Eye Strain

[day5 0]

Do any of you suffer form eye strain when tying? If I tie for a few hours my eyes start to hurt. Not bad but they feel uncomfortable irritated. I try to keep as little behind the fly as possible. I was thinking about getting a profile plate that attaches to the vise post. How many of you use this and does it help???

[AlG 0]

I use one and have a hard time using one without now. I think it does allow you to concentrate on the fly more, and it gathers light for you, putting it behind the fly. Try propping a piece of paper behind your next fly and you'll see what i mean.

[maddog48 0]

I have one and wouldn't try tying anymore without it. The one I have is white. I may order the green for a change of pace. It definitely (to me) is a must have.

 

 

Mike

[Chase Creek 0]

I've used a profile plate for a few years now. It does help a lot, keeping your eyes from picking up the clutter on the desk. Mine is white, but I have several pieces of sheet foam cut to the same size in different colors that I clip to it to change the background color. Use white, soft blue, andlight tan quite a bit.

[Joe Hard 0]

I used to get eye strain and headaches, I now tie with a piece of black craft foam propped up behind my vise. It s far enough back that it really doesn't show up, rather just blocks everything else out but the fly. Your eyes only focus on the fly.

 

I also either tie with a magnifier or a pair of 1.5 x reading glasses. I took this advise about the glasses from a few members here. I also get the same thing when reading, as I am not getting any younger. As soon as I tried the reading glasses I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

 

Another thing I think really helped was a daylight lamp over head of the fly. It took a little while to get used to as it is bright. I picked one up at staples, it and the glasses have made tying more comfortable

[captaincondor 0]

I am new to tying and i have a heck of a time with my eyes when i tie. My mom and dad suggested i get one of those giant magnifying glasses with a light around it. I love it. It has made life much easier and I can pay much better attention to details. My only complaint is that you have to have the glass relatively close inorder for your fly to be in focus which begins to interfere with my turning of the bobin sometimes. Its not a major issue but its still annoying.

 

Its money well spent in my opinion though

Connor

[Guest]

I have one for my HMH, that I don't use because it always got in the way. With a bobbin rest and the profile plate clamped to the vise, I just didn't have any room.

 

I do wear magnifiers when I tie, not so much for eye strain but for precision. Had your eyes checked lately?

[steelie 0]

Good Day,

 

 

No problem here Matt, and am I not older than you! :devil: Off the top of the bat I would lean toward impropper lighting and or distance to the vice. Take a break every 20-30 minutes for a swig of brew or coffee, check on the sports scores... if it continues I certainly would go to see the eye doctor for a check up. Good Luck!

 

Steelie

[day5 0]

Im thinking of getting one. As far a the room issue with the hmh I plan on getting a peak base. It has the second accessory post for the plate and a garbage bag. That is out of the way for the vise

[Linesides 0]

I use a white piece of 1/4" lexan behind the fly 12" sq. I started with it from a tip here and have never removed it.

[Lance Kekel 0]

I've always had excellent lighting but I had to start tying with a profile plate behind it about 8 yrs ago and it really helped ALOT. Kept me afloat on sight for about 6 yrs until I ended up getting bi-focals at 41. I also use a magnifier but I can get away without it as long as I'm tying 12's or larger. It bites getting older(but not old!)

[flyfishingtaz 0]

I do as linesides does. The girlfriend was worried about my eye strain, and being she's a ( I'll be nice here) cost cutter, we went out, and got a piece of that cardboard poster paper you find at wal-mart. I just cut it in half, crooked the bottom of it to fit under my lap desk table, and it works remarkably well. But, as I have also seen here as well, a good magnifying lamp, or magnified glasses like I use, work remarkably well also.

[kamloopstrout 0]

Hi,

I commercial tie I find that lighting is very important I use a large ott-lite there is no heat and there is no glare which contributes to eye strain, buy the best light you can there are no subs for light and they are not all the same. You get what you pay for I tell you it worked for me. I also use a profile plate for my eye's the blue dyna-king plate works well. I have tried some of the other colors but blue works for me. I have tried those magnifing lamps and the get in the way and the lighting is too bright. When it comes to your eyes you can't spend too much.

Cheers, kt

[Chase Creek 0]

I also use reading glasses (+2.25) from the drug store. I tried the lamp with the magnifier in the middle, but found it really screwed up my depth perception. Also have a daylight lamp, and really think that has a lot to do with improving my vision problems. The lamps seem to be getting cheaper all the time. Ott Lites are very good, but you can get lamps that use the same bulbs at places like Home Depot, and a lot of other places.

[seriesofseven 0]

lighting is extremely important to your eyes. I wonder though if you're having head aches it might be a bit more involved. I would have you vision checked if your lighing and back drop choices don't improve anything. I read a bit about eye strain when I first started tying and found useful information from hospital websites. Green and blue seem to be the most relaxing to your focus. I decided to make my table more of an experiment than a final tying table. I quickly found that I needed many more drawers and cabinet space but the green stain I applied has been perfect with a 60 watt tungsten corrected artist lamp. This was the table when I finished making it. My camera has since broke but now there are boxes of feathers everywhere. The green really has helped with those 5 hour tying marathons: