Vision getting bad. Tricks?

[Larry Edgerton]

Yesterday I was masking the inside of a cabinet so I could paint the face frame, and I could not find a combination that worked. I had my glasses on, had them off, moving back and forth but could just not find anything that worked as it was inside a box and my head had to be where it had to be. I

Frusterating! Any suggestions from those of you with vision challanges?

[Bob Aquino]

It sucks to get old. I have tri-focals now, those are lots of fun when you are trying to focus on something and your head moves a bit and its now out of focus. All you can do is to take it slow and have lots of nice light. BTW, I found some safety glasses at woodcraft about 4 months ago that have a built in magnifying lens, I love em. And only about 6 bucks or so.

[keith ouellette]

I have a floater in one eye that bothers me sometimes when i am trying to do fine work. Its more of a distraction than anything else.

I know your problem is very different from mine but this might help as I learned it from an old handyman with poor vision.

He would stop what he was doing and look away from the work while leaving his hands where they were and the look back. Sometimes he would do it a few times in a row and said it "refocused his eyes".

For me it just seems to move the floater out of the way.

He didn't move his head but just moved his eyes away and back again.

[george wilson]

My eyes are about the same vision in each,so I've been able to use reading glasses up to 4X. 4X is a little hard to find,but they are out there. Also,I have prescription close up glasses. This is how I can still sharpen 1/64" drill bits with a hand stone. These powerful glasses can make you tired out after while,believe me.

[Joe Scharle]

Old pilot's trick is to squeeze eyes shut, really hard. Both eyes. Then look a little off center.

[glenn bradley]

I have a pair of these (http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/1439/Jackson-Safety-Dual-Segment-Readers) for that problem. I wear them only for that situation where I need "over-unders" as the times are rare for me and not worth having real Rx glasses made this way but they are available from your OD.

[Tony Bilello]

and close up work is nearly impossible.
I have solved my problem using cheap Walmart reading glasses. I use them in woodworking for close-up work and also like now, on my computer. I also use them when spraying (with safety glasses on top) so I dont risk ruining my real eye glasses.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Yep - reading glasses here also.
I buy a bunch in different strengths and have them scattered all over the house/shop.
.

[Pat Germain]

Have you guys explained your vision challenges to your optometrist? A good one should be able to help you. If he can't, look elsewhere. There are many new kinds of eyglasses on the market. They can be expensive, but isn't your vision worth it?

My optometrist is always warning people about the dangers of laser eye surgery. I put him on the pad once and said, "C'mon, you sell glasses so your obviously not going recommend laser eye surgery."

He matter of factly explained he could easily make more money referring people to laser eye clinics. He said if he referred me, whatever I end up paying, he gets half! :rolleyes: Touche. It seems he really doesn't have to sell glasses. He can just refer people for a few days and play golf the rest of the week.

[Terry Beadle]

Kingshott recommended in his video getting your optomitrist to make a special pair of wood working glasses. He said normal reading glasses are not what's needed. He said after several experimental pairs, he had a pair made for a 10 inch lower and 30 inch upper focal length. I had a pair made like that and it worked for me until they got broken...bummer.

Something to think about. Discuss the issue with your optomitrist and he/she may be able to help. Good craftsmanship does require good vision.

[george wilson]

I repeat,I also have prescription glasses.My eyes are close to the same,so I can get by for a few hours,but I also have some other aspects to my vision that cheap glasses cannot fix,so I recommend prescription glasses too.

Many of the cheap glasses aren't made correctly. I have worked in more than 1 shop. When I haven't had my good glasses on hand is when I have used drug store glasses,but they are not to be recommended for steady use.

[Ken Garlock]

Larry, get thee to an Ophthalmologist. I much prefer an Ophthalmologist over an Optimologist. The Ophthalmologist is an MD that specializes in diseases of the eye.

Yes, as you age, you vision becomes less acute, caused by among other things Presbyopia, the hardening of the eye lens. I have both trifocals for daily use, and a pair of "computer reading' glasses. The reading glasses are constructed like bifocals except that the upper part focuses at about arm length, and the lower part is the standard reading lens. I really like them.

