Huge increase in accuracy for only $14!

[journeyman Mick]

Well, if you need glasses that is :o . My eyes aren't as good (or as young) as they once were, so I've had to get reading glasses. They live in my office and I don't like to take them to the shed as I'm likely to forget to take them back to the house. I bought some 1 diopter reading/magnifying glasses from my local "$2 shop", for, you guessed it, two dollars each. They're small enough to sit on my nose and peer over (a la granny glasses) and I can easily read even the half mm markings on my steel rule with them.

I also bought two magnifying glasses for $5 ea from one of those warehouse type places. These were the type that have a cast iron base and swivelling arms for holding fishing flies etc. I modified one so the glass was mounted on the longest arm and stuck it on top of my TS fence. The glass sits over the magnified cursor on the rip fence meaning I don't need to wear glasses when using the TS. The other magnifying glass I mounted on the flipstop on the sliding table cross cut fence. This had a magnifier over the cursor but this makes it much clearer and easier to read.

Pic shows the mounted magnifying glasses, the original base with fly vices and my granny glasses. It's a bugger getting old, but accuracy doesn't have to suffer. ;)

Grandpa Mick

[gatiep]

Very good idea Gramps, now you can magnify the problem x 2!


:)

[bitingmidge]

On a similar note I have a pair of "bifocal" safety glasses, which are the duck's nuts as well.

Cheers,

P

[silentC]

I'm very fortunate that so far my eyesight has held up pretty well, (despite all those old wive's tales :eek: ) although I am only a spring chicken as yet.

I do find it a bit hard to pick the mm increments on the tablesaw fence, which doesn't have longer lines for the 5mm, so this idea might be of use to me too.

My dad has a pair of those $2 glasses which he uses when reading. I told him if he keeps reading through $2 glasses he will have $2 eyes before long. Oh well, at least he wont be able to read the retirement home application form that I'm planning to get him to sign one day soon :D

[Wood Borer]

Mick,

Good idea the only drawback is as Joe suggested, the gaps in the joints will look bigger and ......... :eek:

Do you have problems placing tools on marks etc when wearing the glasses?

I wear glasses (for the last 3 years or so) when reading and driving but not in the shed. They are expensive buggers and I don't want to damage them. I seem to cope OK but I might get a cheapie pair like yours for a trial.

[gatiep]

My problem is that I've been wearing glasses full time for the last 36 years. My wife always has a go at me for messing up my newest pair in the shed, but the problem is that I put them on in the morning and then just forget that I wear glasses. Its become second nature, so much so that it feels weird when I don't wear them. No ways do I remember to swapp the good ones for some old ones in the shed.

:)

[AlexS]

...It's a bugger getting old.... ;)

Grandpa Mick

Beats the alternative, though! :D

[MathewA]

With all the work you've gone to I'd say it's time you went and got some real glasses.

[Iain]

I wear bifocals for reading up close and at a slight distance, like pooter screen, I also have a pair of safety glasses with the same distance factor as my pooter (1.5)+, works well for me and I've been wearing glasses for reading since I was 15.
I can still read a street sign at 200 metres but can't read the bloody paper.

[ozwinner]

I can still read a street sign at 200 metres but can't read the bloody paper.
I doubt anyone could read the paper at 200 metres.....:eek:

Al :D

[beejay1]

Distance is no problem for me either iain but close up is a bugger and i put it down to the hours Ive spent each day on the computer since going self employed. Either that or my arms have shrunk.
I buy cheap 1.5 reading glasses and leave a pair in every room in the house including the workshop, that way theres always a pair to hand. I even have a couple of pairs in the car.
Somebody suggested that the cheapies are bad for your eyes,,dont know if thats true or not but I wouldnt want to buy several pairs of prescription glasses at £100 a pop.
beejay1

http://community.webshots.com/user/eunos9

[ozwinner]

I keep on getting reminders from the eye shop, they go along the lines of..

