Actually, you just need a hand lens and not a microscope. This is my favorite, good lens, built-in LED lights, and inexpensive! (I bought several of these for the shop - handy in the machine shop, around wood, for splinters...):
magnifier.jpg
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMDIOBK
Hoadley recommends a 10x magnifier. The guy at the Wood Database says 10x is ideal but anything from 8x-15x is suitable.
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...ication-guide/
I do use a microscope just because I have one on my desk. Note that most microscopes do not have a low enough power to be useful; I couldn't use my laboratory microscopes unless I wanted to look at the cells! The one I use is a low-power stereo microscope, 15x at the lowest power.
JKJ