Egypt4u

Looking good may I suggest that you turn the slider rail so that it move the camera in and out rather than side to side as it will give you more versatility in pre-focusing the object. As for the dead flies, well I can lend you some.

Oh my goodness Grandad - definitely not a woman's house - just happened to have a clamp hanging about?

Good photo of the pen though

H, it is the left/right traverse that you can see in the pic. The to and fro slider is reversed so I could get closer to the lens. As I said, still some refinement needed, not least right angled specimen holders to reach so that I can turn the slider the right way round and get very close to the lens.

BTW, the manual focusing with the X10 is very good. It automatically enlarges the image to assist with focusing......so clever these japanese

With regards to flying specimens, I only want ones with spread wings and a smile on their faces.

LLL, I have to be ready to cope with any situation and my desk has to morph to meet many demands, even a nail bar, for me to do Mrs G's nails I have to be multi skilled in this house



Toe nails are more difficult with this set up

I see now, it looked as if you only had the one rail set up as side to side as I couldn't make out the other rail on your image.
Yes Grandad you have the same technology on your camera as my X-S1 and the zoom function for the image when using manual focus is a great help especially doing detailed stuff like this.
Some thing I find usefull as a holder is one of those clampy things with crocodile clips that you get for assisting with small soldering jobs, I am sure you know what I mean, heavy base, adjustable sliding bars that can swivel and a couple of small crocodile clamps for holding two bits of wire in place as you solder them.

Some thing I find useful as a holder is one of those clampy things with crocodile clips that you get for assisting with small soldering jobs,

Something I don't have and could often find a use for. Just ordered one on ebay complete with 60mm magnifier, £4.99 free postage from Birmingham......how do they do it?

Multi task desk! Good one.........

And guys - I've lived my entire life getting by with a butter knife & kitchen table and have NEVER had a clamp to hold anything!

LLL, there are times when I think some threads should divide into Girls and Boys, just like the entrance doors at my old (very old) secondary school.

First, let's clear one thing up to start. The tools used are 'cramps' and they 'clamp' things together.

Second, girls never need to clamp anything so have no need for cramps.

Third, boys do often need to clamp things and as we are born with only have two hands, and often need one or two more, we call on the mechanical assistance of cramps.

So cramps are a boys thing and we would not expect you girls to get a grip on what clamping with cramps is all about.

Here are some of my cramps but there are others like mole grips and frame cramps that I didn't bother to clutter the picture with......and confuse you even more. Just accept, it's all boys stuff



I know Horus's eagle eye will spot something that is not a cramp or a clamp but a lifter, in mid image. Don't use that any more H but it does come in useful sometimes.......oh, and forgot to mention there is also a small vice.

Ohhhh goodness - clamps and cramps! Never ever heard of a cramp (other than leg) and here I am decades into living a life without one! Whatever have I been missing in life!

My tool kit is 1 hammer and a butter knife!!

The clamps and cramps do look impressive though. You'd fit right in with the son in law who has chromed his work bench!! He LOVES his tools and they live like jewels. He has stuff like you have - clamps, cramps and most (if not all) his tools run off of air compression. He is even beyond regular old fashioned hand tools

Well Grandad I did spot a good assortment of woodworking tools probably chisels, some screwdrivers, I think a dot punch? A couple of woodworkers ‘back marks’ some nice one handed single grip cramps, a vice cramp for drilling, two very nice heavy duty sash cramps, a corner frame cramp and a nice assortment of ‘G’ cramps. I can’t quite make out the small object, but suspect it is some sort of metal hole punch? That just leaves the one to the right of the single grip cramps which looks like the type for compressing valve springs or for pushing out bearings etc.

LLL said

He is even beyond regular old fashioned hand tools

I'm just a regular old fashioned guy LLL. Learned to use hand tools at school, from my dad, and as an apprentice. The only air tool I have is a nailer/stapler. My favourite power tools are two routers that are 'do everything' tools. My bench is wooden so when it gets in a mess I just plane it down a bit. All small scale and basic but it has worked for me and I have done so much work in my little den.

@Horus. You don't miss anything H It is all very basic stuff in a very small workshop, den, doghouse, or shed, or whatever I choose to call it.
The 'lifter' is an fact a side valve spring compresser from the days of side valve engines, when I used to do all my own car maintenance. Cars are all too complicated these days for me to do much under the bonnet.

I am happy to add a few pics to show yours truly in his den, and more bits and pieces for Horus to search for.

Very tidy little workshop Grandad, dare not show you mine it is a total mess.
I have a similar small Pillar drill which are great for most jobs, but mine stalls on anything thick metal wise using HSS drills over about 10mm. You have a goodly selection of Planes and what may even be a ‘Jack’ plane but your head is obscuring my view, just spotted a ‘Surform’ as well on the shelf, a good range of ‘masking tape’ and a tidy little ‘Fret’ saw? Or maybe a small ‘band’ saw.

Second image you have lots of power tools many the same as mine, routers, jig saw, mangle grinder, bench grinder, combi grinder and belt sander? Ooh just spotted a ‘Brace & bit’ on the top shelf and what looks like an assortment of bits mustn’t forget the vari-angled offcut/mitre saw at the back. A good assortment of saws from Tenant to Fretwork to Carpenters, I would not be surprised if one of them was for laminates either. So with all your other adhesives, oils, screws and other gubbins I reckon you are pretty well fixed up and not much you can’t sort out in that workshop.

The only thing I can see missing from my own set-up is a couple of welding plants and a Workmate bench, we both do love our toys Grandad.

Two workmates in the garage H....no room for them in here. And one of them I have converted to a router bench for when I want to make replica mouldings etc to match existing archtraves and the like. Yes, that was my grand dads jack plane. There are lots more tools in the drawer units, mostly by usage ie: tiling, plumbing, electrics etc. and out of sight behind me is a shadow board with spanners etc. So as you say, I can cope with most situations. Never owned a welder but resorted to taking welding jobs to work when I was still working. Soldering is my limit now.

But I have drifted your macro thread too much Off to find something small to photograph right now

AHA!! I spotted one item we share in common Grandad - WD40!!! I have to admit I have a can of it and know how to use it too!

My father studied drafting, later apprenticed as a carpenter and then formed his own company building houses, offices, a dental clinic etc. OMG he had TOOLS! Lots were commercial ones and pneumatic nailers and well his workshop was huge. When he retired he kept quite a few of his tools along with his collection of hand tools he inherited from his father that were super old but so well built they'd still be working today (if workers still used 'em). I know at some point he downsized and I kinda think he gave most of his tools to my brother who is also a carpenter. Not sure whatever happened to the real oldie goldie tools though. I spent many an hour holding boards, carrying boards, shoveling and pushing wheelbarrows when I was younger.

LLL, I am really just a keen 'Do It Yourselfer' and have rarely called upon the services of tradesmen. It is true that I learned how to use the whole range of hand tools for wood and metal working but my apprenticed trade is MTS&O (Machine tool setter and operator), but after service in the RAF in that trade, I went into Engineering drafting, then Production Management and then finally for 20 years in Quality Assurance...

And now you know more about me than I know myself

That's a great wee work shop Grandad, I'm going to let Roy see that as I'm fed up of his tools spilling into other rooms

You definitely have an impressive work area. Very organized and tidy and methinks functional enough to let you turn your hand to anything.

@Kiya - Roy probably has a bizzillion tools related to his cars and stuff. He would definitely benefit from a look see at Grandad's area and get his own workshop set up.