Official Luthiers Forum!

OH MY GOSH==> If we thought Hesh's shop was clean before, imagine how
clean it'll be now with him using the Optivisor to search out dust...

Of course, with this new level of detection, he may only get one guitar a
year built- the rest of the time he'll be cleaning.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

It is the most used tool in my shop. I put it on when I get in, and take it off when I am done.

The only real "complaint" I have with it is it needs a nice way to wick away the sweat on your forehead. That vinyl is hot.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Welcome to the club, Hesh! Ain't a great club to belong to, but admittance is free as long as you have enough gray hairs or high enough hairline! I have the subject visor but without the headlamps. I can't do my inlay routing without it.

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

"intraocular implants?!?" I don't want bigger eyes, just better vision!

Thanks for the MD reply, it's kind of how I thought it was.

Hesh, thanks, gonna get me some.

You will wonder how you got along without it, Hesh.
And the Quasar lighting system is icing on the cake.
Nelson

I love mine. When it's warm, I triple-fold a piece of kleenex for the front of the headband...much more comfortable!
I bought mine with an attached "loop" of higher mag. ,,, never use it!
I've never tried the lighting... is it a gimick??

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Dave
Milton, ON

Various designs and options I've stumbled across. I have no experience with the products or the sellers. Just tossing out what I found. This is not all there is, just what I could find in a half hour of looking.


Carson Magnivisor http://www.opticsplanet.net/carson-magnivisor-flip-up-magnifier-mv23.html

Bausch-Lomb Magna Visor http://www.opticsplanet.net/bausch-lomb-magna-visor.html

Sight Booster http://www.telesightmagnifiers.com/catalog/i185.html

See More w/Led http://www.telesightmagnifiers.com/catalog/i158.html

Multi-Focus w/LED http://www.telesightmagnifiers.com/catalog/i157.html

Accursite http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PROD/magnifier-visor-accursite/OBES-AL3

Deluxe Illuminated Visor http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PROD/magnifier-visor-other/XQB1-MP244L

Meishida w/LED http://www.purespadirect.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VK-700731&click=10549

OptiSight Visor http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/21-8540&CAWELAID=220246972

The Professional's Binocular Magnifier http://www.hammacher.com/Product/76756?source=FROOGLE

Edroy Binocular Loupe Optical Visor Magnifying Glass http://findingtools.com/Edroy-Binocular-Loupe-Optical-Visor-Magnifying/M/B000OVJX8K.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

Carson clip on w/LED http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/sc/from-froogle.asp?id=964768310&rf=froogle&dfdate=3_12_2010

Glasses Binocular Magnify Loupes http://www.sourcingmap.com/24mm-glasses-binocular-magnify-loupes-coated-optics-fishing-sightseeing-opera-p-35794.html

Sheer Vision Surgical Loupe http://www.sheervision.com/flip-up-surgical-dental-loupes.aspx

Focusable Reading Glasses http://www.debspecs.com/Focusable_Low_Vision_Reading__P1707C63.cfm

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Aoibeann

I've got a set of the Optvisors that I use mostly for cutting pearl and some routing of the holes for inlays. But for general up close looking at guitar and banjo building, I have a pair of 2 power Clic reading glasses. You know, the glasses that the coroner on Las Vegas CSI uses. They separate at the bridge and hang from your neck when you don't need them.

here ya go , bought these spacial for ya buddy dont ever say the wudwerker isnt there when ya need him

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The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
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The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
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http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Dave-I wouldn't be without the lighting, use it all the time. Just one little example of where it comes in handy is when you need to see down inside a small hole. No messin' around with a flashlight that's in the way of your eyeballs.

I had lasik a few years ago. Where it doesn't solve your close vision it can help. It fixed my intermediate vision of about 3-4 feet. I can read the clock in the car and make out the bar tap if I squint. But I also got a good pair of glasses with the progressive lenses and a style that has the widest field of view. I need that and some have a small field that makes you move your head side to side more and I can't stand that either. The progressives took about 3 days to get use too. But they give you about 4 different powers which you really need for this kind of working. It makes easy to cut at the band saw which is a farther distance then cutting inlay and working at different distances then 18" from your face. I also got them made from polycarbonate which is good for safty glasses and light. For really close work I'll put on the visers and I also have a lamp with the magifying glass in it. I find my self using a lot too. I got it with my scroll saw and put it on the corner of the bench and found it's not a bad thing to have for certain jobs. But the progressive wide field of view are the way to go for the at first for this shop work. Although they were $300 for the lenses in the end they were worth it if you like the confort of being really able to see clearly at different distances. Once you get use to them you won't even realize that they are on when you are working.
And I also use daylight tubes in my shop lamps as those cool white are bad and make my vision blurry at times too. Lot's of work light and close to full spectrum or at least daylight. Better for color too.
And you better start stretching every morning to you Old Fart. I'll be 56 in July.