Over two years ago my Ophthalmologist diagnosed me with "Epi-retinal membrane" in one eye. The Dr. said it would require surgery eventually, but not until the vision in that eye had deteriorated to about 20/200. So I am guessing that I have a couple years (5?) before the trip to the retinologist. Just another thing to get fixed as we age....

A year ago, while making my workbench, I had a leg kick out of the tenoning jig and "attack" me. Among other things, it left me with a damaged beyond repair lens. Knowing that I would be needing new glasses down the road, I went to the local Lens Crapters for an interim pair. Their product is adequate, but not great, and will work until I go in for a detailed exam.

[Russ Boyd]

Is part of the problem light related? (head inside the box). If so, try a strap on headlight. Maybe that would take away at least one of the issues. Russ

[David G Baker]

I didn't read all of the posts but one of the aids that has helped me is to put as much light on the subject as possible. My eyes got so bad that corrective lenses wouldn't help anymore. Got cataracts removed and all is better. I still use the over the head type magnifying glasses once in a while and they work fine in most cases.

[Chip Lindley]

Larry, *IF* your vision is otherwise corrected with glasses, MORE LIGHT will certainly help! But, a special pair of *close-up* specs might be a good investment! My no-line bi-focals kinda SUCK for close work!

After age 50, my need for more light while doing close work increased dramatically. Bright Light HELPS dramatically also! For the closest work, with very small parts I have a watch-maker's flourescent magnifier lamp on my workbench. It makes all the difference between *daylight* and *dark*!

[phil harold]

I have a pair of these (http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/1439/Jackson-Safety-Dual-Segment-Readers) for that problem. I wear them only for that situation where I need "over-unders" as the times are rare for me and not worth having real Rx glasses made this way but they are available from your OD.

I use cheaters that are built into safefty classes too
Now I buy all my sunglasses this way too

I have not tried the ones that have the diopter in the top too

wood be handy at times

[Larry Edgerton]

I'm working on some raised panel beaded drawer fronts today, and I will go try some of your suggestions, especially the more light. I just trimmed a house with mega windows and I noticed that before daylight I had a hard time, was good all day and as it got dark my vision seemed worse, but I just chalked it up to long days. My shop has no windows at all.

Lunch is over, back to the shop......

[Steve Clardy]

Same problem here. I have progressive bi-focals.

Anything close up, inside of a cabinet, I just can't focus and see it anymore.

[Jim Mattheiss]

Good Lord!

This might be the only time I'm happy about my vision. I'm SEVERLY nearsighted with astigmatism.

My definition of SEVERLY nearsighted is that DISTANCE is 4" beyond the tip of my nose. Up CLOSE is inside of that . . . No reading glasses needed for me.

I wear glasses from the moment I get out of bed till when I return at night. I really need to get safety glasses for the shop. I talked to my friend where I get my glasses and she said they were not that expensive. My wife didn't understand why I needed safety glasses - I'll need to educate her.

Cheers

Jim

[Leigh Betsch]

Maybe a pair of these? When I was a toolmaker all the old guys had them. Now that I'm and old guy, turned 51 yesterday, I'm thinking more and more about them. My eyes are a little different than most folks, I've become near sighted as I've gotten older. So I have excellnt vision w/o glasses up to about 2 feet and pretty good out to 10 or 15, but need glasses most of the time to see much else. Although I passed my drivers exam w/o glasses last week. But I find that after a lot of up close work with out the glasses my distance vision gets much worse. I have to remeber where I put my glasses because it is difficult to find them. My shop is light challenged but I agree more light is a good thing.

[Chris Schumann]

Like Chip said, more light. It reduces the size of your pupil, making it more like a pinhole, which would have perfect focus, but you'd need a LOT of light for that.

[Will Blick]

Yep, what a nasty subject..... its part of aging... I have tons of cheaters all over the house, I trip n stumble over them, yet when I need a pair, can never find them....

some issues at play....

1) Obviously presbyopia is the culprit.... this is not a defect, its not correctable via surgery, its just a normal part of aging.... startting at about 40 - 45..... after about age 65, the eye has NO accommodation remaining, that means you can focus at ONE distance only. Assuming your eye is emmotropic, meaning its focus is fixed at infinity...then you need a diopter correction for every distance you work out...bummer, but if you want to see clear, this is the reality of the situation. How well you have to focus is based on how much detail you need to see for a given task...

