[Mike_B]

Finally something I can post about.

Mitchell,
I am nearsighted also and remove my glasses to carve. Last time I had my eyes checked I talked to the dr., about this. She recommended that I go to the drugstore and buy some cheap reading glasses in a +1 or +1-1/2. I think I bought the +1 and it helps on the fine stuff,

[Paul_Guraedy]

Been following this with interest. I still have good distance vision but use trifocals because of problems with close items. I have the round, lighted magnifier, but, do not like it. It gets in the way, limits vision and forces me to hold the work in one position. So, got the headband type. Works really well, mainly while carving alone. Less so when at carve-ins and such. I keep having to flip it up when in a group situation. I was wandering around Barnes and Noble a while back and saw a pair of magnifiers that were really small and allowed me to see my carving and glance up to talk to others, refer to a go by, and such. I have been very satisfied with these. They do not work any better than the head band type, but do allow me to feel more a part of groups.

[Mitchell]

Thanks Mike. I just may try that.

[Bandaid]

I have one of the visor magnifiers, but can't seem to get the hang of using it. Don't know if it's the visor or me but keeping my work in focus is a problem. Seems like there is a very narrow tolerance in the focusing distance. Has anyone had the same experience?...Reg

[AlArchie]

Bandaid, there are two numbers that are important when using magnifying lenses; diopter strength and focal length. Diopter strength is the maximum magnification you can expect without undue distortion, and the focal length is the distance from your eye, looking through the lens, that the subject must be to be in focus. That number is usually pretty precise. Some adjustment to this can be made by changing the distance the lense is from your eye, but this is not a large adjustment, and when using a visor, the eye relief is pretty well set. It's a little easier to get some variance in the apparent focal length with one of the larger magnifiers such as the bench mounted lighted ones, because you can move your head toward and away from the lense some. I'm sure there is some mathematical formula for determining relative focal lenght compared to eye relief from the lens, but I really don't care to look into it that closely! You might be able to increase the depth of field by limiting the field of view, like in a SLR camera, but that just doesn't seem like a practical application.

Al

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

I wonder what Grinling Gibbons used??

[AlArchie]

Who???????????

[Jerry_K]

Wow, that's a bundle of information. I have a few things now that I want to look into. I really like some of the ideas that were presented. Thanks.

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Al - Grinling Gibbons was just some old English dude that played around with carving tools in the late 1600's early 1700's.

[mdallensr]

I have to tell you a story. I also have a lighted, 5-inch magnifier but I stopped using it in favor of the the Optivisor. I still used it for the light, and it was usually near my table. I was working on a relief panel and kept it covered with an old towel when I wasn't carving, which is most of the time since I still have to work for a living. I sat down to carve one night and noticed some burns in the towel, 3 small cresents next to each other. I had my wood burner plugged in and guessed one of my kids decided to play with it and burnt the towel. Of course, everyone was not guilty and I quit thinking about it until the weekend, when I saw the sun shining through the skylight. It only lined up with my carving table for a few minutes, but when it did, it shone through the magnifier, which was at the exact distance to focus the light on the towel. The cresents were the movement of the sun, and the distance between each was the daily declination. I thought the whole thing was really interesting until I realized it could have burnt my house down. I bet the fire marshall would have had a tough time coming up with that answer. Yeah, the magifier is in the basement now. Mike