Microscope

[ddushane]

Hey guys, I'm going to break down and get a microscope but don't have the funds to get a Meiji Scope, I've been looking at the microscope store at

http://www.microscope-store.com/inde...15542c58eba798

Anyway my question is will one of these be good for a beginner like myself until I can hone my skills and get to a point to where I know the difference between a regular scope and a great scope? Or will it be a waste of money? If one of these won't be a good idea I'll have to put of getting one for a while. Thanks for your comments before hand, hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving, Dwayne

[rhenrichs]

I'm using a scope from the Microscope Store similar to the one Steve Lindsay has on his site. I'm sure more expensive scopes have better light gathering quality. If you're a full time enraver the more expensive scope might be justified however if your a serious part time engraver the Microscope Store scope works just fine.

Roger

[ddushane]

Thanks for the reply, I think I'll go ahead and get one. Dwayne

[Ray Cover Jr]

Ddushane,

I have four different models from the microscope store here at the school and they are all fine scopes. There are some things I like bout some of them better than my meji. For example I have one that has almost a full 10" of working distance ( that's with a .5 reduction lens).

A couple of mine have plastic bodies and eypeices that are set up on a friction plate type of pupil distance adjustment. Those are my least favorites.

Make sure you get one with a metal body and eyepeices, and an eypeice adjustment set up like the meji scopes and you should be fine with that until you decide to retire from engraving. I would also recomend upgrading to the 12w light rather than the 8w that is standard. I am using the 12 w ring lights and there is plenty of light to work by.

Fit and finish on these are not as slick as on the meji scopes but the optics are good and if you get a metal bodied done it should last a good long time.

Ray

[ddushane]

Ray, I appreciate the imput, I've been admiring your work for years as well as several others that post here. I will make sure to request the metal body, eye pieces, and the 12 watt light ring, I'm looking forward to playing, hopefully I will be able to add to my knives without screwing them up. Thanks again for the help, Dwayne

[6T7L71CPE]

I bought the 7x-45x Stereo Zoom Boom Microscope [OM2300JW11] a couple years ago and it's perfect for my level of experience. Much better than the Optivisor! I just bought the scope and mount and made my own boom.

[Andy S]

Hi Dwayne,
I bought the OM99V6 scope from them about a year ago and I like it very well. It replaced a very good Nikon scope. In some ways I like it better than the Nikon. I bought two auxiliary lenses for it so I could have different working distances. I think the .75 lens gives me up to 32x magnification with a 6" working distance. Most guys are happy with a max mag of 22x but I find it too limiting. The boom stand is very nice as well. For China this is pretty good quality.

[ddushane]

Thanks for replying Andy, I love your work! What about the Trinocular head, anyone have a scope with it or wish they'd got that option on their scope? Also you have the 0.3x, 0.5x, .75x, and 2.0x lens'. I hate to admit it but I don't have a clue here! A friend was telling me I wanted to keep my distance between my work and the lens at least 11-12" But my hand holding the graver isn't nearly 11". Any comments appreciated.

[J. Barraclough]

Hi Dwayne.
Most people using power assisted engraving can work comfortably with about 5 inches of room under the scope.
For hammer and chisel you need much more, usually 10-12 inches at least.
Using power assist tools, most scopes will give you the room you need with a .5 objective lens.
Hope this helps, best of luck. John.

[Andy S]

The trinocular head is generally just for mounting a camera or video device. Unless you are teaching it is an unnecessary expense. Discuss the auxiliary lens option with the seller. They can help determine which is necessary. I can easily work in the 5-6" range if it gets me more magnification. As far as I am concerned 10-11" is just too much of a reach for me. My arms aren't that long

[ddushane]

I really appreciate yalls input, I'll take all of this into account when I order. I've got several things going right now but am looking forward to playing more with the engraving, I've been hooked on it forever. Thanks again for all the help. You guys are alright I don't care what they said Dwayne

[peterinct]

In assessing the effect of the objective lenses, (not the eyepieces but the lower lens) a value less than 1 (such as .5) increases depth of field or working distance range and a value greater than 1 decreases it. Also the lenses greater than 1 power will increase magnification while less than 1 decreases it.

Peter

[ddushane]

Well, I broke down & order the microscope yesterday, should be in sometime this week, Thanks for all the comments and direction. Dwayne

[johnpilk]

ddushane , you won,t regret it , you will only improve , and it,s like the riflescope in a way , much better than the human eye. take your time. johnpilk

[ddushane]

Thanks John, I know I'll enjoy it, I'm looking forward to playing with it.