Where, at your torch, do you sit?

Firelilly · #1 2006-03-02, 7:41am

Let's see...How can I best ask this?...

Let's say someone is looking at your profile as you sit at your torch. And let's say your nose is at 9:00 O'clock. Where then on the clock is your torch flame?

I don't think I'm set up well for seeing my work. Particularly since my depth perception doth suckith. I would say, with my nose at 9:00 O'clock, that my torch flame is at, not quite, 4:00 O'clock.

I keep feeling like I want to be more over the top of the work so I can look through the flame better. In fact I really just about feel that I'd love one of those Japanese torches for working Satake, so that the flame would be going straight up and down and my work would be at eye level behind the flame.

My bench still isn't built yet and I'm working at a table that is temporary. I'm thinking I want the bench to be built low so I can look down over my work. But then I see posts where folks have said that if the work is too low their shoulders and neck begin to feel stressed.

Anyone have any advice on this?

Is there anyone else out there that has eye problems that effect your depth perception? If so, how do you deal with this in order to get the best perspective on your work?

Thanks so much for any advice y'all can offer, guys.

Lil

Mr. Smiley · #2 2006-03-02, 7:48am

I always sit behind mine... tried in front of it once... once! Not a good place to sit.

My angle changes, because it depends on where I want the heat.

Especially for off mandrel work.

An adjustable torch is important for this type of thing IMHO.

Mr. Smiley · #3 2006-03-02, 7:52am

Torch height is also a big decision. If the bench is built lower, you can always build up with thick planks or cement blocks... going lower requires a saw and is much harder.

Firelilly · #4 2006-03-02, 7:57am

Hey, Smiley?....

Well, I can adjust the angle of the torch...I didn't seem to like it tipped up higher either. But that was the first time that I sat at it that I had it tipped up...I guess I could try that again.

Well, since I haven't built the bench yet a saw is required anyway. That's why I'm trying to determine what height would be best. That seems like a good idea though. Go with a low bench top and jack up the torch with a platform if need be.

Lil

Cosmo · #5 2006-03-02, 7:58am

I keep mine tilted up slightly, but I change the angle of my torch while I'm working quite often.

Oh, and I don't sit. I stand.

GinnyHampton · #6 2006-03-02, 7:59am

I don't think you need to necessarily have a low bench, I think you could accomplish what you want by proper chair height/position adjustment.
My table is definitely not low . .. I sit in an office-type chair that I can adjust so that when I scoot all the way in to work my torch is about at my chest. I pretty much position myself so that I can hover right over my torch marver, so I work fairly close to the flame. I look a little bit downward at my work, but not straight down . . . my flame is probably a little lower than my chin.

Hopefully I've explained this well enough . . . . try a new chair that allows you to scoot in and adjust your height. I'm short so I have to rest my feet on a milk crate, so if necessary, you might need to get a footrest too.

Firelilly · #7 2006-03-02, 8:04am

Ok...I'm going to tip the torch head up and sit at it for a bit...see how that goes. I still think the torch might be sitting altogether too high for me though. Or rather that the table top is too high for me.

Lil

Firelilly · #8 2006-03-02, 8:09am

Yeah, I'm in the same boat there, Ginny. If my chair is too high my feet will be dangling off the floor. From the sounds of it your torch and flame are a little bit lower than mine.

We have been saying that we need an adjustable height chair...cuz guess who else is melting glass now? lol My DH has been bitten by the bug since we got set up. And since he's 6'3'' and I'm 5' even, I think we need to be able to adjust a chair.

I'll go change the torch angle for now and see how it goes.

Thanks you guys!

Lil

DesertDreamer · #9 2006-03-02, 8:38am

I'm up & down and all over the place, depending on what I'm doing. I don't do a LOT of off-mandrel work, but when I do I like to be standing. So, I wanted a bench that was comfortably high enough to work standing so I wouldn't avoid the off-mandrel stuff (something DH has been encouraging me to do more of). But what to do for when I'm sitting, making beads???? I bought a WONDERFUL drafting chair with an adjustable height (and adjustable backrest angle, too, as an added bonus!). It was $129 from Ikea and it's soooo comfy. It has an adjustable footrest, too. It took a bit of tweaking to get all the adjustments adjusted juuuuuust right, but now I'm totally comfortable sitting tall, and can just kick the chair back if I want to work standing.

Oh, and I adjust my torch angle all the time, depending on what I want to access beside or under it.

Firelilly · #10 2006-03-02, 9:23am

That chair is sounding really good, Karen!

