Had another engineer ask me about a camera adapter for the Tooke Gage. Alas, not yet.

My next big project, after getting the new enhanced custom-made microscopes is a camera adapter for the Tooke Gage. I’ve done some preliminary investigation and discussion with possible sources, but have nothing solid yet. (Please send me any details or requirements y’all would like for an adapter; it will help me zero in on what is needed!)

There are lots of cameras/adapters are available, but most that I’ve found so far require unscrewing the eye piece and screwing in the adapter — and I visualize a guy in a safety harness hanging off a bridge abutment, watching in horror as the just-removed eyepiece tumbles down into a gorge!

OH NO!

Other possibilities I’ve looked into can’t measure or can’t ‘see’ on the fine scale we need. I need to find an adapter that mounts ON the gauge, rather than requiring modification OF the gauge.

Currently, what I do — and what most likely cannot be done in a safety harness — is hold an ‘instamatic-style’ camera lens to the scope, and take many pix to get a couple usable ones… It’s (way!) less than optimal, but it’s all I have at the moment.

Email me, and I’ll add you to my ‘list of folks who want to be notified’ when I finally get a working adapter! Or just keep an eye on the blog — I will absolutely be announcing it when I succeed!

As part of the upgrading of the OG202 metal-bodied Tooke gauges, going forward, the OG202s will be anodized. Aluminium alloys are anodized to increase corrosion resistance and increase surface wear resistance . The anodic layer is non-conductive. Anodizing will protect the aluminum parts by making the surface much harder than natural aluminum. Aluminum oxide is grown out of the surface during anodizing and then becomes aluminum hydrate, which is extremely hard. The porous nature of the anodized layer allows the product to be dyed. Type II anodizing gives an anodized layer of 0.0002″to 0.001″.

The following text is modified from the Aluminum Anodizers Council http://www.anodizing.org/Anodizing/benefits.html:

Anodizing’s Benefits
Durability. Most anodized products have an extremely long life span. Anodizing is a reacted finish that is integrated with the underlying aluminum for total bonding and unmatched adhesion.

Color Stability. Exterior anodic coatings provide good stability to ultraviolet rays and do not chip or peel.

Ease of Maintenance. Scars and wear from fabrication, handling, installation, frequent surface dirt cleaning and usage are virtually non-existent. Rinsing or mild soap and water cleaning usually will restore an anodized surface to its original appearance. Mild abrasive cleaners can be used for more difficult deposits.

Aesthetics. Anodizing offers color alternatives and unlike other finishes, anodizing allows the aluminum to maintain its metallic appearance.

Health and Safety. Anodizing is a safe process that is not harmful to human health. An anodized finish is chemically stable, will not decompose; is non-toxic; and is heat-resistant to the melting point of aluminum (1,221 degrees F.)

Since the anodizing process is a reinforcement of a naturally occurring oxide process, it is non-hazardous and produces no harmful or dangerous by-products.

Since Michael’s death, Micro-Metrics has been unable to produce the metal bodied OG202 Tooke Paint Inspection Gauge. The main reason was a very frustrating inability to get the machined bodies from the machinist who had made them for a couple of decades. After much stress and trying to get them from him, I found a local machinist who has an astonishing work ethic – and a CNC machine! I had an old drawing (like a blueprint) of the metal body, and a single prepared body that Michael had left behind.

My new machinist and I have been working for several months to decipher, refine, and update the drawing (in his computer) to allow the CNC machine to cut, drill, and mill the bodies. (It takes some 30 steps to make an OG202 body out of a slug of metal — and that’s just preparing the raw body!)

Here’s what the new OG202 looks like:

Notice the nice chamfered edge to the body.

The major change is the lack of a cut-through of the body into the battery compartment.

Old-style gauge:

New-style gauge (If you look closely, you can see the tip slot numbering):

Closer view of the tip slot numbering:

I hope, by the end of March, to be shipping the new gauges. I already have 13 OG202s on order, and am having my new machinist make 36 bodies to start. (I was able to send out five prototypes of the new version, which have met with a very positive response.)