High power readers for assembly/disassembly?

[spectre6000]

There's a BBC show on Netflix called "The Repair Shop" (or something along those lines). One of the people is a watchmaker that repairs all the mechanical things that come in. He wears his regular glasses and some high powered readers alternatingly on his head/eyes depending on the circumstance. Enough magnification, stereo vision, and available all the way up to 6x (as far as I've been able to find so far. Also, available for extremely cheap on Amazon (currently looking at a pair for $8). I can't say that I saw him actually using the readers for watch repair, but it seems like a good idea from a cursory glance. Has anyone tried this? Any reason it's not a good idea?

Edited December 27, 2020 by spectre6000

[watchweasol]

That guy Steve Fletcher is a third generation clockmaker from Witney In Oxfordshire, owns his own high quality repair shop. Does watches clocks and tower clocks. A very able and talented man.

[spectre6000]

Any thoughts on the readers for assembly/disassembly on wristwatches though? I don't think I ever saw him fix anything smaller than a mantel clock. 

[bklake]

Never saw the show but I think I know what you are referring to.  Search for surgical binocular loupe or dental binocular loupe.  Is that what you are thinking of?  2x-4x, binocular and long working distance. 

My dentist and hygienist use something similar but I think theirs cost a lot more than $30-40.  The dentist's say Zeiss , the hygienist's are no name.  Anything Zeiss is way out of my price range. 

[spectre6000]

https://smile.amazon.com/Eyekepper-Vintage-Reading-Black-Yellow-Torotoise/dp/B00LJPIY94/ref=sr_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=Reading%2BGlasses%2B3.5x&qid=1609040336&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011%2Cp_72%3A1248903011%2Cp_36%3A1253518011&rnid=386636011&rps=1&s=hpc&sr=1-17&th=1

Reading glasses to the tune of as high as 6X. I feel like the focal length at that distance would eliminate the stereo benefit, but 3.5-4x might be usable.

[bklake]

I think those confuse 3.5x with +3.5 diopter.  The Chinese sellers are not always accurate with their descriptions/translations. 

That said, my brother had to do some close in work and couldn't find his magnifier.  He stacked a couple pairs of reading glasses and got a better look at what he was working on.   Good enough in a pinch is what he said. 

[bklake]

Something like this is what I was thinking: https://www.amazon.com/Dental-Power-Binocular-Loupes-Aluminum/dp/B012M3IV80/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=dentist+stereo+loupe&qid=1609106943&sr=8-8

[spectre6000]

Interesting... At 35, I'm not yet fully conversant in the nuances of reading glasses. I'd grab a pair at the grocery store to check the theory save the whole pandemic thing...

I found an article saying the conversion between power and diopter is diopter = 4 X power. So "6x" = 1.5X... I was thinking 3.5X would be about the sweet spot between magnification, working distance, and preservation of stereoscopy, so I'd need to find "14x"... I sorta doubt that's going to be found for <$10...

[spectre6000]

...Then I went and found high power readers that are [i]explicitly[/i] "6X/+24". All the way up to "12X/+48" in fact! They black out one eye, which makes sense. They go as high as 4X without blacking out one lens, which seems to check out from my own experimentation. So maybe the idea isn't dead yet.

Edited December 27, 2020 by spectre6000

[spectre6000]

It's been a full day and change on this. Enough for all the timezones represented here to chime in. The sole contention has been allayed, but I'm not seeing anyone in support of the idea either. This leaves me to think either a) I'm a brilliant and creative person full of novel ideas and notions (never mind the fact that I saw it on TV in nearly this exact application), or b) it's a dumb idea that won't work or it would be in common use the world over, and I'm a fool for even thinking the thought....

For $8 to my door via Amazon, if the "X" should be a "+" I can return them under the "incorrect specification" (or whatever the wording is), and it costs me nothing. I'll give it a shot and let you all know how it turns out.

[bklake]

I guess we are the only two talking about this.  Sadly, I have 10 years experience in the reader department.  Your day will come.  My moment of realization that it was time was when I was putting a new exhaust system on a Jeep.  I couldn't focus on a nut for a clamp.  At first I blamed the concrete driveway for not allowing to move my head back far enough.  Then I blamed the lack of a lift kit on the Jeep not giving me enough distance.  Finally an older friend passed me his reading glasses and, problem solved.  $4 readers were a lot cheaper than a lift kit. 

I have tried the high power glasses available from Harbor Freight.  Not the best quality and they were a complete fail.  Working distance doesn't allow stereo view on the small watch scale.  Those were marked as 3x not +3.  The optical quality was terrible, in line with the price tag.  Loupes work fine for most things.  My Optivisor ( real one, made in USA) works fine but doesn't play nice my progressive glasses.  The Optivisor is great for disassembly, the magnification isn't enough for assembly.  The stereo microscope works great.  I can't express how much stereo vision is better than mono (loupe) vision.  I almost trashed a hairspring last night using a loupe.  Cat like reflexes, still have that, and vast experience trashing hairsprings saved me from destroying this one.  I should have set up the stereo microscope. 

This is my way of saying just skip the cheap solutions and go straight to the good stuff.  A good quality loupe, a real Optivisor, and a stereo microscope will be your friends.  My stereo microscope is an Amscope that I scored on Amazon for $40.  Normally they are in the $100-125 range.  $200+ for the long working distance model. 

[spectre6000]

Oh yeah, a stereo microscope is a given. If it weren't for the guy on the show using what look like regular old readers, I wouldn't even be considering this. Most of the time I'm just using a 3.5X clip on loupe. Readers seem easier, wider field of vision, and possibly stereo. Seems like a major win.

[Razz]

I know this thread is 3 years old, but the conventional wisdom in using a loupe is with both eyes open. So if you are far sighted you should be using readers with a clip on loupe on your dominant eye. That way you can refocus on items on your bench without having to lift your loupe and putting on the readers. If you use high power readers (above 2x) then you are looking at everything close up and would have to take the high power ones off and put regular readers on to see at a close distance. I keep my readers (the ones without the loupe) on looking through the microscope and that way when I come out of the scope I can refocus immediately on grabbing a screwdriver or tweezers of the correct shape, etc. Then back to the scope. Much more efficient and less eye strain.

[spectre6000]

Stereomicroscope is the answer, as it turns out. The high powered reader idea was a bust. I tried a bunch of things trying to avoid the cost of the microscope. The cost on that solution is down to something like $400 on Ali-X if memory serves. Worth it.