Vintage W. Watson & Sons Ltd - Bactil Monocular Microscope

Description: Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE This listing is for a well presented vintage Bactil monocular microscope in black and chrome finish by Watson of London. It's manufacture dates to 1956 based on the sequential Watson production number of 119101, which is engraved onto both the main tube - note the monocular head is non-matching numbers. This instrument is a nice example in black with chrome-plated bright-work; it's in very good pretty-well original condition (except for the replacement monocular head) and benefits from a good set of period optics described below and a mechanical stage that's also in excellent condition. It presents really well with chrome that's showing hardly any signs I can find of age-related spotting, which makes this an ideal piece for a collector, or someone looking for a top quality display example of a retro instrument that's also technically sound and perfectly usable. This instrument is really quite a heavy-weight microscope and an excellent piece of British optical engineering. It's a prime example of the quality Watson brand with use of appropriate materials and a quality that one just doesn't find in modern instruments. This sturdy heavy-weight microscope is working well, with few signs of wear and just a little light patina to the black painted surfaces and scuffing to the stage surface which is what you'd want to see for an example that's been well used and also well looked after. It's got a great vintage look and feel and I hope that the listing photos do the instrument justice. The technical details for the Bactil binocular include - coarse focus which is by thumb-wheel controlled rack and pinion, with smooth movement. The fine focus mechanism is a vernier screw/cam arrangement which also moves easily requiring only a light touch especially now that I've re-lubricated the mechanism. There is very little evidence of wear to the focus movements, which have also been given a sympathetic clean. The instrument also tilts for inclined viewing and can be further tightened by the limb tension lever as required. Turning to the optics, this Watson Bactil is fitted with a monocular unit that's nice and clean internally, it fits into dovetails in the main tube and is tightened into place with a small chrome thumb-screw. The unit can be removed very easily for cleaning or maintenance and can of course be substituted for a binocular head if one becomes available, because this Bactil is fitted with the extra-wide coarse focus thumb-wheels which allow fitting of the specific Bactil binocular head. The eyepiece supplied is as follows: - 12x magnification It's also got lovely clear optics and four good quality vintage objectives all by Watson. It's fitted with a Watson quadruple turret which rotates smoothly with a positive feel when the objectives are correctly aligned. The supplied objectives are as follows: - 40mm Para by Watson - 4x magnification - 16mm Para by Watson - 10x magnification - 4mm Para by Watson - 40x magnification - 2mm Para by Watson 100x magnification - oil immersion objective Overall therefore, the range of magnification provided by this Watson Bactil ranges from about 60x to a maximum of 1,200x magnification with its current compliment of lenses and when using oil immersion with the 100x objective lens. The instrument stage is a rectangular non-rotating mechanical stage which is an original Watson factory-fitted model in brass and black paint finish, known as the "flat-top" mechanical stage, which has silvered vernier scales for both axes. There's also a slide holder mechanism with two armatures fitted into a dovetail recess in the stage surface, one of which is sprung and this system is excellent for retaining slides during inclined viewing and when the axes are being moved around. The x/y controls are on the right-hand side, non-concentric and free-running, therefore offering good smooth control of specimen positioning - the y-axis also holds position on inclination and has a tightening mechanism to ensure that it holds position. Turning to the sub-stage, we have a Watson Aplanatic condenser in a ring mount with quick-release feature allowing quick changes of condenser type. The condenser assembly sits in a height adjustable rack and pinion carrier with centering via twin thumb-screws, a working iris with smooth action as well as double 35mm swing-out filter carriers located below.Lighting is provided via an over-size plano-concave mirror on an adjustable brass support arm and gimbal, with near perfect silvering to both sides. This instrument is quite an imposing visual treat for the eyes and it's in very good condition, therefore it's a rather collectable example as is in just the right period condition for a collector looking for a really nice retro instrument and of course can be further enhanced with the addition of a suitable binocular unit. There's no storage case with this example at the present time. Owing to the weight and delicacy of the microscope, it will be partially dismantled, very well wrapped for shipping and dispatched by insured courier upon receipt of cleared funds. Anyone who's bought instruments from me previously will know that I take great care and pride in packing and shipping items including both domestic and international services. Overseas buyers please use the eBay Global Shipping option if available for your territory, or contact seller for options and costs. Please study the photos as they also form part of the description. Thanks for looking - please also check out my other listings if you get a chance.

Price: 165 GBP

Location: Glasgow

End Time: 2024-11-27T12:32:30.000Z

Shipping Cost: 108.04 GBP