2) More light = more contrast = more clarity. Not only does more light increase contrast (which is what we perceive as sharpness) but it also, as correctly stated above, dilates the pupil down, creating a larger depth of field which subjects appear sharp. So more light is critical to assisting this problem...

3) If you need astigmatism correction, this complicates the entire matter....as you now you need scripts at each diopter, or bi / tri focals as others have mentioned. I have also tried a pair of peel-on diopter correctors I put over my safety glasses, very nice, available in 1.5, 2.0 and I think 2.5 diopters. Its like custom bi focals, but with safety protection. The McFeely's link is a good alternative as well, at that price, it pays to keep them all around.

4) Those with mismatched refractive errors in each eye, they also have it rough, as you are forced to get customized correction. This is where the peel-on diopter corrections can be very useful, you can buy 2 pair and swap them over different glasses, customizing your own fix. Of course if you have astigs, then you need custom correction anyway, so it doesn't really matter...


I also have the head system Leigh posted above... its surprisingly very good.... Of course, you mileage may vary, as they are fixed at 65mm IPD (Inter pupilary distance) spacing...so if you have wide spaced (> 70mm), or narrow spaced eyes (<60mm), they will not perform as well.... A hodge podge of things to consider.... nothing beats having the subject you are working on in clear focus...




Nothing like young eyes.... oh well.... Of course at times like this, i.e. doing close work, we envy the nearsighted people.... but considering they can't see at distance, I guess if your eyes fail at infinity focus, you should consider yourself lucky....

[Dan Karachio]

Another thing that can really help in any situation is light and lots of it. Even without any correction or magnification adding light can often make things much better. Maybe explore the use of portable lights, headlamps... like a surgeon?

[Vic Damone]

Your so not alone. I recently installed more efficient florescent lighting and almost tripled the amount of fixtures. The old fixtures were strobing and humming, I noticed my eyes would get tired after an hour or so. The new fixtures are simply brighter with a better spectrum and no strobing. The difference was well worth the cost and effort.

[James Harrison]

Some of you older guys (like me) who need lots of light to see good need to be checked for cataracts. They creep up on you and cause the sight to get worse and you don't know you have them. They also cause a loss in seeing the real color. It causes you to believe that colors have lost their luster and aren't as bright as they used to be.
My brother in law went for two years with a new white car thinking that it was a light tan.

[John Schreiber]

. . . My definition of SEVERLY nearsighted is that DISTANCE is 4" beyond the tip of my nose. Up CLOSE is inside of that . . . No reading glasses needed for me. . . .
Just a guess, but I'll bet you're younger than 45. My eyes were similar to yours, but now I can focus out to about 6 inches. The downside is that I also use progressive lenses to be able to see from about 10 inches to infinity.

[John Callahan]

“Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill” :D

+1 for more light. It seemed to be in short supply on most jobsites I've been on. I thought at first the LED light on my impact was a gimmick but but time has proven it very helpful as have the flashlights that came with my cordless sets. If you haven't had one recently an eye exam is a good place to start. Knowing what kind of correction is needed is essential and ruling out other causes for poor vision besides old age is a good thing. Vision isn't a static thing especially when you get older- going back for an exam every couple of years helps you keep a handle on it. If it's one eye it can complcate things- it helps to know what you're dealing with. My regular glasses are progressive lenses which are fine for everyday use but don't work so well for me in tight spaces. I have a pair of safety bifocals that do the job and an old pair of cheaters for backup. The lens on the cheaters are narrow enough I can look over the top so you after you get your head out of the cabinet you can stand up, look out, and not feel like you had a real bad night out.

[Lee Schierer]

I switched to variable focus a number of years ago when my eye doctor suggested trifocals and won't wear anything else. It took about a week to adjust. My current lenses are Ziess gradal lenses and they are great. I can focus from about 10" to infinity just by tilting my head uup or down. They work great except when working over your heat. I haven't tried them upside down yet. For cleaning, I rinse them under the tap with warm water then wet my fingers with hand soap and wipe the lenses with wet soapy fingers, rinse and blow dry. Works great.