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Magnifying headbands (seeking recommendations)

Kalia Kliban

Kalia Kliban

Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Messages
196
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905
Location
Sebastopol, California
There are some jobs where the reading glasses just don't cut it anymore, and I'd like to get a set of those headband-style magnifying lenses. Do you use them? If so, do you have a style or brand you especially recommend? There are a gazillion different styles on the market. Are the ones with the integral lights worthwhile? Are the cheap ones ok or should I spring for a pricier set?

Kalia in Sebastopol
 
I've had good use out of this one. USB rechargeable with variable light output. I like the design since it allows me to wear it over my regular glasses. One the downside, like most of these devices the focal length is fixed. You have to move your head to adjust focus.
 
I like the Donegan Optical with the glass lenses. They are optically clear, confortable and don't scratch easily either. Here is a link to the company. Link They can be purchased many places. I have only tried the glass lens version, DA series

Larry
 
I have used the Bausch and Lomb headband magnifier, similar to the Donegan mentioned above, at work and have tried the Mageyes magnifiers at home. http://www.mageyes.com/default.htm

The common gray headband style worked well and can be had in different magnifications, and some come with interchangeable lenses. We had plentiful light and I've not tried the ones with built in lights.
The Mageyes are lighter weight and do pretty much the same job, but are more comfortable for long wear, like an evening tying flies, but they're not as sturdy, or as stable when you're moving your head a lot.

One huge problem with the headband magnifiers is that the stronger the magnification, the shorter the required distance between your face and your work. Also, the range of distance where you can see clearly gets pretty narrow. When you're crafting, this isn't much of a problem, but with woodturning, you can't safely get your face 9" from the work when it's spinning on the lathe.

For most situations today, I just use a stronger pair of reading glasses, and only resort to the headband if I need greater magnification than 3.25 (diopters, not X magnification).

For surface decoration, any of the above should work fine, though with high magnification, your nose might get a little toasted doing pyrography.;)
 
I wear reader safety glasses at the lathe (and for most everything else in the shop). When I need to see better for something small/detailed - I simply add a second pair of readers (that is, I wear two).
 
I'm pretty much like Dave - Except, instead of the second pair of readers, I got one of those interchangeable lens magnifiers that slip on like a pair of glasses , that way I can get several options for magnification level, up to 5x If I recall correctly. Typically strongest I have used were the 3.5x when I was working a very precise dovetail joint in a very small space with my 1/8" chisel....
 
A key issue is focal length, i.e. how close do you have to be to the work to put it in focus. The Mageyes product is maybe two feet, which is very workable, but they were like 30 bucks. The cheap headbands have a focal distance of only a few inches and were not workable for me.
 
The Mageyes has changeable lenses, so you can get a pretty short focal length with the highest magnification. I would assume that the same would hold for the traditional headbands, which come with either a fixed magnification in a variety of strengths, or a changeable model.
 
Dean Center said:
One huge problem with the headband magnifiers is that the stronger the magnification, the shorter the required distance between your face and your work. Also, the range of distance where you can see clearly gets pretty narrow. When you're crafting, this isn't much of a problem, but with woodturning, you can't safely get your face 9" from the work when it's spinning on the lathe.
Click to expand...
This is a good point, but my intended use would be for finicky detail work at my bench. Regular readers work fine when I'm at the lathe.
 
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