optivisor

As a Clock repairer I wear mine all the time so it is very tempting to not wear safety glasses when wearing your Optivisor, but I will always wear my safety glasses under the optivisor when grinding and the like.

A photo went round our plant newsletter of a small drill (about 2mm) stuck in the lens of a pair of safety glasses. The toolmaker was grinding it on a bench grinder and it got launched. An optivisor is no substitute for safety glasses. The toolmaker came to no harm but I don't know about his underwear.

Mike

I wonder how many model engineers wear their prescription glass lensed specs in the workshop? I need glasses for reading. When I need a new prescription (seems to be every time I go to the opticians!), I have a new pair of plastic bifocal lenses made for my safety glasses. Not cheap but justified on the amount of time I like to spend in the workshop.

John

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Absolutely, Mike

But since I would never expose good glass lenses to grinding dust, the scenario didn't enter my personal 'risk assessment'.

MichaelG.

Kind of strayed from the original topic of ".....for working on small parts like tapping 10 BA" etc.

Plus ça change.

Just to add to the Optivisor debate.

I'm very short sighted and wear quite thick and complicated (and expensive) specs. These work an absolute treat under the Optivisor. Also, you can "look under" the visor so there is no need to lift it under most circumstances.

I use them all the time with my watchmakers lathe and I no longer get headaches or backache.

As others have mentioned, good lighting helps a lot.

Steve

Hi John MC,

I am fortunate to get my safety glasses vouchers from work, varifocals. Boots used to do it with BOLLE frames and now we havce switched to specsavers who used to do their own naff frames but now they have a selection of JCB which seem OK. My glasses don't come in for any abuse so when my prescription changed I tried with both companies to get a pair relensed as a spare for trhe workshop, both companies refused, citing they could not gaurentee the safety integrity of the glasses unless it was a new frame.

I wonder where you were able to get yours re lensed. Mine are CR39 plastic I think, kitemarked 5-1.1<2.512SO>

Alan

Alan, I think you are being conned ! My optician has put new lenses in my frames several times without any problem, they are/were quite expensive flexi frames but even so I think the high street outfits are just pushing another sale.
Optivisor I have used them for many years and use with varifocal lenses -- the best product I have found for the job and no worries over H&S ! for me anyway

John

Never had a problem getting my optician to relense a frame, as long as the frame is in good condition. Will probably need to buy a new frame next time, the current pair have had couple of repairs now. I use a local (to me) optician "Haine and Smith". The frames are "Mobsen", the lenses are marked MO-1F-CE.

John

Perhaps Alan couldn't get his lens reframed because he told the optician they were for use in a workshop? If you suffer an eye injury due to wearing ordinary glasses in a workshop - your choice - that's not the opticians fault. If you tell him the glasses are for use in a workshop, he risks taking on liability. Could be his insurance only covers new frames and lenses.

Daytime TV carries many 'no win no fee' accident adverts. Sadly, firms have to protect themselves against specious claims.

If that's what happened, try asking for the lenses to be reframed without specifying what they're for.

Dave

Hi,

"Perhaps Alan couldn't get his lens reframed because he told the optician they were for use in a workshop? "

No not at all, the glasses are safety galsses with shields, I told them nothing, just asked for a relens their purpose is irrelevant, it was a simple request to the normal staff who know little about what they are talking about, but insist they know more than you do (sorry did I say that out loud my cynicism keeps getting out). They were most adamant.

I will just qualify my cynicism, last pair of (ordinary) glasses at Boots, had the eye test.:-

Glasses made. Turn up to collect, muppet badly mangles arms, I say I cannot see properly, ...response our customers find they need to get used to them, ...me, the prescription is wrong, argue, argue, ...further eye test different prescription. Ok I can now see, but only if I hold my head off centre, lenses not centred properly. Cut the long story, ended up 4 pairs later and I now have the best glasses I have ever had, but how many people are wrongly prescribed, badly made and/or fitted and cannot face the agro and revisits I had to go through. I might try an independant next time.

Alan

Edited By Norfolk Boy on 31/12/2017 21:39:29

.... nice to see some justification. For 40 years I've used the same independent, oriental optician on the grounds that my eyesight is one of the most valuable things I have and I will not skimp on it. This guy is a true craftsman. Once adjusted, his glasses fit - no ifs, ands or buts. I buy the best in lightweight (thin) plastic lenses and frankly I don't know I'm wearing them.

Not that the guy doesn't have the odd deal up his sleeve. I recently had to have new lenses because I put a bad scratch in the old ones with my clip-on sunglasses (entirely my fault). To avoid a repeat, I decided to have self-darkening lenses. He quickly (and honestly) pointed out that these would not darken in a car - but then offered to make me a single-vision (distance) pair with permanently tinted lenses specifically for use in the car for $100 including a very nice frame.

Edited By Bandersnatch on 31/12/2017 23:06:18

I once had some Reactolites made up. Then took a group of scouts up a mountain in winter. The fog came down and my glasses went black. Not too easy to see where I was going or read the map. Fortunately my eyesight isn't that bad, without specs I could read the map, and see at least as far as the fog allowed.Turns out UV light that the lenses react to gets through fog, and the lenses sensitivity increases as it gets colder.

Sometime later I decided to get contact lenses as I got fed up of misted up glasses when walking in the clouds. Bad idea. I hadn't realised that I read a map by looking over the top of my distance glasses and my arms weren't long enough to see the map when I had contacts in. Cured by getting some reading glasses to wear over the contacts but you live and learn. However I do think opticians should have pointed out the problems in both cases

Duncan,

I wore contacts for a while and for outdoor pusuits they are brilliant. You can wear standard sunglasses over. Rain is not a visibilty issue. I used to wear varifocal contacts which whilst not terribly sharp for indoor use, with enough light outside they are perfectly adequate and more convenient than messing about with reading glasses. Sadly I cannot wear them now as I seem to have a dry patch that makes them uncomfortable.

It can sometimes be difficult to gettthe prescription right first time as it does not neccessarily match your glasses prescription. Failing that Mono focals can work well, one in one eye for reading and distance in the other eye, although some people can find it odd.

Alan

Resurrecting an old thread here. Why didn't I buy one these years ago? What a revelation. First task was digging out a splinter from my thumb. So much easier. As is lining up centre punch marks, checking drill sizes, etc.

The only problem really is that you kind of become dependent on them - I'm reluctant to do any small work without them these days. I have the 8" lens (DA5) , plus the loupe. So I was rendered inoperable a few weeks ago when I couldn't find it. The wife had got a thorn in her thumb whist gardening and decided she needed it more than me...

IanT.

My eysight is not as good as it used to be and I am considering getting a set of magnifying headset glasses with lights and 5 interchangeable lenses.

Available on Amazon

Amazon link

Edited By Paul Lousick on 09/07/2020 23:55:47

I use my optivisor for finishing and polishing parts because if it looks good at 2x magnification it looks superb without magnification.

Check with Flee bay Paul, many suppliers for exactly the same thing at much cheaper prices.

Regards Ian.

If you are going to wear them for extended periods I would avoid buying cheaper I have used mine daily for over 15 years perfect but I have put a leather strip where it touches skin and never get any eye strain