Anyone into Microscopes?

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TonyL

TonyL

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I want to examine my finishes under a microscope. I have loops. This will be fun for me.

Thanks!
 
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I think a loupe would be your best bet. I've got an Olympus phase contrast microscope, but couldn't imagine putting a pen under it. I use it mostly for looking at/identifying bacteria to understand their health in industrial waste processing.
 
A traditional microscope intended for examining specimen slides will probably not do what you want.

A usb microscope that plugs into your computer would probably do what you want. As a benefit you will be able to capture images / video so you can keep track of things over time.

A nephew had one and we had a blast looking at stuff. Amazing device for under $100. Compare optical zoom levels and ignore digital zoom claims.

Any finish will look flawed at a high enough level of magnification.

Ed
 
I own a gravure scope. I doubt it would be any good for this though, It measures in microns and the slightest scratch would look like an earthquake fault. :)
Curt
 
One of restorations has become a valuable addition to my workbench. Not sure of the magnification. But I love having it:
 

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I have a Bausch and Lomb StereoZoom that I bought off E-Bay for $125. I use it all the time for examining finishes, checking for cracks, looking at drill points, taking out splinters and of course the odd and end bug or two.
 
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I use a Leitz stereo microscope that zooms up to 25x. I find a 5x loupe good enough for finish examination. In fact, the right lighting and the naked eye is plenty good for evaluating finishes in my world (metal and plastics), unless your eyes are bad, and for sure, lighting is key. Excessive magnification will get you chasing your tail.

Cheers,
Rich
 
Rich L said:
I use a Leitz stereo microscope that zooms up to 25x. I find a 5x loupe good enough for finish examination. In fact, the right lighting and the naked eye is plenty good for evaluating finishes in my world (metal and plastics), unless your eyes are bad, and for sure, lighting is key. Excessive magnification will get you chasing your tail.

Cheers,
Rich
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This is obviously the way to go; I have $2,500 but I don't want to spend it on a microscope. Thank you for making me away of a top-notch scope!
 
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