Stereo Microscope

[HectorLooi]

Nice.

See if you can attach the Barlow lens to the shroud. That should increase the working distance. 

[TimpanogosSlim]

1 hour ago, HectorLooi said:

Nice.

See if you can attach the Barlow lens to the shroud. That should increase the working distance. 

Yeah, the ID of the narrow end of the shroud is like 45mm? it would have been awkward. 

I'm already modeling a printable replacement shroud that will accept the 50mm barlow. 

[HectorLooi]

On 2/22/2022 at 10:49 AM, Nucejoe said:

Hi Weasol,   Thanks for your response,

I need one with a monitor( neck problem ), not many types are available to buy here. will keep looking for one.

Regards

 

If you get the one that WW showed above, you could attach a HDMI/USB/VGA camera to the trinocular lens and see the image on your monitor. And when you need to actually work on the movement, the stereo eyepieces will give you 3D vision.

I owned a microscope for many years but was resistant to using it for working on watches until I learned that the microscope can be tilted back for a more comfortable working posture. Now I use it for everything except when fitting the balance back on the movement. I still have to use a loupe for that.

[spectre6000]

Echoing the tilt recommendation. I guess I'm a little short or something, but I have to be bolt upright with my chair in its usual position at my desk (also in its usual position) with the 'scope vertical. Tilting it brings it down to the right height. Bonus: tilt it far enough, and you gain an unlimited work distance!

[gbyleveldt]

13 hours ago, spectre6000 said:

Echoing the tilt recommendation. I guess I'm a little short or something, but I have to be bolt upright with my chair in its usual position at my desk (also in its usual position) with the 'scope vertical. Tilting it brings it down to the right height. Bonus: tilt it far enough, and you gain an unlimited work distance!

You know, I’ve been thinking about tilting the head myself,  just never tried it. Thanks for the tip!

Edited February 24, 2022 by gbyleveldt

[HectorLooi]

1 hour ago, gbyleveldt said:

You know, I’ve been thinking about tilting the head myself,  just never tried it. Thanks for the tip!

Anyone out there who has neck and back problems, get one of these for your upright scope.

SG$ 45.91  13%OFF | Stereo Microscope Universal Bracket Arm 360 Degree Rotating Xtended For Eakins Binocular Trinocular Microscope
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL0Adnw

Even if you don't have any problems now, your neck and back will thank you in 10 years time.

[spectre6000]

11 hours ago, gbyleveldt said:

You know, I’ve been thinking about tilting the head myself,  just never tried it. Thanks for the tip!

Credit goes to @HectorLooi for that one. I followed his lead from many pages ago. That's the majority of the rationale behind the '4' in the SM-4TP in the watchmaking 'scope recommendation. The '4' indicates the double arm boom stand, which has an adjustment for the angle of the head where the single arm stand doesn't. You could conceivable get the price down a little with the lesser stand, but I'd drop the simufocal/trifocal feature before I dropped the upgraded stand. 

[HectorLooi]

12 hours ago, spectre6000 said:

Credit goes to @HectorLooi for that one. I followed his lead from many pages ago. That's the majority of the rationale behind the '4' in the SM-4TP in the watchmaking 'scope recommendation. The '4' indicates the double arm boom stand, which has an adjustment for the angle of the head where the single arm stand doesn't. You could conceivable get the price down a little with the lesser stand, but I'd drop the simufocal/trifocal feature before I dropped the upgraded stand. 

No, I can't claim credit for that. I learnt it on this forum from @xyzzy. Thanks to him I can work at my microscope for hours on weekends.

 

[spectre6000]

Yup. Wires crossed. Happens more often than I care to admit, unfortunately. 

[maclerche]

There is no doubt that stereo microscopes are gaining ground. I am currently following a youtube channel from a watchmaker's workshop in the Netherlands (ChronoGlide). They repair vintage watches and also teach students. In their workshop, they actually only use microscopes! 

