Magnifying glass

[Tom Bender]

On occasion I use a magnifying glass but struggle with reflections from the shop lights. Suggestions?

[Carl Beckett]

I have a benchtop magnifying glass with a ring light (led). I believe there are handheld versions. The localized lighting gets rid of the background glare (may be able to get diffusive covers even)

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I depend heavily on an OptiVISOR. I have a cheap one from the unmentionable place. I am investing in a real one soon.

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[Edward Weber]

You can use a smart phone camera and zoom in. there are also magnifier apps

[Frank Pratt]

I use my phone for a magnifying glass & it's the best magnifier I've got. No issue with reflections.

[Paul F Franklin]

If you have an IPhone, the magnifier app with adjustable zoom is built in (at least in recent IOS versions). I have it set to activate with a triple click of the side button. You can do that in the settings menu under accessibility settings.

[John K Jordan]

On occasion I use a magnifying glass but struggle with reflections from the shop lights. Suggestions?

For the most useful suggestions maybe you could describe the type of magnifying glass and what you use it for.

I use a variety of magnifiers in the shop and what I reach for depends on the task, magnification, need for hands-free, stereo (for depth perception), built-in lighting, size of field, etc.

[Warren Lake]

you can also stack lenses. Tool and die maker I knew showed me a part for a car company. Cutter he made was some insane number of fine. I said that is not possible. I knew he was trained to make his own cutters. This was too small and when I said how is that even possible he said he stacked lenses to get the magnification he needed. Said he broke a number of cutters before he could get a feel for how slow he had to move.

He was making a thing very small to put the car company name onto some part. Ive tried wearing reading glasses then one of those things shown above as well and it did make a difference. Hardest part is to find the right spacing between. Right now I like some sort of magnification and Lee Valley headlight the good Suprabeam they do not carry anymore. Half the battle is having a ton of light that helps you and doesnt work against you.

[Alex Zeller]

The phone idea works well except for when you set your phone down and forget it in the shop at the end of the day. Nothing like saying to yourself how peaceful of a night it is only to realize why nobody is bothering you. More than once I've made the trek back to the shop or garage to find my phone in the middle of the night.

[Larry Frank]

I use an Ottlite ring lamp with either a 3 or 5x magnification. These are glass lens and easy to use.

[John K Jordan]

Without guidance from Tom on the type of magnifier and intended use, I'll list some of my favorites.

- A variety of small loupes, several with dual lenses to increase power, one with a built in light. Good for very small things at higher magnification.

- Larger folding magnifiers, about 2" in diameter. The lens folds into a protective cover which keeps dust off and makes a handle when open. Inexpensive, low power, keep several in drawers around the shop. Cheap, from Northern Tool

- Several head mounted stereo magnifier similar to Maurice illustrated. A better one has a second set of lenses the fold up or flip down for higher power. One has a loupe that swings down over one eye for extreme magnification. The best I got from woodturner Graeme Priddle - light weight, great optics, comes with a set of interchangeable lenses for different powers.

- A magnifier with a slide-out rectangular lens that turns a light on when opened.

- My favorite for very small things - a good quality low-power stereo microscope (Swift) with 15 and 30 power. I also keep a binocular laboratory microscope with 400-1000 power but it's not stereo and of limited usefulness in the shop. The low power Swift is perfect for examining the end grain of wood samples for id, inspecting tool cutting edges, and for doing self-surgery on a deeply embedded splinter with a sharp scalpel.

- But my all-time favorite around the shop and house: a lighted 10x magnifier. Uses a couple of AA batteries which last forever and evenly light the field with several tiny LEDs inside. Has scales at the edges of the view to measure things. We use these to read tiny print, remove splinters, examine cuts, identify ticks, and ID wood. Best of all they are cheap. I see I've bought 16 of theses so far at $14 each and so one is always withing reach and I have plenty to give away. I given them to friends, my eye doctor, a vet, and to a couple of doctors at the clinic who had never seen on like it. Comes in a nice molded zippered protective case to keep clean. Glass lenses No longer available from the supplier on Amazon I bought most from, but those I got recently from another supplier seem identical although the price has increased a little.

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- We also have some traditional magnifying glasses with handles, 3" or so in diameter, low power, mostly worthless. Plastic lenses, the view is a bit distorted, and they always seem need cleaning. Mostly let little kids play with them.

- I'd like to get some of the long-focal distance stereo viewer my dentst uses but last I checked they were over $1000.

JKJ

[Mark Rainey]

- I'd like to get some of the long-focal distance stereo viewer my dentst uses but last I checked they were over $1000.

JKJ

John, my wife is a dentist and she got them for free. They look impressive but she does not use them. I eagerly borrowed them, but they take time to adjust to, and just are not worth the bother. I got an LED magnifier bench lamp from Lee Valley. It is sort of like the Trend air helmet...nice but cumbersome. Most of the time I use a half mask instead of the Trend.

[John K Jordan]

John, my wife is a dentist and she got them for free. They look impressive but she does not use them. I eagerly borrowed them, but they take time to adjust to, and just are not worth the bother. I got an LED magnifier bench lamp from Lee Valley. It is sort of like the Trend air helmet...nice but cumbersome. Most of the time I use a half mask instead of the Trend.

Hmm, my dentist uses hers often. She said they were about $300 at a trade show. Maybe the function and quality differ with the cost.

I once had a long-focus microscope and it was great for some specialized applications.

[Tom Bender]

I have the 5" lens with ring light on an articulating arm. Good but the shop lights reflect badly. I guess it would work better with the lights off. I'll have to try that.

Also I use a 3" plastic hand held with a 1" higher power spot. It's helpful but again there are the shop light reflections.

And I have a 3" glass lens but it's no better.

I had bought an optivisor but it was cheap and useless. Returned it.

John, I'm going to look for the lighted magnifier. Thanks.

[Bill Dufour]

Got my wife a 3" diametr glass with several leds around the rim. Got it at the checkout line at grocery outlet so probably in the bargin stores. I thin kit has uv light as well.
Bill D.

Similar to this one at pep boys for 4.99
https://www.pepboys.com/oem-magnifying-glass-w-5-led-1-uv-light/product/540168

[Bruce Page]

I’ve used one of these for as long as I can remember. I probably bought it as an apprentice. The only thing I’ve ever done to it is change the batteries. Mine is not LED, lol.

https://magna-lite.com/shop/magna-lite-100-original

[Charles Coolidge]

I use these

https://www.amazon.com/Beileshi-Magnifier-Handsfree-Detachable-Magnifying/dp/B07BF7Y7K3

to build these. I can and would spend $1,000 to see clearly, these work awesome for $29.99 AND they stay up and don't fall off your head. The headband is adjustable. The LED light is rechargeable with two power modes and the angle is adjustable.

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