Has anyone tried one of these loupe / comparators with a reticle?

I am waiting to hear also. I have often thought the angle one would be useful.
 
It would seem it’s all about what you are trying to do. These loupes seem to be for really small stuff as I think you lose accuracy if you raise them above the base. I’ve seen some really cheap comparators and been really tempted, but so far have talked myself down.
 
I've got one, and it's useful enough but has limits. The reticle has to be pressed against the item being
measured, or it's not quite possible to focus on both at the same time. That means measuring a thread pitch
never goes well (you can't focus simultaneously on the profile and the scale).

A measuring microscope with a reticle eyepiece can be focused on the thread profile while
the reticle is at the prime focus (but not exposed to dirt or scratching). That, I've found useful;
I fabricated a 'line head' socket after doing careful measurement of the dimple sizes and shapes.

For linen work, and for text/font examination, the reticle comparator is handy. But, a loupe and
a fine-divisions steel rule is usually more convenient in the shop.
 
I used to have a similar one when I was working. They work OK for flat stuff but they don't work as well with uneven surfaces, I have a 10x and a 20x handheld loupe that I use for detailed inspection of parts, etc. I use lighted magnifiers on my lathes and electronic workbenches. I also have a microscope set up for use on my mills that I can use as an optical comparator. With it, I can resolve features to .0001" and accurately measure them. Although I have a DRO on both machines, they can work as well without the DRO; just a bit more work.
www.hobby-machinist.com

[Metrology] - Mill Spindle Mounted Microscope (aka Cheap Optical Comparator)

I had thought about building a spindle mounted microscope for the Tormach for some time. The idea was to cannibalize and old phone or adapt a webcam camera but the optics was rather daunting some the project was shelved. About a month ago, I saw an ad for a USB 50 - 500X microscope on eBay for...
www.hobby-machinist.com www.hobby-machinist.com
 
I used one many years ago to determine scribe line width, we were scribing a grid to dimension lofted plastic film of ship's plates so that they could be manually laid out the old fashioned way, we used a height gage with a phonograph needle that was stoned off at the point to achieve a definite scribe width, the plastic sheets were originally used with a projection system that guided a burning machine.
 
Once piece of equipment that I don't have but wish I did is a stereo microscope. They have a greater depth of field and you can see detail that is difficult to discern with a monocular viewer.
 
RJSakowski said:
Once piece of equipment that I don't have but wish I did is a stereo microscope.
Click to expand...
I have 3 sitting on my bedroom floor at the moment . Dabbler wants one on my next trip out to Calgary but the other 2 are up for grabs , and CHEAP ! :grin: Used to use the loupes way back in the day also . Mostly on EDM work .
 
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