The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Recently I decided that I needed a jewlers loupe to look at my Edison DD stylus and my Model H's stylus but I don't know what magnifacation I need to look closely at the tips to see if they are chipped, cracked, worn, etc. So are there any loupes that stand out and do the job well?
-Tom

I believe a jeweller's loupe would be most useful to examine phonograph stylii at phonograph swapmeets, yard sales, etc. to get a first impression whether there are obvious signs of damage. However, in my personal experience, to make a reliable assessment of subtle wear would require a microscope, with a minimum of 50x and a maximum of 100x. As I have mentioned on this website before, I go even further by using a stereo (3D) microscope to make critical examinations. I also shine a powerful LED flashlight at various angles 1" from the stylus to highlight flat spots or any other defects.

Would this be a good jewlers loupe to purchase since it's 100x? http://www.tmart.com/100X-Jewelry-Gem-P ... aQodPCIAtA
-Tom

As far as small, led lit loupes and pocket
microscopes go, they are a big help.

I have one that's about 60 power or so
and it has a very bright led light.
It's very small, fits in a shirt pocket.

Those are available for about $5 each.

One time many years ago I worked at a place
that had a 400 power stereo inspection
microscope with revolving stage, and bright light. I took in all of my Edison recorders
and reproducers and spent hours wandering
over the vast landscape of those sapphires
at 400 power!

So, you can spend anywhere from about 5 bucks up to at least $5000 and upward, depending upon how much you want to be able to see, and how badly you desire to see it.

Microscopes work like this:
More money spent on a quality device equals
more detail seen. There is virtually no
limit on this. If you really want to see it
all in great, clear detail, get out your
checkbook and start writing.

Chuck

Thank you all so much for the help, I think I will go with the 100x magnification because I have a stylus on my edison that I have questions about.
-Tom

I don't know if it works, but it has three 5 star positive ratings...! I particularly like the one from Sam Shore in California...

I never even noticed the comment
-Tom

Well, 100 power should show you some detail.
At 60 power, I missed seeing the worn flat
on my DD reproducer's stylus the first
go-around.

It was very obviously severely damaging the
records, so out came the reproducer and a few
minutes later, out came the stylus bar pin
and soon I was holding the stylus bar under
the loupe, looking at it some more under
very bright light.

Being able to rotate the stylus around through
any angle, in the light, quickly revealed
the worn flat. It looks like the top of
a little tiny volcanic mountain that had its
top blown clear off, at a slight angle.

The edge of that flat is very sharp and that's
what cuts the records.

The new stylus looks nice and round and very
shiny. The light reflects off of the round
tip and thus shines a bright and very tiny
reflection off of the rounded tip.

Once you know what to look for, even at
60 power, you can see it quite clearly.
100 power will be better yet.

But, I tell you what: I wish I could use
another one of those nice stereo inspection
microscopes at 400 power sometime again!

That was a real adventure, and nothing I've ever used since has yielded that amount of vast detail.

For a few thousand bucks, I am sure one of
those could be found.

Chuck

Tom: I looked at the "loupe" that you are considering. A loupe is generally nothing but a high-powered magnifying glass. limited to 5-30X. With both objective lens and eyepiece, the optic you are considering is actually a microscope, a cheap microscope. You can't be burned too badly for only six dollars, but I imagine the lenses are plastic and won't rival the quality of a Leitz! I hope you will report back your impressions of it after trying it. Who knows, it might work well enough.

Chuck: Your descriptions of a worn stylus with a flat spot and sharp edge are dead on and match what I have seen. As a collector of stereo microscopes, I am curious to know more about the brand and model of the 400x scope you were using. What combination of objective and eyepieces did you use to achieve 400x? You must know that using 400x in stereo microscopy is highly unusual. At such power, the field of view, depth of field and working distance are extremely limited. The lens apertures are tiny and require a powerful light to see anything. Alignment of the objective lens pair is extremely critical at such magnifications. I have two scopes (Leitz and Reichert) that top out at 200x and 240x - they were designed for biological work. I have visited jewellers to examine their equipment and found they usually don't exceed 30 or 40 power.

I want to assure the readers here that a quality 100x scope is sufficient to meet their needs. Regular microscopes will work, but stereo microscopes are very much preferred - seeing is believing. A good, used stereo microscope can sometimes be found for a few hundred dollars. Just be aware they often have alignment problems, so it is best not to buy one without prior scrutiny.

Tom, let us know how well it works. If it does, I'll get one too.

Clay