Hi Robyn,
I don't really need any of your Microscope lamps as I have several identical ones of my own, (even down to having the cords chopped off!!) However, I thank you for enlightening me as to exactly what they are. I had wondered, but never enough to really investigate thoroughly what they were/did.
Having seen yours, and noted that your cords are chopped off, as are mine, I have now investigated mine to find out why. What I have found is that the light has a metal case, but the case is NOT earthed. In the "Olden Days" it was not considered necessary to earth a light fitting, but these days, such items would NEVER get past the Test-Tag man. That means that they need to either be modified by an electrician to earth the metal case, or otherwise NOT used in ANY school or commercial premises. I guess you could use them at home, but remembering that there is a good reason for insisting that metal cases be earthed.
I will probably keep one of mine for my "Old Equipment" museum, and toss the rest.
The cast iron bases might be good for weights for gluing things, or for paper weights. It seems a shame to toss such nice irises, but we can't keep everything.
I hope this helps.
Cheers
Ian
