posted
Lately I have been really interested in doing more pinstriping, but have Noticed that my eyes are not what they used to be. A couple of years ago I picked up the brushes after quite a few years and right away I thought I was going nuts... I could not get my Depth perception down at all... not even close. The brush would not reach the surface or it would splat...lol.. then I cam to the conclusion.. Do I need some type of glasses? I never wore glasses in my life and would often bragg about how great my eyes were....were, that is the word I now use... were. Same goes for Airbrushing, had the same problem, I had double vision...
How did you all adjust to wearing glasses, if you fit into my category, and did it take long, or am I just going nuts.lol
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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Glasses won't correct your nuttiness, Neil. Your eyes will continue to roll around in their sockets anyway. My big deal was engraving. All of that came to a dead halt sometime in the early 90s when the axis in my eyes changed 18 degrees within a short period of time. The opthamologist told me that engravings of the kind that I do would continue to degrade my ability to focus, so I quit mid-way through an 18"x28" engraving of a she-bear and a pair of treed cubs. I miss the engraving, but I truly doubt that it's going to take you very long at all to regain your depth perception and focus for pinstriping. Check into the newest laser procedures first. Or you can join the realm of geekdom with the rest of us.
P
-------------------- Pierre St.Marie Stmariegraphics Kalispell,Mt www.stmariegraphics.com ------------------ Plan on knowing everything before I die and time's running out! Posts: 4223 | From: Kalispell,Mt 59903 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I now look more mature with reading glasses perched at the tip of my nose after 43 years of absolutely perfect vision. Welcome to the club, Neil.
-------------------- Mike gatlinburg Sign Crafters Posts: 1051 | From: Gatlinburg, TN | Registered: Oct 2005
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I never wore glasses til I was forty and they have made me angry and frustrated everyday since.
Oh they correct the vision alright but I can no longer get down and look at anything and forget looking at something above my head...looking into dark areas are not likely and driving now has stars at nite from the head lites.
I tried contacts and loved them at first but found they made my eyes so tired and dry I couldn't cope.
One thing I did do that heped me was to have the focal point I need to work extended to the end of my reach...that way I'm not peering at everything from 12 to 14 inches and I can run power equipment hand letter and write at my desk and maintain my original posture when doing so.I also had the bifocal line raised slightly higher so I'm not doing the "raging pig" thing (throwing my head up and down to focus on different items...most especially the computer.
The eye doctor will typically set your glasses up for reading purposes if you don't clue him in otherwise and that is absolutely miserable.
Take the vanity out of the equation...as bad as it is... it's far less annoying than giving up your craft.
Good luck ...hope it works out for you! I know what you're going thru.
Oh and be careful when you get your new glasses...the first day I had gotten mine , a guy asked me to sharpen a drill bit and I shoved my hand right into the grinding wheel...that smarted!
[ January 18, 2008, 08:53 AM: Message edited by: Monte Jumper ]
-------------------- "Werks fer me...it'll werk fer you"
posted
I have worn glasses since the age of 5. (Astigmatism) I wear contacts to look purty. The thing is, I see best close-up with bare eyes. So I am forever sticking my finger in my eye and moving my contact over, and squinting one-eyed. I looked into the lazer eye surgery but the optometrist told me I'd lose my ultra sensitive close vision. I only wear glasses when I have a lot of weeding vynull to do.
I think the over 40 needing glasses is a guy thing. My problem at the age of 45 is tendonitis in my right thumb. Makes painting a pain! Love.....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
I was in denial for quite a few years but finally had to resort to reading glasses when I realized that my arms were not going to get any longer.
It was a bit of an adjustment for me and there still are some days where working on small fiddly stuff drives me crazy. That and trying to read paint can labels....
posted
I'd go with Monte. Take a look at the glasses in this picture. Larger than "normal". And the close-up prescription set at arms length. This combination will give you better "lettering/striping vision" and will also let your peripheral vision work without having to turn your head so much.
Another option you might want to check out....at a seminar several years ago, Bob Bond showed us his glasses. He had the lettering part ground at the top of the lens and the regular close-up part at the bottom. I guess it all depends on how you sit, stand, or hold your head when you're striping.
And if you have some perception difficulties at first, they'll usually straighten out shortly. Oh,and as many times as I've cussed my glasses, I've thanked the Lord for them when a metal shaving, wood chip, bug, or whatever comes my way.
posted
They keep the breeze out of your eyes. They can be decorative. They're a tax deduction. They can help make you look wiser.
