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Thread: Dealing with Aging and Other Challenges

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Longview WA
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    More light is always a help. More light will cause your iris to lessen the size of your pupil which in turn makes your vision keener.

    For being able to hold things with my aging hands one of my power tools is a lathe. This has helped by making chisel handles that are more comfortable for me to hold.

    Some of my saw and plane totes have also been modified to feel better in my hand.

    For marking a folding rule's hinges can hold it above a piece being marked allowing a square to be moved without affecting the rule's placement.

    Yesterday while changing the blade on my bandsaw it was very helpful to have a pair of clip on readers. They are made to clip on to a regular pair of glasses. Trying to crane my neck using my bifocals under the table while setting the blade guides wasn't going to work. These were found in the needle point section at Michael's Arts and Crafts store. They are likely available from many other retailers. They also come in handy when filing a saw's teeth. They also flip up to return to normal vision when needed.

    Another handy item is a rare earth magnet on the end of a stick. Mine rests on a pole holding a lamp over my bench. It comes in handy to pick up dropped items when your back isn't as young as it used to be.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    DuBois, PA
    Posts
    1,898
    Just returning from my shop, one of the ultimate solutions: an old couch to stretch out on, to ponder your next move!
    If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Kansas City
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    2,652
    Shop glasses - aka office glasses. Combines reading glass distance with medium distance vision. Can't drive with them, but for work in the shop, they're great.

  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    Did you have a volume knob installed on that new ticker?
    Jim,

    LOL, no but the good news the Doc said if I got an Apple watch with the EKG I could come off the anti clotting med. That was a no brainier, six months and the watch pays for itself.

    ken

  5. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Curt Putnam View Post
    If you have a tip for overcoming challenges, please post them to this thread so that we have one place to accumulate them (unless there already is oen and I missed it)
    Tool control. Everything in its right place at the end of an operation, and if that’s not the case, _find_ it.

  6. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Dawson View Post
    Tool control. Everything in its right place at the end of an operation, and if that’s not the case, _find_ it.
    Doug,

    In my 50 odd years of flying there were two types of mechanics. One was every tool had a place and every tool was in its place, if it wasn't they were lost. The other, the tool was where it was last used, if someone moved it they were lost. One of the last type was the best and most efficient aircraft mechanic to work on any of my aircraft. I expect many wood workers are one of the same types.

    I'm kinda in the last group but must admit to owning a few duplicate tools because the original couldn't be found .

    ken

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    South Coastal Massachusetts
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Dawson View Post
    Tool control. Everything in its right place at the end of an operation, and if that’s not the case, _find_ it.
    Amen, Reverend.

    I took a "taster course" at NBSS when starting out.
    They were merciless with First year students about putting things away, having only the tools for an immediate use out and cleaning as they went.

    Lance Patterson said "Even when you're deep into a project, the only evidence should be stock prepared for the next step."

    Never saw anyone crawling around looking for tools in a pile of sawdust there.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
    Posts
    8,973
    I do so many different things, and have thousands of tools to support it all, if stuff didn't get put away, as part of the job, it would be hopeless.

    I refuse to participate in aging.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Missouri
    Posts
    2,151
    Good lighting, magnifiers, tools put in proper place, gloves with hand tools ( I like Atlas 370) that someone here recommended. For those with arthritic thumbs learn to change your grip a bit to use your palm. If I’m sawing or chiseling a lot I put a piece of double stick tape at the base of my thumb going to the palm it’s surprising how much that helps. Try to remind yourself about lifting get help that one bravado lift will cost you days in the shop. I’m an expert on that one. Instead of waiting an hour I would lift at the cost of days. I now try to have a couple of things lined up to do so I don’t feel the pressure to make that one lift.

  10. #25
    Stall mats, lots, around my bench on concrete floor. So much better on my back and paid for themselves several times over in no damage to dropped tools. My hands and wrists are arthritic and I have very poor finger sensation. New shop will have even more mats.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    DuBois, PA
    Posts
    1,898
    When you feel good.....don’t over do it! Take short breaks through your work time. Also, spend time to organize for efficiency, to make the most of your time.

    Bob Andre: arthritis in my hands is my biggest obstacle to enjoying woodworking. I’ve purchased very thin gloves made specifically to help, but as James Pallas posted, gloves made for woodworking, offer great support (I use a pair from Duluth Trading).
    If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.

  12. #27
    Tony- I wrap tool handles with Medi Rip, a variation of VetWrap. This makes for a much improved grip surface on everything from chisels to clamps. I switch too often from power to hand tools and for me gloves are a no no. This is a great string of ideas folks. Stuff that we all have merged into, enabling us to do a better job. Thanks for sharing.

  13. #28
    One more thing, as you age it is easier to tear or cut skin plus many of us end up on anti-coagulants. Blood is a good rust inducer so you need oiled rags to clean up the mess you usually do not know you are making until it is everywhere.

    ken

  14. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by ken hatch View Post
    One more thing, as you age it is easier to tear or cut skin plus many of us end up on anti-coagulants. Blood is a good rust inducer so you need oiled rags to clean up the mess you usually do not know you are making until it is everywhere.

    ken
    Thin CA glue! I keep it handy in the shop. At 72 I have concluded my body is absorbing my skin from the inside! That can be the only explanation for the wrinkly covering I am developing.

    Left click my name for homepage link.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    South Coastal Massachusetts
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Keeton View Post
    Thin CA glue! I keep it handy in the shop. At 72 I have concluded my body is absorbing my skin from the inside! That can be the only explanation for the wrinkly covering I am developing.
    Same as popular bronzes, we lucky few get more "polished" as we make our way.

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