I think it is better with the torch tipped up more. And I think an adjustable chair is in order. And I think last but not least I need to get rid of that didymium shield I'm using and get a pair of prescription didy glasses.

I thought I'd spare some expense if I used the shield and just wore my regular reading glasses. But I think with the looking through a window at my work effect, plus trying to look past the reflections cast on the surface on the shield, I didn't do myself any favors. I think it's totally screwing with my already not so hot depth perception and making matters worse.

Okie dokie...thanks again for your input folks! It's been a help.

Lil

IF-Designs · #11 2006-03-02, 9:39am

I set behind mine and to the left so Im kinda looking at it at an angle...Ive tried straight on but my boobs get in the way of the oxy and propane nobs that way and my depth perception isny the best so to the side slightly seems to work for me

Oh and my torch face is tilted pretty far up almost a direct line of flame from the torch face to my ventilation openeing....I think theres a pic of my new studio in the studio thread I need to take new pics though

Flamechick · #12 2006-03-02, 11:45am

I sit directly behind my torch where the flame is probably at 8 o'clock, or a bit below my chin. I torch outside most of the time, so I try to face a shady spot so I have a dark background behind my flame which helps me see the flame better. I also have some black ceramic tiles that I got from Home Depot that I set on the edge of the table behind the flame.

glasswinder · #13 2006-03-02, 12:47pm

You you have a place in mind for your perscription didy glasses??? I want some too! thanks...Jan

Firelilly · #14 2006-03-02, 1:11pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flamechick

I also have some black ceramic tiles that I got from Home Depot that I set on the edge of the table behind the flame.

Yepper I should for sure go get a tile. Thanks for the reminder!

Jiggly, I hear ya...I've been peeking to the side a bit and it's does seem to help with the depth perception thing. But then I'm not looking through the shield anymore and I'm trying to see through the glare. For sure need to get some specs instead.

Jan, I just today called a couple of local optometrist/eyewear places to find out if I can order didymium lens glasses through them. Both places that I called said they could accommodate me. I have an eye exam appt that is coming up at the end of this month. I'm going to wait to get my latest exam done and then order a pair of didy glasses locally. I would suggest you just make a couple of calls to places you find in your local yellow pages.

Thanks you guys!

Lil

e. mort · #15 2006-03-02, 1:40pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by IF-Designs

Ive tried straight on but my boobs get in the way of the oxy and propane nobs

Wow, you just about made me shoot iced tea out my nose when I read that.

(Now I am just waiting for Mr. Smiley to ask for pictures...)

Eric

Cosmo · #16 2006-03-02, 1:51pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by glasswinder

You you have a place in mind for your perscription didy glasses??? I want some too! thanks...Jan

I know Mike at Aura Lens has them.

www.auralens.net

e. mort · #17 2006-03-02, 2:16pm

I think it would be nice to try out a shield, but I want to try out one I saw that had a glass area as big as a sheet of copy paper. The guy said it really helped with keeping his face cool when working boro. I forgot to ask him where he got it, and how much it cost. Don't even remember his name. Bummer...

Has anybody else out there seen one that size?

Eric

Firelilly · #18 2006-03-02, 3:23pm

Ug! Eric I can't imagine an even bigger shield in front of my face. It is sooo in the way for me as it is.

I'd gladly trade this thing for something else, if anyone wants it, as soon as I get some glasses.

Lil

Kevan · #19 2006-03-02, 4:04pm

I sit behind the flame. Sitting in front of it seems a little risky.

We have ours set on my DH's jeweler's bench. It's higher than a regular table would be and it's cut out in front. If you know what a jeweler's bench looks like. Hard to esplain. I'll go look for a pic.

Here -

The tray in the bottom pulls in and out like a drawer.Pieces of glass fall in it all the time. The torch sits on top. Actually, I think it's mounted on a bracket and ...see that square of light colored wood in front of the woman? That's where it is.

We sit on a stool. It's higher than a chair, but my feet are still on the floor. My DH made an arm rest because he makes hollow beads and spends so much time on them and he was getting tendonitis. He made it out of a car jack with a board ontop. I've gotten used to resting my arm on it too. I don't know if I could get used to doing it otherwise.

Firelilly · #20 2006-03-02, 5:37pm

That picture of the jeweler's bench sort of fools my eyes I think, Kevan. The woman is so tiny that if I picture her trying to reach a torch that's sitting where the jeweler's pin is I imagine she'd have to reach her arms up in the air and work under the flame. That can't be right!

