Lefties?

[Ian Barley]

A post in another thread made me think of a question that has been kinda floating in my head for a while.

My neighbour, who has once or twice helped me out in the shop, is left handed. Nothing special about that except that it made me realise that most of the tools (certainly power tools) in my shop are strongly right handed in their orientation. SCMS and J/P combo where the two things that he used that seemed strongest that way but evrything from spindle moulder (shaper) to tablesaw has the same bias.

Interested to know how many left handed woodworkers there are and any stories of how you deal with this bias in the workshop.

I have also included a third option inspired again by my left handed neighbour, who is a keen golfer and plays golf right handed

[Brian Parker]

I'm a southpaw and until a few years ago never thought twice about all of the tools being right-handed oriented. Granted I've only been using power tools for about 15 years or so I thought it was taboo when I first saw them.

The one contractor that I worked for said that he had a treat for me one day and I walked in and there was a left handed circular saw. I tried to cut with it and had no problem but it felt a little off kilt since I've been using the 'right way' tools for years preceding. I'm pretty ambidextrous and use both hands for pretty much any tool.

On the sports note I can switch hit pretty decent in base ball and I golf and play hockey right handed.

...On second thought maybe I should buy all left handed tools from now on as most people wont want to borrow them & I'm not talking about the left handed screwdriver either :P

[Vaughn McMillan]

I'm a righty, but I switch from right to left hands when sanding, and in some cases when using other hand tools like chisels, depending on the situation. I've wondered in the past how many folks switch hands when doing repetitive mothing tasks like sanding or polishing.

- Vaughn

[Larry Browning]

I am as left handed as they come! I do everything left handed for eating to woodworking. When looking for a new tool I ALWAYS look to see if I can operate left handed. I noticed that many drill presses cannot be swaped to be operated left handed. There are some tools that I just have to adjust to and use right handed. Like a miter saw. The blade is always on the left, so I either have to reach across my body with my left hand of just use my right hand to operate the saw(which is what I do, but it feels pretty awkward)
There are also many thing that most people don't realize are very difficult for a left handed person use, such as scissors. I never knew this until someone let me use some left handed scissors once. I now have several pair.

[Tom Jones III]

You forgot one option, ambidextrous. I thought everyone was like that until a teacher pointed it out. I had gone to the board to write something very long, so I stood in the middle of the board and started writing with my left, when the writing reached my body I switched to the right hand and continued. It comes in very handy.

[Dave Fifield]

Tom, is your writing "style" the same with both hands? i.e. can a reader tell which hand you wrote with?

[Ian Barley]

You forgot one option, ambidextrous. I thought everyone was like that until a teacher pointed it out. I had gone to the board to write something very long, so I stood in the middle of the board and started writing with my left, when the writing reached my body I switched to the right hand and continued. It comes in very handy.
You're right Tom - I did think about including it but figured that the few ambidextrans among us don't face any particular problem based on the design of a tool. Interesting enough I wrote ambidextrously until I was about 14. It wasn't so much that I could write equally well with either hand - more that I wrote equally badly with both;) Then I stopped doing it for some reason and now I can only write badly with my right hand.

[Tyler Howell]

It's tough living in a right mans world:( . But I'm in my right mind.;)
The good nuns tried to get me to commit to one hand in grade school and the rest is history.I've learned to adapt. It's very comical watching my roofing process.
Draw from the Rt pouch, set nail with rt hand, Switch to left hand to drive it home.:eek: :o
Start all over again.
I prefer a RT handed Csaw.

[Dan Racette]

no button for us that go both ways occasionally! ambidextrious folks unite!

[Todd Burch]

I'm left handed, but play sports and shoot right handed. Many times, I'll use whatever hand feel best out in the shop, based on my body position and orientation towards the work.

For precision chisel work, left hand. Hammer, left hand. I'm right eyed, and left footed. Lots of hand sanding, right hand. Carry plywood sheets on my right side. Right hand push stick on tablesaw. If we got in a fight, I would catch your fist with my left hand and pop you with my right. ;)

Todd

[Michael Stafford]

I am naturally left handed, played sports, shoot and eat left handed but on many things I am ambidextrous. Writing is not one of them and although I can do something that passes for writing with my right hand it does not resemble the script of my left. I seldom notice any shop biases with regard to handedness. Perhaps I am so accustomed to the adjustment I just don't notice anymore.

[Dev Emch]

Ian..
First, my comment in the other thread was taken out of context. There is an old european expression desribing a person who is incompetent. Its said that such a person has ***TWO*** left hands. (I did put in parens that if your left handed, then such a person has two right hands). This is no way suggests that a person who is left handed is any more or less capable than a person who is right handed. In either case, both have *BOTH* one left hand and one right hand.

There are some tools that can be bought in either a left handed mode or a right handed mode. For eample, Oliver made bandsaws that could be ordered in either configuration.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I think that most of us who are left handed learned to adapt to a right handed world at a very young age. I work wood left handed or right handed as the tool requires. After years you become conditioned to the extent that you can miss the obvious. A case in point was some 36 years ago when I was sharing an apartment with a buddy from college days. We had this rule that if you were bringing a date home the other guy would make himself scarce for the evening. I brought home a young woman for dinner which I proceeded to cook. I pulled out a bottle of wine and a corkscrew to open it. It was very difficult to insert the corkscrew into the cork and when I pulled, the corkscrew came right out ripping up the cork. I tried twice again with similar results. By now, frustrated and embarrassed, I grabbed a screwdriver and pushed the cork down into the bottle and put the corkscrew back in the kitchen drawer. I mentioned it the next day to my roommate and he just roared and roared and told me to look at the corkscrew. I looked and didn't notice anything. He told me to look again. Nothing!! Finally he took pitty on me and told me it was a left handed corkscrew with the thread direction reversed. My practical joker roommate had gotten me again.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Everyone is born right handed Only the Great ones oversome it.


