Microscope Lights ??

[CJ Allan]

Since finding this site, I've once again began playing with my scope.....

I've discovered a couple things that have kept me from using it for anything more than cutting a few hangnails, & digging out splinters...

The two main things are,
1. Lack of "proper" light
2. No Headrest.....

Question.......
What do any of you recommend for light....??
It gets a little confusing when you start looking.....
Flouresant......??
LED.......??
and are the LEDs hot, and how many bulbs would be best for my purpose......??

Also......after being exposed to the headrest.......
I find this is an absolutly mandatory piece to have on a scope......No wonder I could never get used to using mine.....
Looks like I'll have to make one...as there isn't much room to attach one on my Olympus SZ-3......

Any ideas on these things will be GREATLY Appreciated.........


Thank You........cj

 

[Powderhorn]

CJ: I use a florescent ring light, with an aux flex arm with a 100 watt flo bulb in it, stays cool. Most of the diode lights do not give off enough light. The thing with the fiber optic rings, is the noise of the fan in the source, some people say that it gets on there nerves.
As to a head rest, it is a must have to keep the crick out of your neck. My scope did not come with one, so a little creative design, and a trip to home depot, and tandy leather for parts and pieces I came up with the one shown. Get creative , there is always a way to mount it.
I made most of it out of aluminum flat bar, a couple of small pieces of angle, and round stock.

 

[monk]

i found a 1" dia. led flashlight powered by 2 double a batteries. i made an adjustable bracket for it so as to aim it on the area. at least for me it throws enough light. i rewired the thing to work off house current. total cost: flashlight about 9 dollars. the wall plug-in-transfomer- got it out of the junk bin. monk45@verizon.net if you want a foto of this beast !

 

[quickcut07]

For lighting on my scope I went with a light ring that attaches to the scope. It is ok But is not the be all end all solution. Next I stopped into Home Depot and got 2 clamp on light fixtures. The cost $5.95 each, and then a few fluorescent twisty bulbs to play with different light combinations. Can't really tell you what I settled on just the bulb on the right of the scope is brighter than the one on the left. The one is natural light what ever that is. With the clamp on set up you can change your angle of attack quickly. Hope this helps some. E

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Oh for Pete's sake! Either do something properly or quit. Why on earth bother going to the expense of getting a microscope if you're going to haggle over the lighting???? I'm sorry but this sort of thing winds me up. We can all lash together head torches and all types of bulbs, etc., but in the long run the only way to go is a proper light. I mean really.....a thousand dollar + scope and too cheap to pay $180 for a proper ring light!!!! ITS A NO BRAINER!!! Stick with an optivisor or loupe. Geeeeze...............

Rant over.........

Seriously, CJ, for most stuff get a flourescent ring light of at least 12 watts. I had an 8 watt light that didn't cut the mustard. LEDs are ok but tend to have points of brightness which when you're working on polished metal causes unwanted reflections. Running costs of a fibre-optic system put me off because most are turning out around 150 watts plus the cooling fan. So my advice is get a flourescent ring light as the light they produce is flat and cool, so no burned hands.

Head rest should also be on your list. It not only helps you relax your shoulders whilst working but, depending on how you set your scope up, it enables you to have a bit of sideways movement of the scope which you can control with your head. This means being able to keep something in the FoV, often at a critical moment.

 

[Leonardo]

Hi CJ! Please look at my thread "Talking about lighting". Hope this help something.
Regards, Leonardo.

 

[ArtisanAttributes]

WOW, I think we should all rise forth our flags and be as astute as MARCUS HUNT!!!! The Man who can **** into the wind over a simple question. Its a good thing the Cafe supports such negativity. What if there was someone else out there who had the same legitimate question, only to have MR. Perfect answer so Abruptly. Might we all deserve such a respectable answer to our inquiries. Sure makes me want to hang around. That is all.... Please

 

[Tira]

OK, before this has a chance to spiral out of control... The Rules once again:

Community Attitude

• While friendly debate is not discouraged, postings that engage in mudslinging or intend to inflame or insult are unacceptable. Everyone is free to disagree, but if a member feels the need to post a personal attack or abuse, then take it elsewhere. Arguing and bickering are unwelcome in the Engraver's Cafe.
• Please think before you type.
• Expect others to follow by example when you post messages. Please support each other and help maintain a friendly Cafe.
• Read over your response carefully before posting to ensure it cannot be interpreted the wrong way and cause unintended offense

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Smile Lee, you're on candid camera! The answer was supposed to be tongue in cheek, but with a point. And did I not answer the question? The point I was trying to make is why invest heavily in something and then try to cut corners? Makes no sense.