Lil

Edit: Cuz I spelled Kevan's name wrong! Sorry Kevan...I really do know how to spell your name!

Moth · #21 2006-03-02, 11:26pm

I used to always work standing and built my bench high, but I started working such long hours (little over a year ago) that I bought a 'saddle stool' that adjusts as high as I would be if I were standing.

You sit on it like a saddle, obviously, but the reason I'm mentioning it is that there is a steel ring around the bottom of the stool that is adjustable up or down, as a foot rest. So no matter how high you have your seat, you have a place to put your feet so they aren't just dangling.

You don't have to get a saddle stool of course, lots of chairs have these foot rings. Just something to keep in mind if you are building your table high.

Also, the saddle stool helps with your posture. Here is a link to the one I have. Don't buy a cheaply made one. Your butt will pay the difference. LOL

~~Mary

Kevan · #22 2006-03-03, 12:24am

Yeah, you don't want your feet dangling or your back could get hurt.

That woman does look pretty small. Maybe she's sitting on a chair. I sit up higher.

Firelilly · #23 2006-03-03, 5:30am

Yep...the whole chair or stool with an adjustable place to set my feet is looking like a real good idea. Particularly since it appears that two people of very different heights will be sitting at the torch now.

Yeah, my feet dangling like that does mess with my lower back and having pressure hit just behind my knees, when my feet don't touch the floor, must cut off the circulation in my legs...cuz they'll start to ache if I sit like that for long.

I don't know why I didn't do this sooner...it made a huge difference...
I have one of these lights...

We clamped that on to the table and now have it as task lighting above, and just a little to the left of the torch. I thought there would be too much heat for it but it's not a problem. And oh man, I can see soooo much better now.

I have really good overhead lighting in the room but with my eyes I think I really needed more specific task lighting. Plus with that accursed shield I've had to keep jockying to keep the room's overhead lighting from reflecting on the shield, obscuring the view through the glass. Man, what a waste of dough that thing was.

Lil

GinnyHampton · #24 2006-03-03, 7:44am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moth

You sit on it like a saddle, obviously, but the reason I'm mentioning it is that there is a steel ring around the bottom of the stool that is adjustable up or down, as a foot rest. So no matter how high you have your seat, you have a place to put your feet so they aren't just dangling.

Hey, awesome tip Mary, thank you!!!! The way I sit in my chair is more like a saddle anyways (I never use the backrest) and that little ring would give me different options for where to place my feet. I appreciate this info

Flamechick · #25 2006-03-03, 8:58am

Cool Stool! Normally I don't like sitting on stools due to the sore butt factor, but I'm thinking I like the saddle seat. Thanks for the tip, Mary!

glasswinder · #26 2006-03-03, 2:01pm

Thanks for the info on the prescription didy's....I'll call around locally and see what I can come up with! Jan

Moth · #27 2006-03-03, 10:35pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flamechick

Cool Stool! Normally I don't like sitting on stools due to the sore butt factor, but I'm thinking I like the saddle seat. Thanks for the tip, Mary!

Wendy Tobler is who turned me on to the saddle seat. Think about how nice and straight people sit when they are on a horse. A saddle tilts your hips forward, making your back open up more and you automatically sit straighter, with your shoulders squared. It's good for you. Especially with the foot ring.

Her seat is even more like a saddle than mine, narrower and you straddle it more, if I remember right from the pictures she posted, but I couldn't find a link to hers anywhere. I remember it was outta my price range though. Edited to say: I THINK I found a picture of a stool like Wendy's, unless my memory is betraying me. LINK

It took me about 2 weeks to fine-tune the seat to fit me just right. There are a LOT of adjustment knobs on it. You can even adjust the 'tilt' of the seat to fit you better. Once I had it adjusted though, I tightened it all down so it doesn't move. LOL

~~Mary

firefreak · #28 2006-03-03, 10:45pm

I set more like nose at 10 o'clock flame at 3 o'clock.(60 degree angle up) Third bench I've built (41 inches to surface) Finally got it worked out to my comfort zone.

Flamechick · #29 2006-03-04, 7:45am

Mary - thanks for the info. This stool will solve some of the chair dilemmas I have been debating over. I've bookmarked the sight so I'll remember where to look when I get the moolah.

Moth · #30 2006-03-04, 9:17am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flamechick

Mary - thanks for the info. This stool will solve some of the chair dilemmas I have been debating over. I've bookmarked the sight so I'll remember where to look when I get the moolah.

Shop around, I've seen the same stool at other sites for much less.