Vintage Vickers M12A Metallurgical Microscope with LED Upgrade, Mechanical Stage

Here we have a very sound working example of a specialist M12A metallurgical microscope by Vickers, with an LED upgrade for the vertical illuminator. This example is serial number M124865A, probably dating from the 1970s. The working condition is generally pretty good, with some cosmetic scratches to the base of the frame and wear on the stage surface - exactly what one would expect for an example of this vintage. Turning to the main technical details of this vintage metallurgical microscope set-up, we have.

A rotatable monocular eyepiece unit that's fitted with a 10x magnification Vickers Complan eyepiece with integral eye-cup. The main focus system moves the stage in a vertical plane, with concentric controls at the base of the frame. There is a smooth action through the twin-sided thumb-wheels - travel and focus are both good.

Note that the frame is not designed to tilt. The stage can also be raised and lowered manually via a small thumb-screw on the right hand side, in order to accommodate different sample thicknesses - shown in one of the later photos in the listing. Fine focus adjustment essentially works within the main focus adjustment when smaller inputs are made via the fine focus thumb-wheels which also have a nice smooth action.

There are four quality objective lenses that are suited to this metallurgical set-up with a usable selection of progressive magnification and a rotating 4-way turret, which clicks into place positively as each objective is rotated into position: Vickers Microplan - 5x Vickers Microplan - 10x Cooke - 20x Met. Vickers Microplan - 40x Met.

(effective magnification therefore ranges from 50x to 400x). The black painted surface has largely worn away to reveal the yellow brass underneath, which has the effect of endowing the stage with a lovely aged patina commensurate with this example's age and use over time. There's drop-down x-y thumb-wheel controls positioned under the stage, both with fairly smooth action and there's also a single sample clip present on the stage to retain samples during viewing. Sample illumination is currently provided via an electric vertical illuminator mechanism attached to the main optical tube.

It's been upgraded to LED illumination and is currently fitted with a 6V BA9S reflector LED bulb that's held in a replacement bulb carrier. The LED bulb is powered by a switched 5V transformer that's attached to the lower part of the frame and just plugs into a standard 240V wall socket. The LED illumination worked well during testing, producing a pool of cool blue/white light of adequate intensity onto the metallurgical specimen.

The illuminator column also contains various lenses/mirrors and two iris mechanisms for vertical sample illumination via the objective lenses - it's shown in action towards the end of the listing photos. The overall condition of this specialist metallurgical microscope is pretty good with some signs of wear to the paint finish on the frame in areas where one would expect to see some signs of use for a vintage piece of technical equipment like this. In summary, this is a very usable vintage technical metallurgical microscope from well-known British engineering firm Vickers with good optics and it may well appeal to those seeking a vintage metallurgical microscope from a quality British maker. It's supplied with a useful range of objective lenses appropriate to its configuration, the must-have mechanical stage and a modern low power and low voltage LED illumination solution. At this price point it's good value and can always be upgraded further with other parts from the Vickers Instruments' parts bin, such as - a binocular head, higher magnification objective lenses, eyepiece inserts (graticules) and other accessories. This microscope equipment will be partially dismantled, well wrapped and very well packaged for transport. It will be dispatched by insured courier upon receipt of cleared funds. Thanks for looking - please check out my other listings - mainly eclectic artworks and vintage optics, plus some other cool stuff. The item "Vintage Vickers M12A Metallurgical Microscope with LED Upgrade, Mechanical Stage" is in sale since Saturday, May 2, 2020. This item is in the category "Antiques\Science/Medicine\Scientific Instruments".

The seller is "arcboutant" and is located in Glasgow. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei darussalam, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Grenada, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Cambodia, Saint kitts and nevis, Liechtenstein, Macao, Monaco, Martinique, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Paraguay, Turks and caicos islands, Aruba, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Chile, Bahamas, Costa rica, Dominican republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, El salvador, Trinidad and tobago, Uruguay, Viet nam.

Period: 1951 to Present
Material: Steel
Type: Microscope
Brand: Vickers Instruments
MPN: Does Not Apply