You wouldn't take up parachuting and decide to make your own chute and at the last minute say "I know, I'll save money and use string! I'll save money on all that para chord stuff! And you know what, I've got some old sheets I can use to make the canopy!!!!" By all means be intuitive and make tools and stuff but when you get to the precision end of things with certain requirements it's best to just tow the line and get the right stuff. The time and money you may end up investing often ends up becoming more expensive than getting the proper article in the first place.

Just think of it this way, what would your impression be of a medical lab that lashed together bicycle lamps to light it's microscopes? You'd laugh at them unless it was a real emergency situation. We are no different. Those that choose to use a scope are using precision kit and it should be treated as such. In my view, to say so is not to **** into the wind or spout negativity. It is just a point of view. I am not Mr Perfect either, far from it in fact but what you have here is a professional trying to help educate someone who may be a hobbyist who may be taken more down a DIY path (which may or may not be interesting) than getting on with actually cutting metal and the setup that will help them get there.

If I offended anyone I apologise sincerely.

 

[allan621]

I do jewelry engraving and I bought the meji package from GRS which included the light ring and the headrest, neither of which we use. The headrest I don't use mainly because of the type of work we do; we don't have our head in a fixed position for very long. The ring light I don't use because of the glare that reflects from highly polished metal. Even if the surface is covered with white watercolor, as soon as a cut was made the glare was really distracting.

For a while I used a dazor three bulb lamp and still do at work but while they work for engraving with a loupe they are hard to position under the scope. When I rebuilt the home shop I didn't want to spend the money for a dazor. So after a little looking around this is what I now use. I have two IKEA architect lamps at nine dollars each and two of the energy saving fluorescents from Home Depot; but not the regular bulbs. If you look they sell 100 watt equivalent bulbs in blue packaging from n:vison labeled daylight and produce a wonderful white light we used to call north light or white light. The lights are are installed on the right and left of the scope. Depending on what you are cutting you can easily re-position the lamps to give you a bright glare free light for your engraving. I think the total cost of each lamp is about 20 dollars, maybe a little less.

I agree with Marcus that when you are going to be serious about this then you are restricting yourself if you are going to cobb together accessories which detract from the usefulness of the expensive centerpiece of equipment.

On the real big other hand, money can be tight, desire strong and the impulse to get started overwhelms the more sensible idea of getting everything in place first. If you have the desire to engrave, then engrave with what you have. But when you can, make sure you add the proper equipment. It may be more expensive in the long run, but if you're in this for the long run, its worth it.

allan

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Don't those daylight bulbs still get hot though, Allan? I used to use one for painting miniature figures. It gave a great light but was still pumping out a lot of heat.

 

[Sam]

Marcus and Lee, listen up. Marcus, your response did appear rather intense. If it was tongue-in-cheek I missed it too, and this often happens when we can't see a twinkle in the eye or grin that we'd see in normal conversation.

Lee: Your response was just as intense. Implying that the Cafe supports negativity is just plain wrong. If your name-calling response was tongue-in-cheek I missed that one too.

Now both of you guys kiss and make up.

The LAST thing I want is for our members (especially beginners) to be afraid to post questions or make comments because of how someone might respond. The spirit of this Cafe is to reach out with help and support. If a member doesn't feel a question is worthy of a nice response, then don't respond. If a member feels the need to take a shot at another member, go elsewhere.

Regards / ~Sam

p.s. Abigail and I are the first people to cut-up and joke around in good hearted fun, but try not to do it at someone else's expense.