Something odd I read recently sent me to the B&L electroplaters microscope. In the book portion of Matt Rota’s Ballpoint Art Pack an aside about how ballpoint pens work states “The surface of the ball is covered by thousands of tiny holes connected by tiny channels that allow the ball to retain ink within it…”. This was in contrast to my conception of the ball in a ballpoint as a smooth an uncomplicated marble. Naturally, this must be investigated.

To that end I pulled the metal tip from off a cheap ballpoint. Lacking a suitable mount I placed a round of blu-tack on a slide and pressed the metal pen tip into it such that the ball pointed upwards and remained firmly secured to the slide. The slide I placed on a detachable mechanical stage which I had previously affixed to the electroplaters microscope.

I did not have high hopes as the size of the ball meant using what should be considered a very high power or any spherical surface. The rapid slope from any given point on the surface of the ball was sure to leave only a very limited field in focus at any given time. Still, one could expect to see any holes if indeed holes there were. No more preface is needed I think, here then is the surface of the ball of a ballpoint pen:

One is sure to notice the rough surface, and conspicuous absence of any holes that would infiltrate the ball as described by Rota. Of course, a single example is hardly enough to prove that no such ballpoint exists, perhaps the simple rough ball is a product of the cheapness of the pen I used. Further investigation may be warranted.

So I’ve spent a rainy week-end scanning, processing, and uploading quite a few Bausch & Lomb documents I’ve got in my collection. These documents have been placed on their own page accessible via a link at the top of this page. The offerings run the gamut from catalogues and price lists, too reference and instruction manuals. Some of these manuals are no doubt already out there on the web but many are not available in any other place that I am aware of. It is my hope that by making these resources available I will in some small way contribute to others ability to get the most from their microscopes.

I have made an effort to provide these materials in a convenient and serviceable format. The color pdf files provided are hardly archival quality but they are I believe of a character that will contribute to the ongoing availability of the information contained therein. In most instances I have included all pages-notably those which are blank-so that anyone wishing to print the documents may assemble the pages accordingly and do so. Where loose inserts are associated with the main document they are included as additional pages at the end of the file.

I would hope that other collectors, hobbyists, or professionals who have similar materials in their possessions make an effort to make those materials more widely available. Please feel free to download, share, and enjoy these materials however you wish. If you get some use from them, I’ll consider my time well spent.

Happened to see a lovely blog post about a fine old 35mm camera and it got me itching to shoot a roll. However, first let’s have a look at a nice common apparatus that will get anyone started in photomicrography! -K

The apparatus fitted to a worn but serviceable stand.

Years ago all the larger firms had a line of photomicrographic apparatus or two. One of the earliest to capitalize on the 35mm market was Leitz who took their popular Leica and adapted a shutter and prism set up to suit the needs of the microscopist. The result was the Micro-Ibso (later to be called the Mikas) a small eyepiece mounted shutter.

The E. Leitz Micro-Ibso (Mikas) photomicrographic apparatus pictured with its case.

The Micro-Ibso features a timed shutter just as one will find on mechanical 35mm cameras, which would have been imidiately understood by contemporary users-even if it might take a bit of getting used to for those who grew up with digital or point-and-shoot film cameras. It’s not overly complex and that’s part of the appeal. The other draw is the versatility, and the viewing eyepiece. Unlike earlier large format microscope cameras, the Micro-Ibso carried a focusing eyepiece and did not require a ground glass focusing plate.

A variety of bellows could be fitted between the shutter and the photo-sensitive material. There are at least three that I am aware of: a 1/3x bellows that was intended for use with 35mm camera bodies, 1/2x bellows called the Macca which took a large format film or small photographic plate, and a 1x bellows called the Makam which was able to take an image measuring 9x12cm on plates or film backs. All of the bellows would screw into the Micro-Ibso and were fitted with reducing lenses-except for the Makam which I understand required no lens.

The 1/3 bellows is perhaps the most common today, and it is likely the one which will be most used. Featuring a standard Leica Thread Mount, the Mikas could be fitted to the camera one already had. In the first picture it may be seen fitted to an old, Russian, FED3 rangefinder.

Working up from the base in the photo below, the Micro-Ibso has a threaded ring which fits over the eye-tube of the microscope and is held in place by a convenient set screw. With this ring removed one can seat an ocular (the periplanatic flat-surfaced ocular of Leitz are ideal) into the base of the Micro-Ibso and then screw it in to hold the ocular firmly in place. The ocular itself creates the light-tight connection of the photomicrographic apparatus to the microscope and because of the arrangement adds less than two millimeters to the tube length of the microscope.

Order of assembly with Leitz 10x periplan ocular.

In the photos one will notice that their are two shutter release cables connected to the apparatus. Only one of these actually controls the shutter, the other operates a spring-loaded prism. When the dual cable release is pressed a prism is pushed out of the optical path before the shutter is tripped so that all the light from the ocular is directed towards the photosensitive material. Naturally one cable is noted as “Prisma” on the dual release adapter and the other is labeled “Verschluss” respectively. When assembling the Micro-Ibso make sure that the “Prisma” cable is fitted to the body of the device and the “Verschluss” to the silver shutter connection.

In practice the Leitz Mikas is a breeze to use. With the cameras shutter set to “B” one simply winds the camera, focuses the object appropriately as seen through the viewing port and selects the best shutter speed for the lighting conditions and objective in use. Depress the cameras release first and hold it while then pressing the dual release to take a photomicrograph.

If the process seems complex then one might do well to note that even inexpensive 35mm film has a resolution equivalent to  15 MegaPixels. Without too much trouble-let’s not even mention the price of a 15MP digital microscope camera-one can find a Leitz Mikas for under $50.00 on online auction sites. Additionally because the Mikas features the common Leica Thread Mount a ring adapter can be found for most modern digital cameras (with removable lenses) so that one can use their modern camera with ease.

