Blind Youtuber Woodworker?????

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shed9

establiSHED member
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Came across this video earlier on Youtube;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAbl9hpLEM4

Blind tradesman doing, amongst other things, a little woodworking. Looks earlier days for his content but I'll wager that people could probably learn something from a guy who is down on the key sense most of us use in the craft itself.

I wonder how this will pan out.
 
What really interests me is that he puts eye protection on! :|










(I know it would still hurt if you did get something in your eye, I'm not an *****!)
He's clearly got a good taste in table saws though.
 
Trevanion":1qb2ynte said:
What really interests me is that he puts eye protection on! :|


(I know it would still hurt if you did get something in your eye, I'm not an *****!)
He's clearly got a good taste in table saws though.

That initially surprised me as well.
 
Blind does not necessarily mean he cannot see anything at all. It's a scale that starts from not being able to see anything at all - not even light or dark but a lot of blind people can see more than that.
 
Peterm1000":3rk93vef said:
Blind does not necessarily mean he cannot see anything at all. It's a scale that starts from not being able to see anything at all - not even light or dark but a lot of blind people can see more than that.

This guy has total sight loss, says so in his first video. Appreciate the spectrum of impairment though.
 
OK - didn't realise that. I presumed he would be able to see a bit or be able to tell the difference between dark and light (most blind people can). It will still hurt if he gets a splinter in his eye even if he can't see through it.
 
Is he fully blind? Whenever I see "blind" people doing extraordinary things I always have a hint of suspicion.

When I had a shop I had a regular customer who was "blind", totally blind he told us. He walked around carrying a walkie talkie which he said was a type of sonar device that helped him see where he was going.

He used to pick up items in the shop and "read" them using the sonar device.

He was about as blind as I am handsome. Still quite happy to take his disability payments though. :roll:
 
Accepting that he may be blind and as such his spatial awareness is probably better than those of us that are sighted, watching this still makes me feel ill.

Surely it should come with some sort of warning that using an unguarded blade really isn’t a good idea, or is this just so obvious it’s not worth repeating?
 
Mrs C":29xczavv said:
Accepting that he may be blind and as such his spatial awareness is probably better than those of us that are sighted, watching this still makes me feel ill.

Surely it should come with some sort of warning that using an unguarded blade really isn’t a good idea, or is this just so obvious it’s not worth repeating?

For clarity here, he is blind. This isn't a jolly jape or someone with a partial issue with sight pulling a fast one for Youtube likes.

Yes it's scary but within the context of his situation its inspiring in my opinion. I can see the argument for a warning re: a blade guard, he certainly needs to add something in the video description stating why he does what he does for the benefit of newbies and out of interest to the rest of us. The exclusion of a guard may be a result of his abilities relevant to his method.
I'd also add though that if newbies need a warning not to copy his actions and to close their eyes while doing it they probably shouldn't have access to sharp crayons, let alone a table saw.
 
Rorschach":2vzqrav0 said:
Is he fully blind? Whenever I see "blind" people doing extraordinary things I always have a hint of suspicion.

When I had a shop I had a regular customer who was "blind", totally blind he told us. He walked around carrying a walkie talkie which he said was a type of sonar device that helped him see where he was going.

He used to pick up items in the shop and "read" them using the sonar device.

He was about as blind as I am handsome. Still quite happy to take his disability payments though. :roll:

Sorry if I'm going to be a bit grumpy here... I do a tiny bit of work around disability and this comment is so wrong. I don't know about the specific guy you are referring to, but you can get sonar devices for blind people (I suggest you google blind sonar). I am sure there are easier ways of playing the benefits system than pretending to be blind given that any optician would find you out You can pretend you can't read the chart, but you can't stop the physical reaction of your eyes. I am also pretty sure the benefits office does carry out some basic checks before giving someone disability benefits.

Also, most of the time "blind" does not mean cannot see anything at all. It means they have a sight impairment that cannot be corrected and drops them below a certain level of vision. Most blind people can see a bit. I work with one who can just about read labels if he holds them close enough. Beyond about 1 foot - everything is just light or dark. Pretty amazing blind woodworker, but Axminster is also advertising that they have a blind woodturner doing shows.

Although, maybe you were just calling attention to how devilishly handsome you are! :D
 
How did we end up challenging the veracity of disability on a thread showing someone overcoming it in an inspirational way?
 
Peterm1000":37rt7n8p said:
Rorschach":37rt7n8p said:
Is he fully blind? Whenever I see "blind" people doing extraordinary things I always have a hint of suspicion.

When I had a shop I had a regular customer who was "blind", totally blind he told us. He walked around carrying a walkie talkie which he said was a type of sonar device that helped him see where he was going.

He used to pick up items in the shop and "read" them using the sonar device.

He was about as blind as I am handsome. Still quite happy to take his disability payments though. :roll:

Sorry if I'm going to be a bit grumpy here... I do a tiny bit of work around disability and this comment is so wrong. I don't know about the specific guy you are referring to, but you can get sonar devices for blind people (I suggest you google blind sonar). I am sure there are easier ways of playing the benefits system than pretending to be blind given that any optician would find you out You can pretend you can't read the chart, but you can't stop the physical reaction of your eyes. I am also pretty sure the benefits office does carry out some basic checks before giving someone disability benefits.