Dear Mr Wallet
I see our till needs replenishing again, and chance you could drop by, my Son in private school could do with a new foil so he can continue to learn fencing.
And he also needs a new pony for water polo.

Regards, I See'm-Cumming

[MajorPanic]

I'm like beejay, fine for distances but can't read ½mm graduations any more.
I've been using maganifiers for a couple of years now & their great except after you take them off..... I can't see detail for crap for 20 min or more.

Mind you I've got it better than a skipper I used to sail for. He would start out with the chart at arms length & then coller a passing deckie with "hey, hold this for me!" while he moved backward AWAY from the chart!! :eek:.
I sailed off-shore races with him for years & he never steered us wrong! :confused: :D

[ozwinner]

Arghhhhh me old 'earty.


Al :D

[Lucas]

Seen the Bi vocal safety glasses at Woodworkers warehouse today

from 1/2 to 4 1/2 range i think

[Rusty]

my Son in private school could do with a new foil so he can continue to learn fencing.
How about a new foily so he can learn bricklaying?:D

Bye.
Rus.

[journeyman Mick]

I don't have any problems putting tools on the mark, with or without the glasses. If I need to I can still use a tape without glasses but I need to use a fine pointer, like a sharp pencil to count any of the lines between the 5mm marks. Matthew, I've got real glasses but with the magnifying glasses set up on the saw it means I don't need to wear them. I rarely use the magnifying glasses, just if I've got some really precise set ups to do. I'd rather not wear glasses when I'm operating machinery, it's probably mainly because I'm not used to them. Just thought I'd share this for any of you that may be getting older also. ;)

Mick

[Soren]

I have been using glasses since I was in my teens, but last year, I had cateract surgery with Intraocular Lens implants in both eyes, and now for the first time in 40 years, I can see (distance) without glasses, but still need the $2 jobbies for reading and meassuring and setup. They also get referred to by my kids as 'grand-pa' glasses. A bit crook really as they are still only 9 and 5 years old. I know, I am a glutton for punishment, but at my age, they are still a joy. :)

[Iain]

Seen the Bi vocal safety glasses at Woodworkers warehouse today

from 1/2 to 4 1/2 range i think
Thata what I need, they could call out measurements in metric and imperial :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[silentC]

Somebody suggested that the cheapies are bad for your eyes,,dont know if thats true or not but I wouldnt want to buy several pairs of prescription glasses at £100 a pop

Well, it may or may not be an old wives' (or optometrists') tale, but I have always believed that wearing glasses with too strong a magnification will weaken your eye's ability to focus. I also remember putting on other peoples glasses for a laugh and then it taking a minute or two for my vision to get back to normal after taking them off.

The idea of going to an optometrist is that they assess the problem and measure the extent of it and then select lenses ground the right shape and thickness so that it enhances your eye's ability to focus, rather than replacing it. I reckon it's like any other muscle in your body and if you don't use it, you lose it.

But then, 16 years ago I went to an optometrist because I was finding my eyes were a bit blurred and sore after an overnight shift in front of the computer screen. He prescribed glasses which made me feel crook when I wore them, so I chucked them out. I hear his son became the fencing champ at his uni, so I guess that's OK.

When my wife was wearing gogs, the health fund paid for two pairs a year whether she needed them or not. Since getting the laser surgery done, she has never looked back. ;)

[Wood Borer]

Since getting the laser surgery done, she has never looked back. ;)

Sounds like they damaged her neck during the operation Darren. :D

[silentC]

Yes but they left the jaw muscles intact :(

[Sturdee]

Well, it may or may not be an old wives' (or optometrists') tale, but I have always believed that wearing glasses with too strong a magnification will weaken your eye's ability to focus. I also remember putting on other peoples glasses for a laugh and then it taking a minute or two for my vision to get back to normal after taking them off.

The idea of going to an optometrist is that they assess the problem and measure the extent of it and then select lenses ground the right shape and thickness so that it enhances your eye's ability to focus, rather than replacing it. I reckon it's like any other muscle in your body and if you don't use it, you lose it.



In most cases you are correct.

I have worn glasses since I was about 9 years old and it is true in my case. I regularly have them retested to make sure I have the right glasses.

However my wife at her eye specialist suggestion only use the $2 magnifying glasses for reading purposes.


Peter.

[silentC]

However my wife at her eye specialist suggestion only use the $2 magnifying glasses for reading purposes
I'm surprised they don't drum him/her out of the optometrist's club for that... I mean, with university education as costly as it is these days, how will they educate their children properly if that type of behaviour catches on?

[MathewA]

You never have problem putting tools on the mark or... you can't see if you missed:D :D :D either way it all works out in the end.

I've worn the blasted things since I was 3 years old. I'd love to be glasses free but something about having a powerful laser burn a few cell layers off my cornea just doesn't sit well with me.
In some sort of odd way it's been a blessing; being that I'm a wood worker I never get crap in my eyes.


I don't have any problems putting tools on the mark, with or without the glasses. If I need to I can still use a tape without glasses but I need to use a fine pointer, like a sharp pencil to count any of the lines between the 5mm marks. Matthew, I've got real glasses but with the magnifying glasses set up on the saw it means I don't need to wear them. I rarely use the magnifying glasses, just if I've got some really precise set ups to do. I'd rather not wear glasses when I'm operating machinery, it's probably mainly because I'm not used to them. Just thought I'd share this for any of you that may be getting older also. ;)

Mick

[Iain]

I never get crap in my eyes.
I do, when I am watching this screen, and in my ears when I go to the WWW show :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Sturdee]

I'm surprised they don't drum him/her out of the optometrist's club for that... I mean, with university education as costly as it is these days, how will they educate their children properly if that type of behaviour catches on?


He is so senior in his profession that he is no longer a member of the optometrist club but a consulting eye surgeon at a major hospital :D

And although this is very hard to believe he bulk bills as well. :D :D :D


Peter.

[MajorPanic]

Well, it may or may not be an old wives' (or optometrists') tale, but I have always believed that wearing glasses with too strong a magnification will weaken your eye's ability to focus. I also remember putting on other peoples glasses for a laugh and then it taking a minute or two for my vision to get back to normal after taking them off.

The idea of going to an optometrist is that they assess the problem and measure the extent of it and then select lenses ground the right shape and thickness so that it enhances your eye's ability to focus, rather than replacing it. I reckon it's like any other muscle in your body and if you don't use it, you lose it.

But then, 16 years ago I went to an optometrist because I was finding my eyes were a bit blurred and sore after an overnight shift in front of the computer screen. He prescribed glasses which made me feel crook when I wore them, so I chucked them out. I hear his son became the fencing champ at his uni, so I guess that's OK.

When my wife was wearing gogs, the health fund paid for two pairs a year whether she needed them or not. Since getting the laser surgery done, she has never looked back. ;)
I was advised by my Doctor who is a close friend not to go to a optometrist as their profit is made by selling glasses & not in the assessment.
He advised me to go to a ophthalmologist (eye Doctor) for a full assessment. They don't sell glasses but will write a prescription for the optometrist to fill.

[E. maculata]

And although this is very hard to believe he bulk bills as well. :D :D :D




Methinks Peter u talk with forked tongue
:p either that or you have discover the governments elusive 30 percent of specailists whom bulk bill :rolleyes:

I too got new glasses over the christmas break, & then the opto made another payment on his mistress' gold plated BMW, this is 10 years after the "new" laser surgery removed a growth and "corrected" the vision in that eye after which I had intimate relations with a condition called "sympatico" and a badly damaged lense from an allergic reaction to the stitches.

Got this pair made from a lexcan type material that is impact resistant for using at work and in the shed :)

[ozwinner]

Got this pair made from a lexcan type material that is impact resistant for using at work and in the shed :)
Lexus, old Lexus parts??
Gees these eye quacks get you every which way, cause they know ya cant see. :p :eek: :D

[John Saxton]

MYOPIC tendencies prove out now more so now that the "baby boomers" had their way with life and it's luver'ly excess's :rolleyes:

It would'nt be the copious amounts of salubrious nectar in a good filtered 12yr whiskey or a consumate liking to a fine red that has prevailed over the years that now ascribes to partial blindness that ails all of thee methinks ...just the liking for a fine drop irrespective of the genes list!

personally copious amounts of either go down well ....its the staying power that has diminished...oh and along with the eye's which give out first these day's.

Seriously tho only use specs for occasional reading ,not required in the shed yet ...hmmm is that why they say measure twice cut once :eek: :eek:

Cheers :)

[Sturdee]

Methinks Peter u talk with forked tongue
:p either that or you have discover the governments elusive 30 percent of specialists whom bulk bill :rolleyes:


No forked tongue and yes it is hard to believe but it is true.

It may help that my wife, because of her diabetes, has been seeing him for about 15 years with regular checkups and laser surgery in her eyes to stop bleedings and finally culminating last year with four eye operations to restore sight. All this time he has bulkbilled her but I don't know about newer clients. Anyway I'm not complaining. :D :D :D


Peter.

[Iain]

It would'nt be the copious amounts of salubrious nectar in a good filtered 12yr whiskey or a consumate liking to a fine red that has prevailed over the years that now ascribes to partial blindness that ails all of thee methinks ...just the liking for a fine drop irrespective of the genes list!

JOhn, if Margaret River and Ireland dissapear overnight, you are going to be buggered................................and leave my Glenlivet alone, it's mine.

[Alastair]

Hi all

I have been a lifetime spec wearer, and have heard all the OWT's over the years, and being of analytical mind, have also formed some opinions of my own. Here you can have them, all mixed up.

Regarding the "wearing specs weakens the eyes" one, if you have defective eyesight, your eye muscles are working overtime, trying to force your lens to the point where something will come into focus. (think pumpin' iron.) They become very strong, and good at doing that. They do this at the expense of eye strain, headaches, missing what is going on around you etc. When you fix the problem, by sticking specs in front, you remove the strain, they don't have to work so hard, so they will start to atrophy, BACK TO THE LEVEL OF STRENGTH THEY WERE ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO HAVE! And yes, your vision without the specs will be worse, but so what? When I started, (in the 50's), the quack advised my parents not to let me wear them all the time. This, added to the "geek" image, ensured that I missed most of went on anywhere except on the blackboard during my school years. (I can remember the torment of plucking up the courage to cross the expanse of dance floor, only to find as I got within arms' length, (and too close to duck out) that I was approaching a dog, or the school hood's girlfriend, or my sister!)

My kids wear specs, and I have been careful not to have the same mistakes made. My son really only needs them for reading, And my daughter (now 14) has had contacts as well as specs for 3 years to avoid the vanity issue. Things have also changed, and optometrists now no longer reccomend that specs not be worn except when unavoidable. In fact at my latest visit, he confided in me that only recently has accepted practice changed from prescribing only the minimum prescription possible, to setting the ideal prescription. I take this to be a comfirmation of my beliefs.

I have always worn specs, and occasionally contacts, but have always had toughened lenses. I must say that it beats the **** out of having to carry, and wear safety glasses at work, (or in the shed) like all those poor fully sighted dudes. (And I have replaced some pairs as a result of damage, which could have been my eye.)

Regarding Laser, (and the earlier radial keratotomy (sp)) procedures, I have considered them over the years, and have always chickened out. It is a very final step, and a procedure which is not 100% flawless. I have heard horror stories, (and in the latter case seen one, culminating in a cornea replacement)

Regarding the Optometrist/ Opthalmologist debate, the only bad specs I have had, came from the latter. They are different specialities. The latter are experts in the health of the eye, who also know how to test vision. The former specialise in the testing and correction of eye defects, and also are aware of eye health issues. Go Figure, commercial issues and greed apart.

Regarding vision changes, my specs needed changing yearly during my school years, 2 - 3 yearly during my 20's & 30's. Recently I have had only minor corrections in 1989, and 1999, and then only as my old specs were poked, and had to be replaced anyway. I am probably due for a change again soon, as my arms are starting to get shorter.

Rant off!

Regards

[echnidna]

Alastair,
Like you I spent most of my life wearing glasses.
I developed cataracts a few years ago and the opthamologist didn't want to touch them until they had fully developed. The upshot was that very short sight combined with the cataracts meant I went a couple of years where I couldn't even read a newspaper or see the TV let alone do any woodwork or drive my ute.
After the cataract surgery I have the best vision I have ever had without glasses. It took a lot of self education to get into the habit of wearing protective glasses.
So I've been on both sides and prefer not wearing glasses.

[silentC]

When you fix the problem, by sticking specs in front, you remove the strain, they don't have to work so hard, so they will start to atrophy, BACK TO THE LEVEL OF STRENGTH THEY WERE ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO HAVE! And yes, your vision without the specs will be worse, but so what?
Following that logic, you would have to make sure that the glasses you were wearing approximated the original focus that your eyes would have had, so that your eyes can return to normal. I suppose that is where getting your eyes tested and prescriptiopn glasses comes in?

In my case, I was given glasses and told that they would take awhile to get used to. What he meant was that my eye muscles would take awhile to get weak enough to see with them. I chucked them out and 16 years later I still don't wear or need them. So I wonder where I would be now if I had worn them?

[Alastair]

Silent & Bob

The only "getting used to" I recall, (and the same is true for others I know), was adjusting to the distortion inherent in the lenses, remembering that I have always had a BIG correction. It was not a case of waiting to adjust to the focussing, if that is what Darren means. Because specs are a single, simple lens, they will always distort to some extent, unlike a camera lens, for instance. What I believe happens, is that your brain adjusts its perception, so that it sees the image as "perfect". I don't "see" a distorted image, even though if I look for it, I can see the image distort if I move my head.

I have also worn contacts to varying degrees since '85. What I found was that there was a profound psychological benefit to contacts. I am less introverted, and more confident when wearing them. Perhaps this ties up with what Bob felt. On the other hand, for me they have always also been a problem practically, not lending themselves sympathetically to all night drunken smoky parties in my bachelor days, windy and dusty airfields and beaches when I was diving and skydiving, spraypaint and ammonia and airconditioning at work, and lately, dust when turning and woodworking. The hassle of maintaining them also has resulted in them being put in the "too hard " box a lot of the time. I am in the process of getting back into them for weekly wear, but will stick with the specs over w/e, when I am mostly in the shed.

Regards.

[silentC]

What I found was that when I put them on, everything was blurred (as you would expect) and it would take awhile for my eyes to adjust to the new focal length. After a minute or two, I could see normally but they gave me a strange, disconnected sort of feeling and made me feel a bit crook. Hard to explain, maybe like vertigo, although I wouldn't know because I've never suffered from it. The opo said that would pass after a few days/weeks of wearing them. I couldn't stand wearing them so I chucked them out.

My wife got the laser surgery done and it changed her life. She had all the same problems as you. Couldn't stand wearing contacts for long, hated wearing glasses. Being a sportswoman, this was a major hassle for her. So, she had both eyes done, put up with 'sand in the eyes' for a day and has never regretted it since. I suppose time will tell if it reverses or her eyeballs pop but in the meantime, she would never want to go back to the specs.

[E. maculata]

The problem with our brand of "backyard diagnosis" strategem on human parts is that we confuse ourselves by trying to use mechanical rationale on biological issues. Silent may well be right for His pecularities, ;) whereas the nausea/ insular feelings he describes while wearing glasses is the same for me, :( ,,,,,but in my situation I cannot continue to fool/irrationalise to myself that I don't need glasses, when blind Freddy can see my measuring is far better with them on.