It never ceases to amaze, the capacity of people to complicate simple things. -K

When the microscope enthusiast is starting out they generally begin with the sorts of objects which may be collected and prepared with what’s on hand. Eventually they may find that there is a clear and drastic line that must be at some point crossed, the supply familiarity line. Some of the consumables used in microscopy are more available these days than previous, distilled water for example, others far less, camphor and red lead come to mind. While the present day MSDS and GHS standards provide an accessible method of understanding the nature of the chemicals involved, and the internet a means of finding them, there is still a greater barrier provided by the marketplace: language. Simply put: people love a synonym, but a duvet is not just any blanket.

Today I needed to replenish a few of my supplies, and one of them being turpentine, I was reminded of something from my art-school days, “the art store argument”. This argument goes as follows: “A pint of turpentine costs $20.00 at the art store, and $5.00 at the hardware store. Where should one shop?” The initial reaction is likely to be “The hardware store! I can buy a bunch of other stuff with the money I’ll save.” To this the teacher or old-hat will smirk and say something to the effect that “Absolutely not, the turpentine from the art store is of a higher quality and standard, it’s just what you’ll need and will give you results that are well worth the cost. Besides, everyone knows the hardware turpentine smells like embalming fluid.”

At this point I’ll take a minute to say that turpentine was once only one of two products obtained by processing the sap from a variety of species of the genus Pinus. When this sap is refined the distillate is a volatile solvent of primarily, terpenes, that is called turpentine. The residue of this distillation is a solid pitch resin called rosin-the stuff violinists use on their bows. Presently, terpenes can also be extracted from other compounds that contain them in much lower concentrations than are found in pine sap. That method will produce a functionally similar product primarily composed of terpenes, but will contain a significant amount of other VOC’s. In the United States, the name “Gum Spirits of Turpentine” is actually restricted for use with products which are produced from Pinus spp. by distillation, specifically so it may be set apart from other terpene based solvents. The two and a half fluid ounce bottle of turpentine one can buy for $4.99 at the art store, is functionally identical to the $5.00 pint from the paint aisle at the hardware store, it’s produced from the same source, by the same method. Anyone who has experienced the headache and sworn off using cheap turpentine has been using a terpene product that is not “Gum Spirits of Turpentine.”

One of these cost about four times more than the other, and is worth every penny!

This brings me to my point and the bane of many facing the supply-gap for the first time, language. If reading along in a book, Dr. Carpenter describes a method for mounting a specimen one would like to try that makes use of “Venetian Turpentine,” the reader should absolutely not rush out and buy a gallon of turpentine. A few minutes consulting a dictionary will reveal that Venetian Turpentine is in fact quite different from anything we have discussed thus far. Venetian Turpentine is a terpene distillate produced from the sap of the Western Larch. It’s suitable as a resinous mountant.

When looking for supplies It’s important to know what one needs before one searches it out for purchase. It doesn’t matter if one purchases Xylene as a safer alternative to Benzene or Histo-Clear as a safer alternative to Xylene, what matters is having an understanding of what the substance is required for. The best way to find out what the substance is required for is to understand the process for which it is being used. Once the process and the part played by the substance is understood look to a dictionary, not the internet, not a blog or a forum, a dictionary. Common use is far more flexible than even contemporary dictionaries and is far less reliable. A quick look at a dictionary (which would make the distinction between turpentine and Gum Spirits of Turpentine) cold have saved this old student a bundle. Once one is familiar with the requirements of the substance, and knows what the substance is specifically called, it’s much easier to seek it out with confidence.

Microscopy has been around long enough to build up a colorful and vibrant history, the new works produced every year is poor excuse for neglecting the past. -K

The present condition of publishing is such that I will always recommend one starting out with the microscope look to the past for their first text. Modern works have a distinct tendancy to be disapointingly basic or profroundly technical. In the latter case far too expensive for someone trying the hobby on for size-a fault of a great many textbooks. At the turn of the century microscopy as a hobby (and potential future career) was in a sort of golden age as far as publishing went. So much so that today a fair few professionals remember fondly the works for people like Philip Henry Gosse and Thomas Davies.

When buying a work that was as widely available as-for example-Gosse’s Evenings at the Microscope, the most economical option is as often as not a book that may well be far older than the purchaser is used too. Old books are quite unlike those of today, just ask an enthusiast. In any case if one happens to purchase an antique microscopy text one may encounter something odd; uncut pages. The uncut page is a not infrequently found in antiquarian books and together with ragged edges is not anything one should be overly concerned with. In the copy of Evenings at the Microscope shown below a great many pages are uncut, and we may well reason that this book, published in 1902, has never been read.

An example of uncut pages.

In order to make use of the book the uncut pages will need to be opened by cutting through them at the crease. If this was 1902 and the book were new one might simply pull out ones pen-knife whenever necessary and carry on reading. Today the paper is apt to have been somewhat oxidized and the risk of errant cuts thereby somewhat increased so that greater care is required. For my part I prefer to use a sharp (but not recently honed) straight-razor style section cutter, it works nicely and seems rather fitting. Whatever knife is used when cutting keep the blade only slightly off from parallel with the crease and make a small sawing motion rather than a slice to minimize the risk of damage to the pages.

The community of antiquarian book enthusiasts is somewhat at odds as to whether cutting the pages affects the value of a book, but for the most part the value of the microscopy texts one encounters that have uncut pages is likely to be small in any case. So should one encounter a book with uncut pages when reading up on things microscopic, by all means open those pages and show them the light of day! I am the first to see this precise illustration of a Perophora in 112 years!