A question concerning getting older and working in our hobby

[BARC 1]

For me it has been my eyes that needed help. I wear magnifying lenses now, that I never used to have to. I think older age and eyesight is one of the reason I have abandoned my N Scale train layout. Working in 1/160 can be tough. So for me I changed scales. We just have to learn to adapt . I also have 1/16 scale tanks. For guys with poor eyesight, big tanks are a modelers blessing. Easy to see in 1/16 scale and you don't need to be too finicky painting a model that represents a prototype that had its paint applied in the field with a mop!!!!!!.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

[Wobble]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Thanks, mate. That table has been sanded down to get rid of stains and cuts 7 times in 12 years. The upper layer of wood in the plywood is so thin it disappears in some spots!

[burad]

Stick a big square of magnetic sheet to your workbench to work on. Anything you drop that a magnet will stick to will stay where it drops on the sheet.

[RV Racing]

My solution for parts that disappear forever under the workbench is a shop apron. It catches about 90 percent of the pieces that fling themselves off the bench and into my lap. Mine is a machinist's apron made from denim, so it even looks kinda "manly" when I'm wearing it, and the pockets are great for holding calipers, rulers, etc. I even wear it when I'm doing manly cooking at the barbecue.

There is a variation called a jeweler's apron that clips onto the edge of the workbench to form a pouch that collects errant parts; I think I could get the same result with a couple of binder clips screwed to the edge of the bench, but I would probably forget to release the apron before I stand up, pulling over the bench and making a truly epic mess on the shop floor.

I race chiefly HO scale slot cars, so the parts tend to be tiny and elusive. Despite my best efforts to corral them, some still make it to the floor. Consequently I spend an inordinate amount of time on my hands and knees with a flashlight under the workbench searching (usually futilely) for gears, brushes, springs, spacers, and all of the other microscopic bits. My wife has a term for this: She calls is "praying to the gods of speed." My bench is on wheels, and every few months I'll roll it away from the wall and sweep up all the stuff that's taken refuge underneath it. Usually I come up with enough parts to put together a couple of cars . . .

Cheers,
Rick V.

[Modlerbob]

One thing I have noticed as I have grown old, even though my vision is still good, I need more light on the subject when I am working on models and slot cars. You almost can't have too much light, short of melting plastic. My hands stay steadier when I can see what I'm doing.

[Austin]

Now that I am 62 I have real glasses and can see better then 20/20, I like good lighten and a very clean floor under me. All ways plenty of free time and good sounds in the back ground.

[ccobra]

Gee I thought the fuzzy vision was from eating to many beans and the Dog. There have been times when there was a Code Grey (unknown toxic gas) out in manwan. These conditions also cause the shakes but a little fresh air usually remedies the situation. Got to admit though, just can't get enough lighting out there above the bench. Especially when some small hardware inadvertently drops on the carpet, which has black spots in the color pattern. I've tried magnets but some of those parts are made from Stainless which lack the magnetic attraction.
The wife got me a combination pole lamp with magnifying glass attached. That makes it very nice, I've tried the pull down visor type but it is very hard to get these to focus in for me. Anyway, that just adds another challenge to the hobby so I think I'll have a can of beans and take the Dog outside for some competition gassing, who knows, we may come up with a new aroma for an air freshener.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

New meaning for "Old Fart", eh? We need to send Mongo into town, Mr Taggart...

[Czar]

[mattb]

The tray to catch parts is a good idea. I always draped a towel over my lap, but now I have a 1/4 inch square piece of wood on the front edge to keep stuff from rolling/falling off the bench. All the shelves under the desk are sealed to the floor so nothing goes "under". I use a magnifier on a stem, but not the included light. It is good for some small work. Not so much for painting for me. I have a clamp on light above the desk top. I have learned to cover my desk top with cardboard. I cut a new piece every few months from the free postal boxes. It also makes me have to pick everything up. I will include a picture shortly (after I clean it up).

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Sarge, I can't stress enough what has been said about lotsa light. My wife is a big-time quilter (shows from Australia and New Zealand to Paducah, Kentucky, which is a kind of Mecca for quilters, to Alaska, San Francisco, Scotland, and all over Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico). When she and her colleagues say "You need more light every year after age 55." its best to believe them. Today, there are 4 extensor lights (the kind on spring loaded gantries), bolted to my worktable/outfeed for the table saw, and 9 (4 tube) fluorescents 12 feet overhead. I overdid everything for 65 years, and now I need all the help I can get, not to mention the blasted cataracts that make rainbows all over the place when I try to drive at night (only in emergencies).

I found the extensors when an Ace Hardware closed nearby and they discounted everything rather than move it to another store and screw up inventory. The fluorescents are from a large private garage (you should have seen the antique tractors in there!), that was bearing torn down. I bought the tubes on Amazon for half what it cost in town for a 48 tube carton, with free shipping, and a friend who had scaffolding installed all of them. Best of all, I got rid of the mercury vapor bay lighting I had which was allergic to my "out-in-the-country" electric power.

[mattb]

Here's a picture before I added the magnifier. You can see the quarter round on the front edge, that saves a lot of stuff from rolling off the desk. P1010029.JPG

[Retro Racer 44]

At 72, my hands aren't as steady as they were and my eyesight is weaker. I can still wield a mean soldering iron but when it comes to painting and detailing I really appreciate doing flat black rat rods or barn finds covered with chicken poop.

It seems that a trend on this site is toward the fine modelling skills that I know I will never acquire, so I have three choices. If a proxy calls for fine modelling, I can pass, or do what I can and/or hire a professional. Fortunately for me, I now have a good friend and club-mate who loves the painting and detailing and even 3D body making, but hasn't yet acquired the brass chassis building. What better opportunity for me than to trade skills for skills and come up with a better modelling effort than I could ever aspire to on my own.

Do I cheat? I don't think so. How many winners of the Concours d"Elegance at Pebble Beach did their own paint jobs or restoration work? Some maybe, but probably not many.

I am sure the time will come when i simply can no longer build a car. Fortunately by then, I will have a cupboard full of fine slot cars to have fun driving.

Cheers,

Keith