Have been using Opti-Visors with #3 lenses since I started carving birds the '70's. there's a pair in the wood shop and another in the painting studio. An absolute must to avoid eye strain and see my workpieces even when I was a a lot younger. Can't imagine doing the work I do without them.Gotcha. Next thing I would recommend (also mentioned above) is a desk-mount magnifier. Most of them suck (I hunted for a good magnifier for years and every one I found was junk), but I've found these to be absolutely top notch. I have an older fluorescent one on my main desk and a newer LED one on my workbench. The one I have is pretty expensive but I easily use it anywhere from 10-100 times a day:
Omega 7 Magnifying Lamp - The Daylight Company
Magnifying lighting solution designed to enhance your detailed tasks with exceptional clarity, contrast, and color matching.daylightcompany.com
When I'm building something like a tube amp I use it for just about the entire process. I use it for soldering, closeup guitar inspection, troubleshooting damn-near anything - you name it. They make smaller ones and less expensive desktop models, too.
The first one I got as a gift from my wife probably 15 years ago, and while it's showing its age it still gets daily use and I've never had to replace the tube. The new LED models are more robust because LEDs essentially last forever so they can glue it all shut since there's no need to get into it to replace tubes. You can see it in some of my wokbench pics like this one that I posted in the Nixie thread:
The new one has four levels of brightness on the ring of LEDs that surround the lens. The old one is just on/off because it's fluorescent.
A pretty expensive solution just for string changes but if you find yourself needing more magnification I can't recommend these enough.
I've also got a set of OptiVisors that I use when I need more magnification. I altered these to have LEDs around the lenses:
Those you can even get at Stewmac. They are the best of the visor type solutions I've found because they flip up easily and they work while you're wearing glasses.
I have a similar lamp, but on my desk, not my shop table, been thinking about getting another one for there. I also have flip up magnifiers, but their focal length is too short to work comfortably. Another problem, due to my dry eyes, one eye has scarring and even with the sclerals and the buffered saline in them, it clouds the solution and I need to refresh it a couple times a day.Gotcha. Next thing I would recommend (also mentioned above) is a desk-mount magnifier. Most of them suck (I hunted for a good magnifier for years and every one I found was junk), but I've found these to be absolutely top notch. I have an older fluorescent one on my main desk and a newer LED one on my workbench. The one I have is pretty expensive but I easily use it anywhere from 10-100 times a day:
Omega 7 Magnifying Lamp - The Daylight Company
Magnifying lighting solution designed to enhance your detailed tasks with exceptional clarity, contrast, and color matching.
When I'm building something like a tube amp I use it for just about the entire process. I use it for soldering, closeup guitar inspection, troubleshooting damn-near anything - you name it. They make smaller ones and less expensive desktop models, too.
The first one I got as a gift from my wife probably 15 years ago, and while it's showing its age it still gets daily use and I've never had to replace the tube. The new LED models are more robust because LEDs essentially last forever so they can glue it all shut since there's no need to get into it to replace tubes. You can see it in some of my wokbench pics like this one that I posted in the Nixie thread:
The new one has four levels of brightness on the ring of LEDs that surround the lens. The old one is just on/off because it's fluorescent.
A pretty expensive solution just for string changes but if you find yourself needing more magnification I can't recommend these enough.
I've also got a set of OptiVisors that I use when I need more magnification. I altered these to have LEDs around the lenses:
Those you can even get at Stewmac. They are the best of the visor type solutions I've found because they flip up easily and they work while you're wearing glasses.
My problem with prescription glasses - I can't stand wearing them at all and don't need to - is you got no close up vision. Only readers with greater magnifications can help me see well up close.
Thx ;[]
Sounds like you found a great workaround Brad. I'll say too, maybe this is an obvious suggestion, but I've found there's a big difference between changing those tiny gauge strings in the daytime vs. at night. Some sunlight coming through the window can work wonders on sharpening the view. Even though I have decent eyesight, when I'm sitting there trying to accomplish it in the evening under a standard light bulb I have sometimes felt frustrated as well.
Probably, but my bench is in the basement with little to no ambient light!
It's not the prescription glasses...it's your eyes: presbyopia...loss of accommodation ability...age related...when your arms are too short.
Unfortunately, as I'm sure you already know, treatment/improvement for your corneal issues is limited.
Have one similar, with interchangeable punch bits, not rotary, $1 or so at a tag sale!
