said:

Here it is back in place. The Russian design isn't ringed on the end like the one on the incabloc web site. Instead the closes end of the lyre slips into a retaining slot. My rakita now runs without immediately stopping. Thank you so much for helping.


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In the first photo (see above), there are two levers.   One is for advancing and retarding the rate (?) and the other lever does what please?   I fiddled today, with something I dont understand oops!  I was trying to retard the watch as it was gaining about 15 minutes in 5 days, but noticed when I moved the lever which is in the 10 oclock position, it also dragged with it the lever which is in the 12 oclock position.  However the lever in the 12 oclock position, can be moved independent of the other lever.   I hope that makes sense?   Have i done anything serious by me tinkering around with the unknown?   The watch is another Rakita, almost the same as that in the photos above.

I look forward to your reply.  Kind regards Deggsy

 

[Federico]

The lever in the 12 position is used to make the watch run faster or slower. The one at 10 is used to change the resting position of the hairspring and thus changing/managing the beat error. It makes sense that when you moved the lever in the 10 position it dragged the other as it would want to keep the relationship between them the same and therefore independent of each other. When you changed the lever at 10 you might have increased any beat error the watch might have. If it is gaining time and it has not been serviced in a while sounds to me like this watch should be serviced.


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[david]

Personally I never liked using eye loupes. I don't like working  scrunched over the movement and find loupes to be extremely uncomfortable. After trying out every type and power of loupe I could get my hands on I settled on off the shelf drugstore reading glasses. They are relatively inexpensive and are available in powers of 1 through 4 diopters. For higher magnification I use an inexpensive Amscope stereo microscope that magnifies up to 40X.  In the end all that counts is what works best for you and how much you want to pay for the equipment. 

david

[Brian3]

I work with a 2.5 power loupe, 10x loupe for hairspring work and some jewel lubrication and a microscope usually on the 3x setting for escapement lubrication, pivot checking etc. This should pretty much cover your watchmaking needs.

 

[Brian3]

Oh and I do have a 25x loupe for the occasional real close look at some things, usually pivots but this is a luxury as they are now harder to source for a reasonable price.

[sparkey0151]

I picked up a 10x stereo microscope ,the type on a boom style stand, its an old unit from about 1960, i have plenty of room underneath it about 8" it works for me much better than a loupe, and i think as its an old unit it will be of better quality than some of the stuff on the market today unless you pay top doller,

 

                                             john  

[Deggsie]

I picked up a 10x stereo microscope ,the type on a boom style stand, its an old unit from about 1960, i have plenty of room underneath it about 8" it works for me much better than a loupe, and i think as its an old unit it will be of better quality than some of the stuff on the market today unless you pay top doller,
 
                                             john  

I am looking to do the same John. If you get a chance could we see a picture of you stereo microscope? Kind regards deggsy


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[Sleeper]

I use a 5X and 10X loop. I have a 2.5X lighted magnifier and 2X and 3X hand lenses.  I also have folding doublets and triplets I carry to shows and swap meets.  For really long duration work using a lighted magnifier works out best.  I wear glasses and also use frame mounted lenses. 

I have also done a lot of work under stereo microscopes. A good quality microscope is a must since the cheap ones can cause eye strain and even blindness.  Look for used Olympus, Zeiss, Nikon, Leica or Bausch & Lomb scopes. Even scopes that are 60 years old take the same objectives and eyepieces the modern ones do.            

[sparkey0151]

Thanks for that, i picked up an old beck 10x its a real game changer, everything is so clear and once you get used to it its much easier to work with for me than a loupe,

                                                               regards john

[DouglasSkinner]

On ‎3‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 0:35 AM, david said:

Personally I never liked using eye loupes. I don't like working  scrunched over the movement and find loupes to be extremely uncomfortable. After trying out every type and power of loupe I could get my hands on I settled on off the shelf drugstore reading glasses. They are relatively inexpensive and are available in powers of 1 through 4 diopters. For higher magnification I use an inexpensive Amscope stereo microscope that magnifies up to 40X.  In the end all that counts is what works best for you and how much you want to pay for the equipment. 

david

I bought a microscope but have yet to use it.  Wondering how easy it is to do actual work with as opposed to merely inspecting something?

[Sleeper]

I spent my early career (80s and 90s) working in electronics.  We would do soldering and gold brazing under 100X stereo microscope.  You have to get used to working that way.  First rule is don't look up or around while working, fouls your perspective when you do and you can break something while not looking at it. Always completely disengage from the work before you look up from the scope.   

To get used to working with a scope I used a sewing needle and fine steel wire to practice. I kept threading the wire in and out of the needle till at 50X I could do it without bending the wire.  Then I jumped to 100X and practiced more.  I can even do this at 300X with a single objective scope.     

   

   

[david]

Douglas Skinner,

You brought up an interesting point. Most of the actual work (as far as manipulating screwdrivers, tweezers and other watch tools that physically move watch components) is done with  low power eye loupes. Magnifier reading glasses offer about the same level of magnification as  low power loupes.  The high power eye loupes (10X-20X) have a narrower field of focus and are generally reserved for inspection.  With a high power eye loupe any small movement of your head can throw the image in and out of focus. I feel that a microscope is better suited for higher magnification purposes as the scope is mechanically fixtured in the microscope frame. 

 

This stand microscope provides ample room for tweezers and screwdrivers between the bottom lens and the watch, but for most work I prefer the magnifier reading glasses.  

david

[clockboy]

Getting magnification correct is a case of experimentation. I tried many methods & for me the best was individual strength eye loupes. I have an optimiser but I  only use it for clocks. 

My eyesight is not good & for inspecting jewels/pivots & fitting shock springs etc I have a binocular microscope which is on my work bench. 

[clockboy]

This is one area where a good microscope on your worktop really helps. Your be surprised how much you will see with big magnification. This is not my microscope but is the sort I believe should be considered because you have room to manipulate/fiddle while under the scope.

[Endeavor]

That seems a nice one @clockboy. What kind of magnification are we talking and/or what is (about) preferred?

[sstakoff]

I use this microscope. AmScope SM-1TSZZ-144S-3M

Generally very happy with it. It takes a bit of practice to actually "work" on a movement under the scope. I use this for removing cap jewels and oiling pivots. Also very handy for inspecting various components. My only gripe is that I need to remove my eyeglasses before I can look through the scope. I believe there are special eye cups available that may solve this problem.

 

[BUSAKAZ]

9 hours ago, clockboy said:

This is one area where a good microscope on your worktop really helps. Your be surprised how much you will see with big magnification. This is not my microscope but is the sort I believe should be considered because you have room to manipulate/fiddle while under the scope.

is there a make and model no that goes with this plz

[StuartBaker104]

Ideal magnification (imho) is 10x eyepieces with a variable multiplier of x0.7 to x4 on the scope head. Then by fitting a 0.5x "barlow" lens under the objective you get 3.5x to 20x with a working distance of about 6". The barlow lens is key to getting the working distance sensible. If you need more magnification it can always be removed for a while.

I have to take my specs off even with rubbber eye cups.

A ring light, like the one above is the best choice, and a boom stand means you can use it with a lathe too.  Ideally, if this allows the head to be set at an angle, it gives a better view for assembly without tilting your watch than the fully overhead arrangement.