To add to the list of available eye assistance I use these http://www.handsfreelowvisionmagnifiers.com/

They are light, and the best part can be used with Bi focal glasses as they can be worn below the eyes as there is no hood over the lenses, I just raise them up over the eyes when I want them out of the way. Now I see they have several different optional units, I just might have to upgrade, I am a gadget lover.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

All of my various OptiVisor components arrived yesterday and I spent a few minutes putting them all together last evening.

I have to say that I am impressed with the OptiVisor. It appears to be made of reasonable quality and so far i can't fault the design either. It's fairly comfortable with an easy-to-access adjustment knob on the back. The visor stays up when you want it up and comes down easily too.

Mine came with a 1.75 lens which seems like it was a good choice because this requires me to be approx 14" from the work. The 2.5X loupe greatly increases the magnification for one eye and to use the loupe you have to get pretty close to the work.

The deep sea submersible 6 LED light set is VERY bright and a nice addition to the OptiVisor. I was concerned about the weight of the 2 AA batteries from the lights but so far it does not seem to be an issue.

I can wear my regular reading glasses with the OptiVisor but so far I am not sure why I would want to do that.

Needless to say I am impressed with the OptiVisor and like others have said here it should add a new level of precision capability to my very close work.

And what spawned this search all together was that I was having difficulty seeing the VERY slight gap that you need to be able to see to cut nut slots properly. Now the gap looks huge to me and the OptiVisor will be a BIG help with this going forward.

Other than looking like a Borg and having Sony my dog growl at me I am very pleased.

Welcome to 'micro land'.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Let's see a picture of it with it on Eight of Nine.

They're kind of pricey, but after watching brain surgeons use loupes for a couple of years, I bought a pair of these for close up work, especially with machines. Cost around $100

The big benefit of these is that they have pretty high magnification but also have an 18" working distance i.e. the focus is 18" away. The big plus is you don't have to get your face right into the machine or whatever it is you're working on.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Andy,
I am interested in hearing more about your experience with the surgical loupes and maybe some brand info etc. I spent some time researching various offerings and would like to go that route but finding a place where you can actually try them on and establish what is the most appropriate magnification, focal length and depth of field seems near to impossible (at least around my neighbourhood). I have seen many vendors on ebay with price points that are attractive ($130 - $200) but I have concerns about the clarity and integrity of the optics (when I talked to my dentist he indicated a decent pair is going to cost $800 - $1200 depending on what you are looking for). Under $200 fits well with me ($1000+ not so much ).

How do you find your loupes in terms of:

- clarity?
- do you experience any distortion?
- what is the magnification?
- the focal length?

Where did you find them?

TX!
Rick

Your dentist is right that a good set will set you back $800 but....

I picked mine up on e-bay and I think it was around $130 complete. They are 3.5x and have a working distance of around 18", don't know the focal length. I looked in my ebay account and can't find any info, I bought them over a year ago. There's not a single identifying marking on the case or the loupes themselves. Sorry!

There is a little bit of distortion around the edges but it's nothing too serious. Clarity is very good but you definitely need a good light source when using them. At 3.5x, the field of view at the focal point is about 2" in diameter with the middle 1" the most clear. You can make it a little wider by cranking the telescopes apart but then you start getting fuzz in the middle.

I've tried on many $1k+ loupes and they're fantastic (mostly at trade shows and asking surgeons to try them on). From 6x to 3x. However, my $130 loupes are pretty close (close enough) at a fraction of the price.

Edit: I found an old e-mail and the price was $132.98 and the seller was "comewithstyle" out of CA. Couldn't find them on ebay but I didn't look all that hard. After looking at a few pics, I'm sure all of them come out of the same factory.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

good job Hesh... I have good vision and still bought a set of the optivisor with the lights. I know my precision increased on many operations.. not just inlay.
Can't wait to see the new photos of your head with opti' on other bodies..

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Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

live every minute...

I just want to echo the warning about getting your head too close to a machine It's amazing how close to a line you can work with a high magnification at a bandsaw or big disc sander but it puts my face uncomfortably close to the action. The bald spot would be hard to explain.
I have always wanted some loupes, the biomechanics of my elbow and wrist don't work nearly as well close to my eyes. High magnification with comfortable working distace is what loupes are all about.
anyone else have a source for econo models beside ebay?

Good point! So how do I explain the bald spot developing on the back/top of my head???? Star gazing while using a belt sander? Seriously good tip David - thank You.

Chris yeah this thing should be pretty fun in conjunction with Photoshop.....

Thanks everyone!

TX Andy!

p.s. - anyone who goes for loupes, I would definitely not recommend going any higher than 3.5x. I'm actually wondering if 2.5 or 3x would have been better. I'm definitely not planning on switching though. 3.5x is pretty good.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Hesh,
Now that you are in Optivisorland, if you write on your labels, do it with the visor on in HUGE letters, in your best printing and under normal vision it will be absolutely beautiful,
Cheers from Oz
Chopper

I'm thinking of ordering one of these. My eyes are not what they used to be. I can't even read the date on coins like I used to without reading glasses..Mike