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Bought a Wifi Digital microscope, intending to improve my blade sharpening skills and maybe even save some time sharpening.
Now I realize it has other uses, like inspecting abrasive scratches on finish to check removal of previous grits, the same for at fret polishing, and fret end treatment
Bottom picture is of a new double edged razor blade showing the bevels on the edge to give an idea of the magnification and resolution possible...
Does anyone have further potential uses for this bit of kit they can suggest?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

You could check your sandpaper to see how uniformly sized the granules are. Micron papers are supposed to have granules all about the same size. CAMI and P grades (FEPA) have a range of sizes on the same sheet.
If it is variable power you may be able to use it for wood identification under low power magnification.
If the magnification goes low enough and you can manage the hand/eye coordination through a monitor fitting and engraving inlay work (most of my microscopes magnify too much for that work) might be a possibility.

Cool. Interior inspection?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

If you're headed down the rabbit hole of blade sharpening, this site might be of interest: https://scienceofsharp.com/2016/11/03/o ... icroscope/
Go to the index for a list of articles.

We bought a digital microscope for our shop ten years ago to show customers who like a popular brand of strings why they are.... crap and have very poor quality control. Our microscope captures sloppy winds and such and drives the point home why this brand of strings should be avoided.

Colin, which brand / model did you get? I like the idea.

it is the "Cainda 4K WiFi Digital Microscope Camera for iPhone Android Phone and Windows Mac PC, 3840x2160P Portable Wireless Handheld Microscope "

Amazon Link -

https://www.amazon.com/3840x2160p-Microscope-Adjustable-Wireless-Portable/dp/B0CJV7NRZN/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2SPZEIWTM1RQ4&keywords=Cainda%2B4K%2B3840x2160P%2BWiFi%2BDigital%2BMicroscope&qid=1704959729&sprefix=cainda%2B4k%2B3840x2160p%2Bwifi%2Bdigital%2Bmicroscope%2B%2Caps%2C257&sr=8-4&th=1

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

If you could find graduated overlays (optical comparator) you could use it to measure the bevel angle on your sharps, or many measuring tasks, like measuring the tooth set on your saw blades, WBW thickness or bevel angle on purfling. You guys are always costing me money

Not a recommendation, just a reference for the little comparitor overlays, shown in this iGaging product (iGaging sells overlays separately):

https://www.amazon.com/iGaging-36-LED10 ... deae8f9840

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum