Mark Pfeifer noted (off list):
>I have a really inconvenient double-jointed arm doohickey that has a fixture on
the end with a 6” magnifying>glass and a light bulb……and what I realized a
couple weeks back is that my sharpening skills haven’t eroded.>I wasn’t seeing
the wire edge by naked eye under regular lighting. Now I sharpen under the
dohicky and
>suddenly I’m a talented edge producer again.
>I picked up a Stanley saw set with a built in magnifying lens but it’s not
great. The lens gets dirty and there’s not
>a lot of light inside the work area. So I bought a really gorgeous and I
believe ancient “file type” saw set where>you don’t pinch, you twist. Haven’t
summoned up the courage to use it yet.
And inquired:
>What’s a cheater? "Mag on a stick” is that the same as my double jointed
doohickey?
As age and decrepitude have set in, I have moved from basic magnification used
in the engineering world to a variety of aids. They include:
Cheaters: several strengths of reading glasses. About $1 a pair. Also, cheater
safety glasses are available, and really handy. I also have for the welding
shield, but can no longer find on the shelf, stick on cheater lenses for the
inside of the shield, meant for making instant bifocals out of you regular
glasses.
Magnifier-on-a-stick: typical 6 or 8" lens with a light on the jointed lamp
stand. I think I have a full half dozen of them (one is at work on an IV stand
to make it portable). I have both ring light and standard bulb versions. They
are useful for different things. I find the highest magnification ones to give
too much distortion, so I tend toward the lower mag, as the light on the work
makes a big difference, and if I need more mag, then the cheaters go on. The
ones smaller than 3" don't do it for me. I don't get clear binocular vision
through them.
Optivisor is one brand of headband magnifier. They are among the better,
optically. Most industrial suppliers have them or equivalent (McMaster, MSC,
Grainger, etc). The cheapies are not as good as the dollar store reading
glasses. The good ones are much better. The best are made for surgical use, and
are out of my league pricewise.
I also use jewelers loupes (labelled as 3X and 5X, most often) and magnifiers
that clip onto regular glasses. Old school Bausch and Lomb are my preferred.
In addition, a low power binocular microscope is a heavy use tool for me, but
that is the nature of what I do. Not much old tools use, other than the
occasional photo via the camera, but when I need to do things like hand solder
0.005" wires to a damaged circuit board or IC, it is invaluable.
I have never found the small magnifiers built into tools to be very useful, as
they are never in the right place and they get too dirty. Some people love them.
I don't.
These are, of course, in addition to the measuring and inspection tools I have
used throughout my career, such as a couple measuring microscopes (portable and
bench), measuring loupes (like printers used to use... the reticle just about
touches the surface being examined), and surface magnifiers mounted to vernier
scales (I make my own from acrylic bars that used to be sold for reading the
phonebook)
Ya, I have a problem....
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On Tuesday, January 17, 2017 4:05 PM, Mark Pfeifer wrote:
OOOOBoy tell me more Erik, please?
Optivisor I think I get.
I have a really inconvenient double-jointed arm doohickey that has a fixture on
the end with a 6” magnifying glass and a light bulb……and what I realized a
couple weeks back is that my sharpening skills haven’t eroded. I wasn’t seeing
the wire edge by naked eye under regular lighting. Now I sharpen under the
dohicky and suddenly I’m a talented edge producer again.
I picked up a Stanley saw set with a built in magnifying lens but it’s not
great. The lens gets dirty and there’s not a lot of light inside the work area.
So I bought a really gorgeous and I believe ancient “file type” saw set where
you don’t pinch, you twist. Haven’t summoned up the courage to use it yet.
What’s a cheater? "Mag on a stick” is that the same as my double jointed
doohickey?
> On Jan 15, 2017, at 9:59 PM, Erik Levin via OldTools wrote:
>
> Mark Pfeifer ruminated:
>> So many lessons on this one. (I also discovered with this project that my
>> eyesight is no longer good enough up close for really precise work.)
>
> Welcome to the world of cheaters, optivisors, and magnifiers on a stick. I
have 6 lighted mags on a stick at this point, between the shop and the office.
And loupes, a coup;re microscopes, several strengths of cheater at home, work,
and in the truck, and...
>
> With the right tool, I can still hand solder on 0.5mm lead spacing. I don't
like to, but I can. And did yesterday.
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