Under water scope

[Beagleboy]

I have finally finished my scope today. The last thing was the plexiglass that just arrived today from ebay (3mm A4 size for $7.99). On the picture below is my son with the Dremel cutting the plexiglass. It had to fit between the pipe and the drain fitting exactly. He did a great job. Just put a bead of silicon where the glass goes and than you can push the pipe on top of the glass.
I did not glue it in case I ever need to change the glass.

I used PVC pipe that was an off cut from my crevice pump and PVC drain fitting from Bunnings for about $5.00. The inside was sprayed with matt black paint I bought at a trash & treasure market for $2.99 and the handle for $1.00. Cost to build this was minimal, very easy and it looks like a bought one.

 

[TenOunce Tone]

The gold will never see you coming for it, looks great, can I ask why you went with a black interior? I would have thought white or PVC grey would have been better to get the light under the water.

Good luck looking at gold in its hiding holes.

Cheers, Tone

 

[Beagleboy]

The gold will never see you coming for it, looks great, can I ask why you went with a black interior? I would have thought white or PVC grey would have been better to get the light under the water.

Good luck looking at gold in its hiding holes.

Cheers, Tone

I have looked at few different ones on the net and they recommended to paint it black on the inside.

 

[farmeroz]

Good idea, could be handy to have

 

[gavfromoz]

Great job. I've seen this a few times over the net and was wondering when someone on the forum would actually start a thread about it. I've seen it in action and it almost as good as being under the water yourself. Hmmm, time for a trip to Bunnings in the morning I think May your ventures be fruitful and as Wal&Liz say ... may the gold shine brightly in your scope.

 

[Hunting the yellow]

here's my one mines made of a magnifying glass in the end works great and my one only cost $3 all up cos I already had every think except the glass in the end

 

[Ag Man]

Well done Beagle.
I made one too but not as flash as the ones in this thread.

Just some PVC pipe & a piece of perspex glued to one end.
Once the glue dried I used an angle grinder to cut off the excess perspex & then the bench grinder to round it & smooth off the edges.

They work great hey

 

[Marked]

....can I ask why you went with a black interior? I would have thought white or PVC grey would have been better to get the light under the water.

Lighter coloured interiors can cause reflections on the lower glass that can obscure what you are attempting to look at. Matt/Flat black is ideal.

 

[ChrisM]

That looks great Beagle.
Its on the list to build now. Thanks for posting
Cheers
Chris

 

[Beagleboy]

....can I ask why you went with a black interior? I would have thought white or PVC grey would have been better to get the light under the water.

Lighter coloured interiors can cause reflections on the lower glass that can obscure what you are attempting to look at. Matt/Flat black is ideal.

That is excactly what I have used. Matt black. You just have to give it few coats to make it not run.

 

[Matty_K]

This is a great idea. Might have to knock one up next time im in the shed messing around.
Thanks for the info and pics so at least i can pretend I know what im doing when I attempt building one.

 

[navieko]

Nice job, looks professionally done! Just out of curiosity, in what circumstances do you use it in and what would you be looking for? I'll have to see what I got laying in the shed and make one up myself!

Cheers.

 

[Marked]

Largely useful for working underwater crevices/looking for natural gathering places underwater. Some of the best sluices and riffles are those made by nature itself.

 

[Still Looking]

be great for spying fishes too..

 

[TenOunce Tone]

Building one tomorrow. Got a length of 100 mm pvc. Just need a end cap and perspex or magnify glass.. job done

 

[WalnLiz]

You and me need the magnifying glass version Tone...so the gold flakes look like nuggets,

 

[gavfromoz]

hahahahaa I love that idea Wal, God, that was funny lol.

I've finally finished mine, it's a long bugger, 1M in length, I've used silicon to hold the perspex window in place but I've only push-fitted the flaring end, this is so that I can remove it for cleaning purposes as the unit is so long. Reason for the length is to save my back lol, hopefully I can see all the way down without glasses

 

[joe]

Question, would this work or is anyone using this as under water scope? (2.4 LCD Video Inspection Camera Pipe Borescope Endoscope waterproof TV output) can add 3M extention, comes with 1M

 

[garnethawkins]

Done well mate, how does she go? Might have to build me one

 

[Marked]

hahahahaa I love that idea Wal, God, that was funny lol.

I've finally finished mine, it's a long bugger, 1M in length, I've used silicon to hold the perspex window in place but I've only push-fitted the flaring end, this is so that I can remove it for cleaning purposes as the unit is so long. Reason for the length is to save my back lol, hopefully I can see all the way down without glasses

All that is required for these to work is to sit a couple of inches into the water (unless you are building the magnifying version) as the biggest barrier to being able to see into moving water is the varied reflection/refraction of the turbulent surface. If you aren't standing in the middle of rapids, you may even get away with using a scuba/snorkeling mask to do the job.

Having said that, a long version may be of use in an overly bright and glare-y environment...