-------------------- Frank Smith Frank Smith Signs Albany, NY www.franksmithsigns.com Posts: 807 | From: Albany, NY USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Thats good to hear... I'm not going nuts.. Funny stories everyone, made my day... I too see stars at night from headlight and such, but I've been seeing them fo years, Do everyone see stars? I thought that was normal.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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Monte has covered just about everything. The part about setting the focal length is very important! Dales comments on the size of his glasses is another point worth paying attention to. I always wore fairly large glasses. When the smaller ones came into vogue, folks kept bugging me to get smaller ones. I relented and got some. BIG MISTAKE! I'll be going back to the larger size on the next prescription. It's funny, all that advice came from people who don't wear glasses. One bad thing about wearing glasses is when you get to the point like I am and your eyesight without them is pitiful when you go shopping for new frames you can't see well enough to tell what they look like
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
posted
Ahhh, friggin glasses! I have pairs all over the place. Back in 95', I was stripeing a Harley tank. I couldn't get that stipe just right. I kept on hitting the tank with the brush before I wanted to. I got my eyes checked and the doctor said my eyes were getting a little,,,,,old and dry. Ahhh! I just use the over the counter readers. Being that they mess me up when I don't need them, I lower them down just below my nose. But now I can't put down vinyl, hand letter or stripe jack without them.
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3812 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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i wear glasses for nearsightedness...which is a misnomer..cause i DONT NEED EM TO SEE NEAR...i cant see distance)))). then i hit my 40s and went to bifocals....well then along came computers, and how mant of ya get a "crick" in your neck from bendin youre head backward so you can see outa the lower lense? so now i got 2 pair of glasses....ones with bifocals, and one pair with only the LOWER LENSE script......which i seem to wear more the the others. reallmesses me up when i leave the house to drive somewhere....and can only see bout 1-2 car lengths out!!! then......then bout 60 i get this DRY EYE CRAP....well another misnomer.....IT AINT DRY EYE ITS WET EYE....darn eyes tear up and cant see schit. gota wipe em, put in drops, at nite i put a little tube of stuff looks like vasoline in my eyes...then cant see anything..... OLD AGE SUCKS.....
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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A little pricey, but this seems to work well for me..
My lenses are seamless bifocals which allows me to adjust my line of sight as needed with a slight tilt of the head. I also had the area widened for easier adjustment to the transition. When pinstriping, I'll usually be looking along the bottom edges of the frames. Driving...closer to the top. Not too much trouble getting used to and worth the extra cost.
Another bonus was having them teflon coated. Dealing regularly with paint spatters and airbrush overspray, these clean easier and have lasted longer as a result.
Just a note... After you get a new set of glasses, be wary of time spent on computers or watching TV. Takes a while for your eyes to adjust to the increased detail and frame rates. Take a break every once in a while and rest them baby blues.
Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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Started out near sighted. Then the close vision started to go. When I got my first set of bifocals, what threw me was square wasn't square anymore. Shapes all tapered. It went away after awhile, but I was pretty confused for awhile. Now my distance vision is great and I rely on drug store reading glasses and have them everywhere. That dry eye thing is starting to creep up on me now - What next!?!
-------------------- Kerry H Kerry's Signs Vallejo, CA Posts: 160 | From: Oakland, CA | Registered: Sep 2006
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Neil, You might want to get a real good eye exam. I had major focusing problems of the close kind. Turns out I had a cataract that was ready to come out. Man what a difference! Six years later I had to have the other eye done. I still wear the old bi-focals, but my over-all vision is now great. Sure comes in handy when trying to bend neon tubing. Not to mention the girl watching! Good Luck! Let us know how you make out. Don
-------------------- Donald Miner ABCO Wholesale Neon 1168 Red Hill Creek Dobson, NC Posts: 842 | From: North Carolina | Registered: Apr 2006
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My wife even makes sure I put them on in the middle of the night when I go pee....so as not to leave a mess in the morning [/QB][/QUOTE] why not just SIT???? much easier no aiming reqired.....only problem i got now is WIFE, PUT DOWN LID......really P***** me off when i go to sit)))))))
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Man the stories crack me up... Donald I did have an eye exam last year and they told me just to go buy some reading glasses off the shelf... they seem to help, but it takes time to get used to it.
I know this would wind up down the toilet!lol
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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I really did not want the image of OP sitting down to pee burned into my imagination. I just finally got the Speedo pix out of my mind. Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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