Also, most of the time "blind" does not mean cannot see anything at all. It means they have a sight impairment that cannot be corrected and drops them below a certain level of vision. Most blind people can see a bit. I work with one who can just about read labels if he holds them close enough. Beyond about 1 foot - everything is just light or dark. Pretty amazing blind woodworker, but Axminster is also advertising that they have a blind woodturner doing shows.

Although, maybe you were just calling attention to how devilishly handsome you are! :D

Haha, definitely not handsome.

I accept your point, and I am not trying to disparage people with real disabilities, quite the opposite, those who play the system wind me up no end.

This guy was either putting it on or rather than being blind had some kind of mental disability.

His "device" was a motorola walkie talkie and to "read" things he would wave the antenna over the writing.
Another member of staff didn't believe me until she picked up an item from the shop for him, I scanned it in the till and said the price, the item had been mislabelled and the price came up higher, despite the fact that he hadn't "read" the label with his device, or even touched the item for that manner, he quick as flash knew the price was wrong because as I already knew he could clearly read the tiny price label.

Just one of many weird customers we had, in fact he was one of the milder ones :lol:
 
Rorschach":3of17234 said:
Is he fully blind? Whenever I see "blind" people doing extraordinary things I always have a hint of suspicion.

When I had a shop I had a regular customer who was "blind", totally blind he told us. He walked around carrying a walkie talkie which he said was a type of sonar device that helped him see where he was going.

He used to pick up items in the shop and "read" them using the sonar device.

He was about as blind as I am handsome. Still quite happy to take his disability payments though. :roll:

I have reported this comment.

You need to have a rethink on the way you view people.

Terrible.

And to the comment that somebody else made about 'whats the point in eye protection if you can't see' - isn't it obvious that whether your eyes function perfectly or not, it is still going to be extremely painful and problematic if you get a shard of wood fired at your eyeball?
 
Bodgers":378psibc said:
I have reported this comment.

You need to have a rethink on the way you view people.

Terrible.

And to the comment that somebody else made about 'whats the point in eye protection if you can't see' - isn't it obvious that whether your eyes function perfectly or not, it is still going to be extremely painful and problematic if you get a shard of wood fired at your eyeball?

You are entitled to your viewpoint. When you have seen as many people as I have playing the system though you get suspicious of everyone.
 
Rorschach":3ttkgmww said:
Bodgers":3ttkgmww said:
I have reported this comment.

You need to have a rethink on the way you view people.

Terrible.

And to the comment that somebody else made about 'whats the point in eye protection if you can't see' - isn't it obvious that whether your eyes function perfectly or not, it is still going to be extremely painful and problematic if you get a shard of wood fired at your eyeball?

You are entitled to your viewpoint. When you have seen as many people as I have playing the system though you get suspicious of everyone.
It is attitudes like this that make life difficult for people. You need to learn.
 
Bodgers":1rvkv9dt said:
And to the comment that somebody else made about 'whats the point in eye protection if you can't see' - isn't it obvious that whether your eyes function perfectly or not, it is still going to be extremely painful and problematic if you get a shard of wood fired at your eyeball?

Didn't you read the last little bit of my comment? It was more of a joking observation than an actual idiotic comment.

Trevanion":1rvkv9dt said:
(I know it would still hurt if you did get something in your eye, I'm not an *****!)
 
I agree with bodgers, completely inappropriate comment, it was very distasteful, openly mocking disabled and claiming they're all fraudsters.
 
Trevanion":372uegpx said:
Bodgers":372uegpx said:
And to the comment that somebody else made about 'whats the point in eye protection if you can't see' - isn't it obvious that whether your eyes function perfectly or not, it is still going to be extremely painful and problematic if you get a shard of wood fired at your eyeball?

Didn't you read the last little bit of my comment? It was more of a joking observation than an actual idiotic comment.

Trevanion":372uegpx said:
(I know it would still hurt if you did get something in your eye, I'm not an *****!)
I think it is actually the latter, even with the joke.
 
Bodgers":22q7z09s said:
Trevanion":22q7z09s said:
Bodgers":22q7z09s said:
And to the comment that somebody else made about 'whats the point in eye protection if you can't see' - isn't it obvious that whether your eyes function perfectly or not, it is still going to be extremely painful and problematic if you get a shard of wood fired at your eyeball?

Didn't you read the last little bit of my comment? It was more of a joking observation than an actual idiotic comment.

Trevanion":22q7z09s said:
(I know it would still hurt if you did get something in your eye, I'm not an *****!)
I think it is actually the latter, even with the joke.

Erm, wind your neck in. I initially thought the same when I noticed the guy drop his glasses down, if only for a few seconds.

One of those things, you don't sometimes fully appreciate the need for safety even from your own perspective until you understand it from other peoples' point of view as well. Makes you think is all.

I agree that some of the comments here are disparaging but reporting some people and suggesting idiocy of others is not the way to get your point across.
 

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