I have decide to take a try at grinding and doing minor tuning to the nibs in my growing pen collection. I have a Belomo 10x loupe (hand-held) that I use for odd and end stuff and have examined some nibs with it and have concluded 2 things:

First, 10x seems a little weak to me - maybe 20x - 30x would be more like what I would need to get a really accurate alignment on the tines.

Second, while a hand-held loupe is easy enough to use, it seems to me like it would be a real pain in the tail to use since I can't hold the loupe and use both hands at the same time.

So I did a quick internet search and found an inexpensive 20x dissecting scope that looks like it would work fine for adjusting nibs - at 20x it would give better magnification than my 10x loupe and since it has a stand it would free up both hands to work. Here's a picture of it:



So, has anybody used a similar type of scope to do nib adjustments?

There are also stereo models out there but they cost more - not sure if they are worth it or not.

Thanks for any thoughts you can pass along!
Rob

Another option might be a head-mounted magnifier. There is the ubiquitous Opti-Visor, of course, but also lenses that can clip to your eyeglasses (I have one by Bausch and Lomb). The focal length is rather short, though.

For most fine work, I make do with a 10x Hastings Triplet loupe by Bausch and Lomb.

You might find that works well for you. I know that Wim, the author of the nib smoothing article most people refer to uses a 22x hand held loupe that he swears by, so the power you hare looking at is about right. The usual trade-off with the higher power units is lens diameter and short focal length.

As you note, not having to hold the magnifier does simplify the adjustment, look, adjustment, look cycle by avoiding having to pick up and put down the loupe in between every adjustment.

Unfortunately I've never had the opportunity of using a dissecting scope like the one you found, so I really can't comment knowledgeably about how well it works. It does look promising though. Let us know how it goes if you do get one...

Regards,

Gerry

Learn how to use it with both eyes open.
1) It is much less fatiguing
2) You can use the other eye to guide what your hands are doing.

It takes a bit of practice, getting your brain to switch from one eye to the other, but that's half the fun.

It's easier if you have a lamp that you can adjust the brightness. Be careful if you use a low-voltage halogen lamp, though. You can give yourself sunburn.

I have a stereo microscope that sits in the basement unused. I've tried the Optovisor, and got a headache. I have a loupe that attaches to my glasses frame, and use that daily.

I find that the problem with a microscope is that you essentially make your adjustments blind. Bend tines, grind, smooth - all blind, and then look at what you've done. I've found that I really need to be able to see what is going on "real time" as I work on a nib. For some things a magnifying lamp works well (I need one for most close work) but I find that for nib work the louple attached to the glasses is best. Richard uses an Optovisor for all of his work, so obviously it works well for him.

Now, John Mottishaw uses an Optovisor, and also has a stereo microscope. I think that a single optic microscope would not give you the 3D vision that you need to have to really see what's going on with your nib.

Ron, If you will cut that optovisor above the nose....and make it where you can adjust the distance between the lenses you may find the headache gone and a very useful tool available to you..... It pretty much crosses my eyes due to that distance being wrong for me...and that will sure provide unpleasant side effects....

Greg

Ron,

Thanks for the input - I never considered the Opti-Visors because they are not 10x magnification - I will take another look at them since even at the lower magnification, they look like they would be a handy thing to have for other tasks around the shop/house.

Rob

I started doing this with the loupe and it really does make a big difference - I can see how using the glasses-mounted loupe would make this a necessity.

Rob

As Gerry mentioned, I swear by a 22X PEAK loupe, the most current model, achromatic 3 element lens with an transparant acrylic base, which is higher than the lens itself, which is very remarkable. This provides for a lot of light on the subject, unlike most other loupes, plus, it is totally sharp in the bottom plane of the base, and distortion free.

It is about $40 I think, and more than worth it. It beats my Zeiss 6X loupe, which was much more expensive, and has much less magnification. I also have a 30X jeweler's loupe, and that I won't use anymore. Anything you see through that last lens is far from reality - too dark, too difficult to focus, not a sharp field of focus, and awful distortion.

In case you have an object that you can't look at with the acrylic base mounted on the PEAK, you can actually take the base off - it is a screw in base.

I'd say, go for the PEAK New 22X 3 element loupe!
Very highly recommended.

Warm regards, Wim

Wim - Is that the type of loupe that can be held by your cheek so you can work with both hands? I'm really needing a 3rd hand - Rob

No, unfortunately not .

Here's a link: http://www.pgiinc.com/22xpelo1.html

Try woodbin for the type of loupe you are looking for, I think they have them.

Warm regards, Wim

This is only 16 power.. but the price is good.. $3.99 .....they also have some loupes for the same amount...but they only go to 10 power... unless a couple could be glued together... which is essentially how this eyeglass add on gets to 16.5 power...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=94364

My main thought about the microscope is that when tweaking nibs I often find myself looking at the nib straight on. (with the nib pointed straight at my eye). In order to do that with the microscope, the scope would probably have to be jacked up several inches and the stage removed.

OK, based on your feedback, I decided to get the clip-on type of eyeglass loupe and give that a whirl first. Donegan makes one that goes 5x-10x-15x and it is not too expensive to try.

Now as soon as my other nib grinding supplies arrive, it will be smooth writing!

Thanks for your help,
Rob

As Ron noted (as as experience teaches), two eyes are MUCH better than one when it comes to nib work. Whatever solution you choose, I strongly recommend it be binocular. You don't need nearly as much magnification, either, when you are bringing both eyes to bear on your workpiece.

For casual repair work, working distance isn't going to be that important, but if you are going to be spending hours each day looking through lenses, it will pay to get something with a fair amount of eye relief. It's not good for your neck having to hold your work too close to your face.