[Driver]

My two bob's worth:-

I've been wearing glasses since I was 16 years old. I've had an astigmatism in my left eye for most of my life that has caused distortion in my distance vision. Since the age of 40, I've needed a prescription to help me see properly when reading. The glasses I'm wearing right now have graduated lenses: distance vision at the top, computer screen in the middle and reading at the bottom.

When I first started wearing this type of multi-focal lens, my optician told me that I would have to change the angle of my head in order to bring the appropriate focal length into play (looking down my nose in order to read, for example) and that, after a time, I would do this unconsciously as I became accustomed to the change. She was right.

I think I understand what Darren (silentC) is talking about when he cites the feeling of disconnection. Like him, I've never suffered from vertigo so the feeling I've experienced once or twice when adjusting to a significantly different prescription may or may not be similar to vertigo - I don't know. Because I can't see at all well without glasses, I've always pressed on and made the necessary adjustment.

Getting back to Mick's original post: I've got an el cheapo pair of magnifying glasses that I occasionally use when I need to study something really small. They work pretty well.

As for the issue of glasses versus contact lenses, my own experience is that I have never felt either inconvenienced or disadvantaged by wearing glasses (for over 40 years now). I've never tried contact lenses and I don't think I ever will.

Col

[echnidna]

Col that was my attitude too. I was extremely myoptic and astigmatic, the cataracts sent me blind. After the op I was astounded to have perfect vision. I could see things like the tiny twigs on top of a fully grown messmate etc. But it had to be forced on me.

[Driver]

Bob

I'm delighted for you that you have had such a successful result from cataract surgery. Having to suffer with near blindness for a couple of years must have been a lousy experience.

Like Alastair, I've chickened out of the prospect of corrective laser surgery. Because I don't find it inconvenient to have to wear glasses, and because I can see pretty well when I'm wearing them, I'm not going to subject myself to the risks associated with surgery (however slight they may be).

Col

[PoPnBuG]

I use glasses like these (http://www.lifewithease.com/clipon_flipup.html) when fishing, I'm gettin' a pair for the shop!!!

Weird, I can hit a 24" target at 300 yards with an 1850's musket, but can't read the damn paper... so I'll just shoot the paper!

[Alastair]

Another interesting one.


Regarding the long wait for cataract surgery:

(Assuming that this was not due to the medicare crisis-----!!!)

When my late mom had cataract surgery some 15 years ago, (and in another country), she was told that this was an arcane practice dating from the earlier days of cataract surgery, when lenticular implants had not been developed. Because with the lenses removed by the surgery, your ability to focus was completely gone, and had to be replaced by impossibly heavy prescriptions, and these were good only for one distance, the practice was to virtually let you go blind from the cataract first, so that when removed, even the very ordinary vision you were left with was seen as an improvement.
In her case, the surgery was done as soon as she became significantly handicapped by the cataract, ie unable to read or watch telly. She did find the post op a problem, and took some time, and several changes to her specs, but once right, never looked back.

[Wild Dingo]

Great idea Mick!! :cool:

I use them cheepo glasses at work on the mine to read my daily instruction sheet and locations damned typists!! Flamin use the smallest bloody font possible! but hadnt thought of that idea...

Anyone know if theyve created a cure a pair of glasses whatever for total color blindness? thats a real pain in the proverbial :rolleyes:

[Stubchain]

Sorry for the delay in writing this, I was trolling through the forum and spotted the thread. My only comments firstly to Mick, you must have bloody good eyes to be able to see through those glasses and magnifyers.

Secondly, I went to my optometrist and said I think I'm a bit short sighted, he said look out of the window and tell me what you can see. I said I can see the sun, he said well that's 93 million miles, how much further do you want to look.

Thirdly a polish bloke went to his optician, the opto said can you read the bottom line on that card, the polish bloke said read it, I know him.