Shopsmith Forums

Some time ago someone told me that as you get older your body goes through a lot of changes. A few days ago I realized that this is true. I dropped a few screws on the shop floor and when I tried to pick them up I couldn't reach the floor. I have come to the conclusion that I am getting taller as I age and the floor is now too far away!!!!:D
Bill V

I can't figure it out - so can't help. Sorry! I've grown shorter over the years, but it gets harder and harder to reach the floor without bending my knees.

The problem I have is once I get down, I can hardly get back up.

Or, you are like me.

"Now that I'm down here, what else can I do?"

steve

No problems getting down on the floor. Occasionally, that happens on it's own. Getting up is a bear. Thankfully, my small shop is crammed full and there's usually something to grab onto to help me get up. If not, it's just a sort crawl.

I have had this problem for several years now; ever since I got my third pair of knees. To prevent damage to the artificial knee caps that came with my second pair of knee implants, the doctor warned me not to go onto my knee.

When down on the floor and trying to get up without going onto your knees is a challenge. Try it.

I am not complaining, however. I am thankful to be able to do what I can do. Because of this maneuver, I can still bend over and touch the floor though doing that can be hazardous (for me). Sometimes, when I stand up, I get light headed.

Gene, don't use something on wheels for support when getting up. I tried that and it does not work well. I suddenly found myself back on the floor and the shop seat clear across the garage.

I too have the same problem of getting down but not back up so good. I like to ice fish and if I was to get down out there I may have to crawl back to my truck:o. I also have the problem of dropping small screw and like and then cannot find them, but this only happens when that one is the only one I have of that size. A few years ago I was at Harbor Freight and they had a magnet on a 3 foot long handle and that has proved to be a lifesaver in my shop. I has a lever tha you pull to make it release. You would be surprized at how many parts you pick up that you don't even know you dropped:)

dusty wrote:
Gene, don't use something on wheels for support when getting up. I tried that and it does not work well. I suddenly found myself back on the floor and the shop seat clear across the garage.

Yep, BTDT. By the time I realize that it was a bad idea, the chair is across the shop and I'm still on the floor, cussing it.

I "can" get down on the ground and get back up unassisted but I have gotten to the point where I tend to plan to have something sturdy handy to do the initial lift with. It doesn't take much. A small bottle jack or an automotive jack-stand works fine. When working on one of the lawn tractors a front wheel is enough.
I can just bend over and reach down to pick stuff up off the floor but that gets a lot noisier than it used to be. I have yet to identify the source of the noises.


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Guys, I can sympathize. As a relatively young pup at age 56, you would think that getting up from the floor wouldn't be a big deal for me. But while I'm still pretty robust from the thighs up, I inherited my Mom's prematurely arthritic knees. They work OK on level ground, but they sound mighty like a ratchet whenever I walk downstairs. No way that I can sneak up on my kids anymore.

Fortunately, my mind is still sharp, and my early training in physics and robotics enabled me to invent a move for rising from a completely supine position, to fully erect, in almost no time .. while never applying a significant non-columnar load to my knees. I call it the "kip-up". You can check out my technique out in this video, in which one of my acolytes demonstrates the move for the benefit of the next generation.

You may want to practice the maneuver on a thick padded carpet, before attempting it on your workroom floor.