[TimpanogosSlim]

As elegant as this solution is, it appears to have only gained me about 1cm of working space. 

I suspect that perhaps the barlow needs to be a little further back, perhaps, because the objectives are off-center. 

[HectorLooi]

Oh dear! There's always 0.3x Barlow. 

[TimpanogosSlim]

5 minutes ago, HectorLooi said:

Oh dear! There's always 0.3x Barlow. 

Yeah, but they all seem to be about 3x as thick as this 0.5x

[Paul80]

Hi

i went with one of these and can highly recomend it

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124373214244?hash=item1cf538a424:g:RBoAAOSwOQpfmcWS

I added a 0.5 barlow lens to give more working space and a HD camera to record my work and covered the base with an old Green watchmakers mat.

Very sharp clear optics and a useful 4.5x zoom, handy when manipulating hair springs.

[spectre6000]

Now in COLOR!

(Pretend my internet was at all functional today, and I was able to find a really cool picture of gif of a retro TV advertisement. Supposedly we'll be upgraded from the current 0.1 mbps when we're lucky to 50 or 100 mbps in the coming weeks... Multiple orders of magnitude better. Still a lot of details to work out there.)

Edited March 14, 2022 by spectre6000

[TimpanogosSlim]

On 3/14/2022 at 7:31 AM, Paul80 said:

Hi

i went with one of these and can highly recomend it

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124373214244?hash=item1cf538a424:g:RBoAAOSwOQpfmcWS

I added a 0.5 barlow lens to give more working space and a HD camera to record my work and covered the base with an old Green watchmakers mat.

Very sharp clear optics and a useful 4.5x zoom, handy when manipulating hair springs.

Yeah, spending around $500 US on a proper scope setup including accessories is something i am considering but not rushing toward. 

The Graf-Apsco Stereograf was just such a stunning piece of gear for $15, and for what it is, it does work. I may still use it for hairsprings and for soldering. I just can't get a screwdriver under it comfortably. 

There is another uni surplus sale this week. I may go. I may have a better idea of what to look for in a surplus scope, but honestly the chances that they have one and decided they didn't want it is slim. 

There were other stereo microscopes, some newer, not necessarily better. One of them was what i presume to be an instructor model, with two sets of eyepieces spaced a couple feet apart, and if it has enough range maybe it is something that can be modified? Or maybe this is just more hobby stuff invading potential bench time. 

[spectre6000]

I used to go to university surplus sales back when my friends were still working there locally. Most auctions are pretty lame, but the university ones bring out some of the most interesting people and things. I once watched to pharmaceutical startups get into a very heated bidding war on an autoclave. The auction manager (or whatever) had no idea what it was, and started the bidding at an arbitrarily low number ($20 or something) expecting that no one else would. It was positioned in the lineup in the miscellaneous category along with all manner of random crap no one wanted (buttons, buckets of mud, week old box of donuts sorts of things). Bidding made it into the thousands. My buddy snagged a literal truck load of outdated computers and monitors. I'm sure I came home with something interesting, but I forget what at this point... He's in DC now, but still technically an employee of the university... I'll have to get him to clue me in on some upcoming auction when he's in town.

[spectre6000]

As I've learned to use my 'scope, I've gotten decent at keeping my head in the right position to be able to see the full image in both eyes (basic stuff). When I first got it, I had half a feeling I was missing some sort of eye guard thing to help keep my eyes at a proper distance. Eye piece guards exist, but without having any experience with them, I'm not sure if the point is to protect the corners of the eye pieces (in the case of the flat profile ones), keep light out of the periphery, or as I initially expected to help locate one's eyes relative to the eye pieces. If they do the latter (and the middle one), I'd probably go ahead and grab a set or two. If it's just keeping the eyepieces from getting dinged or something, that's not really something I'm worried about in my office, and it's not worth the effort. Does anyone have any experience or insight into these?

