When did size numbers get so small on drill bits?

[Bill_In_Asheville]

Harrumph.
And, hey, you KIDS... GET OFF MY LAWN!

 

[Mike Davis]

After 50?

 

[llucas]

Bill,
I know what you mean...but I guess the trade-off is that I can't see myself as clearly in the mirror each morning, so I can kid myself that I'm as good looking as ever...

 

[Canuck]

Gave up a long while ago. Use my dial calipers to check bit sizes.

Wayne

 

[Ed D]

Sigh...I keep a magnifying glass in my shop apron for those times when the bifocals don't help.....Ed

 

[sawman101]

I use very small, #55, #58, etc drill bits for very fine fretwork. This also requires using very fine scroll sawblades, such as #1, #2/0. On the drill bits, if I didn't just get it out of a marked tube, the micrometers are necessary to determine the size. Once I've used a scroll saw blade, I discard it, thereby lessening the confusion over the size. Getting old ain't for wimps!:wconfused:

 

[Willemjm]

LOL, I arrived at that problem many years ago. My solution was to make a drill holder, with the sizes in "old man's size" written below each bit.

 

[woodworker2000]

I think it happened at the same time the print on spray paint cans and the date on coins were both shrunk and made unreadable......

Is this what's next?? https://www.amazon.com/MAGNIFYING-A...165669&sr=8-4&keywords=large+number+tv+remote

 

[jerrye]

Is this what's next?? https://www.amazon.com/MAGNIFYING-A...165669&sr=8-4&keywords=large+number+tv+remote

This is a great idea, as I'm sure it's harder to lose...and easier to see...

 

[Pop Golden]

I have Magna-Focus loops everywhere. Shop, office, even the car. I just can't see. At 77 I feel your pain, me too.

Pop :rotflm:

 

[Tom from Clayton]

I use one of those cheap plastic drill guage templates that someone gave me years ago. It has drill bit holes sized from 1/2 inch down to 1/16th inch. Handy gadget that spent years in the bottom of a drawer. Looking real close it has Handyman stamped on it so it must have been one of those mail order come-ons that everyone ignores.

 

[Jim M.]

I had the same plastic gauge Tom was talking about and when broken, it was only then I realized how much I missed it. About a year ago we went to Wisconsin to look at fire trucks we were having built and I saw one made from aluminum on one of the tech's work stations. I commented on it to our sales rep and the next time I saw him he had set of gauges for checking drill bits as well as screws, nuts , bolts, pop-rivets and rod sizes. I guess you spend $800K on a couple of trucks they'll give you about anything.

 

[danmart77]

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Gave up a long while ago. Use my dial calipers to check bit sizes.

Wayne

Best way for me as well. I do a bunch of drill and tap work when building locks for blackpowder rifles.

 

[MarkE]

Getting old ain't for wimps!:wconfused:

Still beats the alternative.

 

[NCGrimbo]

I'm going to make one of these for my drill bits and then color all the bottoms:
https://smile.amazon.com/FastCap-KISS-SYSTEM-16-inch-Color-Coded/dp/B00VVHETZI

 

[Bill_In_Asheville]

yeah, for $179 I could make a few of them, methinks.

 

[Richo B]

It happens long before 50. I'm in my early 40's and it is hard to read the tiny fractions on older bits. My question is why are the bits black or gray with the measurement embossed in them. Let's have some colored bits that might make seeing easier. Just a thought.

 

[garymuto]

It happens long before 50. I'm in my early 40's and it is hard to read the tiny fractions on older bits. My question is why are the bits black or gray with the measurement embossed in them. Let's have some colored bits that might make seeing easier. Just a thought.

Glad I'm not the only one. I noticed in my mid-40's but at 54 I have given in to having reading glasses in the shop.

 

[junquecol]

As my dad said, "My arms aren't as long as they used to be, and people don't talk as loud either."

 

[bob vaughan]

Be glad you're not dealing with circuit board drill bits. I've got some that go down to .017".