Everything in this universe, unless specially made, seems made for the right handed person unless somehow it is inherrently incapable of being made with a handness preference (such as a pencil).
Examples: Rulers, files, machine appintment orientation, printed coffee cups, doors (yes doors), ball mits, hocky sticks, firearms (ever shoot a machine gun lefthanded? WHOO HOO) , Safety levers, loading ports, places to put the drill chuck key, the list is endless.

All of which I think goes to the fact that left handed people are either totally screwed or superior in every respect. There is no middle ground.

[Tom Jones III]

Tom, is your writing "style" the same with both hands? i.e. can a reader tell which hand you wrote with?

I don't write much anymore, I'm always on a computer so my handwriting has suffered on both sides and I've tended to migrate to the right. Back in school I wrote identically with both hands.

[Andy Hoyt]

I'm a righty.

Except I play hockey as a lefty (no idea why) and shoot rifles lefty because I've never ever been able close just my left eye.

Woodturning is definitely an ambidextrous exercise.

[Chris Dodge]

I'm left handed and never really thought about tools being right handed. I guess I am just so used to having to do things the hard way that I don't think about it anymore. My drill press would be the exception though. I often hold the piece I am drilling with my right hand and reach across with my left to pull the handle down. Now that I think about it I do use my right hand for a lot of tools though.

[Ian Abraham]

I guess I'm somewhat ambitextrous, I'm equally uncordinated with both hands :D
I write left handed, but can use most tools with both hands. Get some strange looks when I swap a hammer to the other hand to get a better angle on a nail, but it works for me.

Cheers

Ian

[Frank Pellow]

I am naturally right handed but, because it comes in very useful when constructing things by myself, I have learned to do a lot with my left hand -hammer, sand, drive screws, paint, etc.

[John Bailey]

Ian A.,

I've heard that in New Zealand, there is a much larger percentage of left handers. Do you find that to be true? If so, are there any theories as to why?

John

[Chris Rosenberger]

The only thing I do only left handed is write. Everything else I can do left or right handed.

Cliff,
A hand power saw was designed by a left handed person.
A worm drive saw was designed by a right handed person.

[Kelly Anderson]

I am left handed and do pretty much everything left handed, sometimes I will switch hands with a chisel/mallet if I get tired or just can't get to it left handed. I tried the left handed sisors in grade school and never could get the hang of it so I cut paper right handed. My current bench is right handed because I did not thank about it untill I had already started it and couldn't change it. After using it for 2 years I am building a left handed bench this summer. I just thank that it will be more convient for me, we'll see.

[Mitchell Garnett]

I'm a lefty but I'm a lucky one because I'm almost ambidexterous - there are a few things like writing that I can't do right-handed. So in the shop I am a righty. But at times it is very handy to be able to use a hammer or screwdriver in either hand.

[quote I heard once: I'd give my left arm to be ambidexterous....]

[Gail O'Rourke]

I am a LEFTY!! The only one in my family of 9! I have an identical twin sister and she is a righty - this can be called "mirror twins" in some cases.

The one thing I can't do is show my kids how to tie their shoes, they are all righties.

[Larry Cooke]

I'm a lefty too. To be honest, I've never given second thought about tools being right or left handed. Like most lefties, I can do quite well with my right hand. In fact, now that you've made me think about it, I'm not sure that I could use any tools designed for a lefty. A left handed table saw...hmmm.

Larry

[Ian Abraham]

Ian A.,

I've heard that in New Zealand, there is a much larger percentage of left handers. Do you find that to be true? If so, are there any theories as to why?

John

Hmm.. not that I've noticed, although I guess it's pretty common.
I wonder who counts this sort of thing for different contries:confused:

Cheers :)

Ian

[Jim Davenport]

I'm a terminal "lefty" (Right brained). I have several of those left handed saws, a Porter Cable 743, a Skill 77, and a 5 1/2" Craftsman panel saw.
I also have left handed rifles, and shotguns.
There's a rumor that "Sam Colt" was left handed, from the way he designed the single action revolver. It's a real pleasure for lefties.

[Mike Turner]

I'm a lefty..

Went and bought a P.C. blade left circular saw...Wrong...I find a blade right is much easier for me to work with... I can see where I am cutting without craning my neck to see where the line is...

Mike

[Joe Unni]

Hey all.

Left handed here...well mostly. Wife too. Similar to Todd I do some things left and some things right.

Write - left
Throw - right
Hockey - right
Kick (soccer) - left
Play drums - lead with left, set up drums right
Fork/knife - left/right and I don't cross over
Hammer - both

As I didn't have anyone to watch in the shop, I just learned to use the tools the way they are made. I never gave it another thought.

The only thing that us lefties have is...

Grab your tape and your pencil. Pull a measurement from left to right (easy and natural) and mark it. Before you release the tape, notice the numbers on the tape. They're right side up. Again, never a second thought until I DID think about it once. For righties, for an easy and natural tape pull, you'd pull from right to left - notice the number then...upside down.

Side bar...
My father was a die hard lefty. When we played catch, he'd catch with his left hand, take the mit off and throw back with his left. He did this so fast it never became an issue.

Interesting thread.

Thanks,
-joe