As some of you know, printers are now using inferior products that result in print that is not as sharp and readable as when I was younger. My ever insightful wife got me to buy some cheap glasses at the drugstore that fix those hard to read pages (they work on inferior computer monitors as well).
Since some manufacturers are using similar, difficult to read, printing technology for things like tape measures, I thought it would be nice to have a pair of those reading glasses for the shop. After looking around I got a pair of bifocal safety reading glasses with the right level of magnification. The bottom portion of the lens magnifies, while the top of the lens is clear plastic. My problem is that I don’t like bifocals. I find them distracting and I would like to find safety reading glasses that are not bifocal. I’ve looked online for safety reading glasses that are not bifocal, but haven’t found anything. I’d like to avoid the custom prescription route, as those are more costly and regular reading glasses are enough for me.
Does anybody know where to get safety reading glasses that are not bifocal?
Thanks.
–Whit
Replies
Lab Safety Supply has safety reading glasses. Just get ones that have the same diopter number as the reading glasses that work best for you.
You'll be happy to know that the degradation of printing quality gets worse and worse all the time, at an ever-increasing rate. It's simply criminal.
-Steve
Not only have the dirty boogers let the print get fuzzier............and smaller, they've made an unholy alliance with the Prince of Darkness. If you haven't noticed it already, I (and others here) can assure you that they ain't making nearly as much light as they used to either!!
Actually, it's proof that the universe is expanding! Art
Actually, you might do what I did for working in my shop.
I went to a local Lenscrafters with my eyeglass prescription and asked them to make up single lens eyeglasses to correct only for near vision. I chose a style of frame that was comfortable and had fairly large to provide maximum protection (they are no fashion statement but no matter). They made them for me in about an hour out of safety glass, and installed side shields. They were about $90 a year ago.
They blur my distant vision in the lab, but work fine for anything within 4 or 5 feet. If you don't like bifocals, want good near vision correction, and don't need magnification, this might work for you.
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
I use the MagSafe brand and I love them. I have both bifocal and full lens and the full lens is my favorite.
Highland Hardware carries them for $14.99. If you go to website they show up to 2.50 diopter available.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com
Dear Whit,
I have never quite understood folks reluctance to get prescription glasses. I use my glasses pretty much all of the time, even at the ripe old age of 40. When I got prescription glasses, one of the first things that I noticed was that my "fine" woodworking wasn't so fine, the second thing was that I was a lot more comfortable when I work. My glasses are polycarbonate, and aren't true safety glasses, in that they lack sides, but with Titanium frames, they are very light and comfortable. My reasoning is that I use my hands and eyes for a living (Contractor) and if it was a tool (Which it pretty much is) I would get it. Reading glasses, as I understand it, make fuzzy things bigger, but a large, fuzzy image doesn't help me. Prescription glasses correct my vision and make the fuzzy razor sharp, which is helpful across the board, not to mention working. No, it is not as much fun as a DC system or a new jointer, but it will help you be a better woodworker and make life more enjoyable, in general.
Best,
John
PS. My glasses are bifocal and are not perfect, but a LOT better than bare eye balls.
Well said.Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
"Reading glasses, as I understand it, make fuzzy things bigger, but a large, fuzzy image doesn't help me."
That's only true if you need a correction as well as help with presbyopia. My distance vision is still 20/20 (although I do have a bit of astigmatism), but I certainly can't read anything from less than about three feet away. Reading glasses are perfectly suited for that.
-Steve
Dear Steve,
Well, you certainly know your situation better than I do, and what works for you, works for you. My point is that these are your eyes. Except for some lens replacement stuff, there really is no substitute. If all you need is magnification, then that is what would be prescribed. Like new blades and tires, I didn't realize how bad my vision had become, until it was actually corrected. I am no expert, but like all things, eye problems are best dealt with early. A change in vision, in particular a shift towards far sightedness is typical for age, but it could be something else. (Perhaps your arms are shrinking.) It sounds like you are pretty educated on the subject, certainly more than I am, so I am sure that your solution is good for you, but when it was me, I went with prescriptions.Best,John
I do get regular eye examinations, and until last year, when the presbyopia got bad enough that it wasn't feasible to correct that without dealing with the residual astigmatism, too, my optometrist would suggest that I could get by just fine with off-the-rack reading glasses. Even so, for the past three years or so I've gotten prescription glasses, for that last little bit of sharpness.
-Steve
I wear prescription glasses when I can. LV (and others presumably) sell safety overglasses that fit over them. I find I need different focal lengths for some jobs, e.g. lathe work, so I have 3 different bifocal safety glasses. Theyr'e not as sharp as prescription, but a lot cheaper at around $20.
Jim
Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. I decided on the Mag-Safe safety glasses.The idea that more flaws will show up in my woodworking when I have corrective safety glasses is a scary thought. My hope is that they will help eliminate flaws in future work.I agree with Jmartinsky that taking care of the eyes is very important. For me, reading glasses work like looking through a magnifying glass. Everything is big and sharp. Up until now I had been using my regular reading glasses to measure, then switching to safety glasses to cut, then back to reading glasses, etc. Now I hope that switching back and forth won't be needed.--WhitIf you have money buy wood and tools. If you have money left over, buy food and clothing.
I got some at http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20140 for $6.99 and I like them! I am at least one more set, so I can find where I put the first set.
Bob
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