I'm jealous of you guys with your fancy scanning electron microscopes. I have neither the budget nor the space for such contraptions, so I've tried to be content with my $40 Amazon USB scope.
A couple weeks ago, I spotted a binocular microscope that my buddy had. He handed it to me and said it was now mine. And then to sweeten the deal, he handed me a light source and another microscope frame that was missing an eyepiece. I had no idea where to get an eyepiece or what I would do with all this stuff.
This afternoon I was sitting at my desk, and it occurred to me that my $40 USB scope could be made to fit the microscope frame. It would be a bit clunky for what I want to do, but it would be much steadier than it was. So I slapped it together and tried it out. As you can see in the first picture, it came out pretty good. It's much easier to get a good image now.
After that first success, I went down to the garage to play with the binocular scope. The left and right sides are misaligned, and I don't know what to do about it. But it works ok if I close one eye and pretend it's a monocular scope. Low magnification is ok, but the higher magnifications are hampered by dust and dirt. I need to clean this baby up. It might not be super useful in getting my knives sharper, but it will be a fun toy nevertheless. Attached is a quick shot of the knife that was in my pocket. With a little effort, I should be able to get better images.
Frankenscope
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Re: Frankenscope
Very cool!
I trust you also have a jewelers loupe?
Sal had suggested we have one many years ago.
And, I've had mine ever since. It's really cool as to what you can see with it.
But, what you have is pretty awesome. Please post up some more pics when you can
I trust you also have a jewelers loupe?
Sal had suggested we have one many years ago.
And, I've had mine ever since. It's really cool as to what you can see with it.
But, what you have is pretty awesome. Please post up some more pics when you can
Re: Frankenscope
I have a variety of magnifiers. For everyday sharpening, I don't need anything. But if I'm getting serious, I like to wear a 4x OptiVisor. It's low enough that I can keep it flipped down while working, but if I need to walk around, I can flip it up. Microscopes and higher magnification is just for playing around and satisfying curiosity.
- Doc Dan
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Re: Frankenscope
That idea with the USB is a good one. That has me thinking.
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Follow the Christ, the King,
Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the King--
Else, wherefore born?" (Tennyson)
NRA Life Member
Spydernation 0050
- standy99
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Re: Frankenscope
The Mrs is a entomologist so has a beaut microscope for looking at hairs on a moth’s anterior so does well for a knife edge
Im a vegetarian as technically cows are made of grass and water.
Re: Frankenscope
Your wife gets PAID to look at bugs? Sounds like a sweet gig. I enjoy visiting the insect fair put on by the kids at a local university. They always have interesting stuff to teach us civilians... like how moths don't have hairy butts.
- standy99
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Re: Frankenscope
And goes to beautiful remote places of Northern Australia to collect them during surveys…. Coming home with pictures from here trips on airboats on untouched floodplains and helicopter trips to uninhabited archipelagos
Im a vegetarian as technically cows are made of grass and water.
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Re: Frankenscope
What a cool job to havestandy99 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 1:23 pmAnd goes to beautiful remote places of Northern Australia to collect them during surveys…. Coming home with pictures from here trips on airboats on untouched floodplains and helicopter trips to uninhabited archipelagos