[gbyleveldt]

I’ve had eye guards on mine since day dot, for maybe 7 years now? I kinda don’t see how you would use the scope without it. It serves as a ‘rest’ but mainly helps in locating your eyes to the eyepieces, cutting out on fiddling with the scope the whole time. I’ve never tried to use the scope without it to be honest and they’re very comfortable 

[spectre6000]

What 'scope/eyepieces do you have?

[Marc]

Only one of my microscopes has the shaped eye pieces and although they do help reduce peripheral light interference they are not essential. Interestingly enough they are the most budget scope that I own.

One thing that I have noticed though is that the interpupilary distance on all my mics is not only critical to get right, but on the microscopes with variable magnification, varies slightly according to the focus distance, which it's self varies with the magnification.

Getting that right makes a big difference.

[Tiny]

I have at the moment a cheap digital microscope like this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jiusion-Magnification-Endoscope-Microscope-Compatible/dp/B06WD843ZM/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3P6P0IZH55HIK&keywords=digital+microscope&qid=1650383582&sprefix=digital%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-3

But maybe I should up grade its OK for looking at parts for dirt and taking photos of watch parts but it has a very small depth of field.

I only have a small budget of about £160-200 and it doesn't have to be new second hand is ok as long as its got a large working distance

 

[Neverenoughwatches]

17 minutes ago, Tiny said:

I have at the moment a cheap digital microscope like this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jiusion-Magnification-Endoscope-Microscope-Compatible/dp/B06WD843ZM/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3P6P0IZH55HIK&keywords=digital+microscope&qid=1650383582&sprefix=digital%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-3

But maybe I should up grade its OK for looking at parts for dirt and taking photos of watch parts but it has a very small depth of field.

I only have a small budget of about £160-200 and it doesn't have to be new second hand is ok as long as its got a large working distance

 

Eyup matey. Yup  I nearly bought one of those, but then a binocular  scope popped up on ebay and I grabbed it quick. I don't think I could do without it now, I think most folk on here like the bi scopes, although I did here Mark mention on a vid he prefers loupes. It's what you are used to I suppose. I'm about ready for an upgrade now, as field of view isn't that great at only 20mm or so . If you're in no rush wait out something will come up, it always does.

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Eyup matey. Yup  I nearly bought one of those, but then a binocular  scope popped up on ebay and I grabbed it quick. I don't think I could do without it now, I think most folk on here like the bi scopes, although I did here Mark mention on a vid he prefers loupes. It's what you are used to I suppose. I'm about ready for an upgrade now, as field of view isn't that great at only 20mm or so . If you're in no rush wait out something will come up, it always does.

Mine is a swift, very similar to the Amscopes. Are in UK ?

[Tiny]

Are the swift any good? I've seen this one on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185215369362?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item2b1fb24092:g:2b8AAOSwiaZhjPpe&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAAA8H3R8uwbRhl%2FLSN4zXXSo%2B6fPdpp0sS4oQsDCmfEh45ow6mlOOrCfWVTnEmCvSd3l9eX6%2BRiX7oMTOv%2BSWOCYU56BBTYUi7kLjhnTX29GoynOtfCTKZbheqpT%2FPNK1LFgbFwmGsbXfv9%2BKWWPOIVR95L7VuBxCkBGUpzcpHF9J0KSZd8qIugJ8m10IuwF%2FAdoDIigi6JBDVossEYd7P4MYJENe%2BUhMOU02H50jKV%2FNYWTt8nkGhQWW7fJqePLokT5LlmYFZi4oD5M7uCwfGVr1kDaRVJXGo8m3ZhQHfuXtQLoZfTfGOC2kc%2B2xxXETU3BA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABFBM6Obyqohg

 

also this one looks interesting

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133955503459?hash=item1f305ec563%3Ag%3AOcwAAOSwsUphrWzm&LH_ItemCondition=3000