Headband Magnifier Selection - What Magnification?

July 11, 2012

Thanks to great advice from FPN members I recently acquired an outstanding Belomo triplet 10x loupe. Excellent optical clarity combined with large width of field (compared to other 10x loupes) and I can see everything I need to see.

Second and final optical device I need to choose is a hands-free option. I am keen to go for something binocular rather than squint through one eye only at what I'm doing and I'm definitely not a fan of cheap plastic optics.

I've found several styles / brands available and the price differential seems based around optical quality / build quality and magnification offered (and obviously, brand). Assuming I am capable of choosing the optical and build qualities that suit my budget, my question for this thread is:

What magnification do repairers use on headband magnifiers?! 2x and 3x seem common factors, with some (apparently some of the cheaper ones) claiming to allow for doubling up of lenses to achieve 6x mag!? Is this necessary or not? What magnification do you use?! :blink:

July 12, 2012

I don't. Not to say that it doesn't work for others. Richard always works with one, David Nishimura swears by one. I get dizzy when I use one. I work with a magnifying lamp most of the time - nose almost to the glass. But I like the magnification and extra light. When I really need to see I use a 16X jewelers loupe - just one eye, with the loupe in front of the dominant eye. It's my choice for nib work. I find that any thing less than this doesn't magnify enough for me to see the detail that I need.

July 12, 2012

I use the Donnegan brand which is available at Amazon.com. While it is plastic it is of good quality and the lenses can be cleaned with any solution that is intended for eyeglasses. The Donnegan is actually a visor system that you can add to (headlamp & loupe) and has interchangable optics. I use the 2x lenses because I find that the 3x and greater require me to hold my project closer to my eye to resolve the image. With the 2x I find I have adaquate magnification and I can work on my project at arms length (i.e. on the desk in front of me).

July 12, 2012

Really great and thoughtful answers! Thanks very much for these invaluable perspectives! I had been thinking that a Belomo x 20 might be needed for close-up nib smoothing work but I'm not that far down the road yet.

I will look into magnifying lamps and check out the Donnegan!

July 12, 2012

If you buy a magnifying lamp, spend the money for a Dazor or a professional quality brand. They are expensive, I will grant you that, but worth every penny.

I bought my first at an antique shop for $10. I replaced the switch and then used it at the bench for years. In the mean time I used all kinds of other brands/sizes in my kit that I take to pen shows. I always felt like I was working blind, so I bought another for the bench, and started schlepping the old one to pen shows.

I don't know if they have them in the UK, but I bet that if you asked a jeweler or clock repair guy what their magnifying lamp is you'd find out what the good ones are.

If you end up with one that has a standard light socket in it, use a compact fluorescent bulb instead of an incandescent bulb. It's possible to buy really compact, high lumen bulbs. You can get much more light than with an incandescent (because of heat issues) and they won't burn your hand if you get too close.

July 12, 2012

Ron - Have you tried any of the new LED replacement bulbs? I use an LED strip to light a radio worktable, but I have not yet found a replacement for the incandescent bulbs that is worth the price.

July 12, 2012

If you buy a magnifying lamp, spend the money for a Dazor or a professional quality brand. They are expensive, I will grant you that, but worth every penny.

I bought my first at an antique shop for $10. I replaced the switch and then used it at the bench for years. In the mean time I used all kinds of other brands/sizes in my kit that I take to pen shows. I always felt like I was working blind, so I bought another for the bench, and started schlepping the old one to pen shows.

I don't know if they have them in the UK, but I bet that if you asked a jeweler or clock repair guy what their magnifying lamp is you'd find out what the good ones are.

If you end up with one that has a standard light socket in it, use a compact fluorescent bulb instead of an incandescent bulb. It's possible to buy really compact, high lumen bulbs. You can get much more light than with an incandescent (because of heat issues) and they won't burn your hand if you get too close.

I've found a couple of potential prospects... Do you use the rectangular shaped lens or the round one? The rectangular ones look great for a nice wide field of view! Thankfully there appears to be a good quality version of such lamps available in UK for a bit less than the Dazor costs!!

Edit: A certain auction site has just sent me a voucher to spend (after I hassled them recently! so good timing! Actually, what am I talkin about!? Vouchers to spend are always good timing!

Edited July 12, 2012 by Marlow

July 12, 2012

The best one I have found is from Harbor Freight tools, it comes with a kit of extra lens's in different magnification's.......I keep it on the highest one which is about an 8 I believe.....It cost a whole 8.99USD...... If you need the part number to look it up on their site just let me know and I'll go up stairs and get it as I have a back up just in case anything were to go wrong with the current one I have.....But as of now it's a shinning star and I use it almost every day....