Left-handed Modelling.

[Ray Von]

It turns out that the Missus is left-handed (and she says I never pay attention!)

 

And that got me to thinking, are there any challenges that the left-handed among you out there face when it comes to model-railing? Do you have your controls laid out opposite to a right-handed modeller? On a left to right layout, do you run your loco's right to left? Do you wish that there were certain tools or equipment available to suit your needs? Or do you just get on with it, resigned to a world governed by the selfish right-handed majority? (That last one was her suggestion...)

 

I'd be interested to know. Also, on a more serious note- has anyone faced a disability, injury or illness that has led them to modify there practice or innovative within the hobby?

[Mark]

None whatsoever. I am left handed and red green colour blind and probably a little Aspergic. My mindset is simple. Capitalise in what you can do and find ways around the things that are difficult. For example with the colour blindness label tins of paint. Measure resistance rather than use the colour code. Most importantly remember your problems are yours not everybody else’s. At the end of the day everybody is different and all have different abilities. Don’t think about what you can’t do focus on what you can

[Fat Controller]

It turns out that the Missus is left-handed (and she says I never pay attention!)

 

And that got me to thinking, are there any challenges that the left-handed among you out there face when it comes to model-railing? Do you have your controls laid out opposite to a right-handed modeller? On a left to right layout, do you run your loco's right to left? Do you wish that there were certain tools or equipment available to suit your needs? Or do you just get on with it, resigned to a world governed by the selfish right-handed majority? (That last one was her suggestion...)

 

I'd be interested to know. Also, on a more serious note- has anyone faced a disability, injury or illness that has led them to modify there practice or innovative within the hobby?

Brian asked me for the link and suggested I reply.

There is a lot of material on the difficulties left-handed kids have with learning to write, and the lack of mandatory government support for us on the Left N Write site. https://www.leftshoponline.co.uk/contact/

I was in my 20s before I discovered left-handed scissors;  I only just discovered LH rulers, but it's more than that.

The space you're given at work is set up from RH people, and in my office all the mouse cables are tied in at the right. The world is full of things that we struggle with or that left-handed versions don't exist for. Books are back to front. At school they refused to teach me the violin because I was left handed (though that was probably a blessing ).and I was kicked off a mechanics course, partly for being female, but also because they said I "looked awkward with tools".(I'm now a Chartered Engineer).

My father had his front teeth knocked out at school as the teacher bounced his head off the desk saying "I told you not to write with your left hand!" but the site above shows this may now be less physical but the attitude persists. It's the last legal discrimination.I'll stop there, or this could become a long rant!

Lynne

Edited December 10, 2018 by Fat Controller

[lapford34102]

 

Or do you just get on with it, resigned to a world governed by the selfish right-handed majority?

 

Quite right too!, where's my soapbox...... :-)  However being taken (!) out Christmas shopping so you're all spared my ramblings.

 

However this might be of use

 

https://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/

 

And for all the other downtrodden lefties out there this mighty cheer you up

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/aug/13/2

 

Bah Humbug to one and all

 

Stu

 

P.S.  the AA reckon we're better drivers so there :-)

[Ray Von]

With a partner who is a lefty, this all sounds very familiar - and you have my sympathies. My best mate / drinking competitor is also left-handed, so I hear a lot of - quite justifiable mostly - rants.

 

We once googled "Microwave Oven with Hinges on Right" they're out there, but they cost more than a regular one!!! =-O

 

This might upset some lefty's - but living with one can be a bl*%dy NIGHTMARE! Nothing is ever the "right" way round! The kitchen is probably the worst place, kettle in the right-hand corner with the handle facing left, wooden spoons and other cooking utensils are kept in a tall container next to the hob - this switches from the left to the right side of the hob in an unspoken war of attrition that shows no sign of ever ending! I switch the door hinges on fridges whenever we get a new one, for the sake of a quiet life(!) I could go on... :-)

[PhilH]

It would seem there are workarounds, even tools for this particular deviation from what's considered the norm. None of these for my complaint though.

 

Cackhanded modelling.

[Stubby47]

Although I write left-handed, most of what I do modelling wise is ambidextrous.

 

I play racquet sports right handed, but snooker & archery left handed.

 

I use a saw equally in both hands, likewise a hammer, screwdriver or knife. 

 

At the computer, my mouse is on the right, so I can write with my left hand at the same time, to the left of the keyboard.

 

When playing trains, I use a hand-held controller in my right and operate switches with my left.  Tinner's Forge is poorly designed (by me, for me) as the switches are more easily accessed by the right hand.

 

My wife & 3 kids are all righthanded, all struggle to use the left hand for anything. They all think I'm the odd one...

[MarkC]

I'm left handed (but not a leftie )

 

I write left handed

Play tennis, squash, badminton left handed

My left foot is dominant if playing soccer etc

However, I eat with my fork in my left hand, knife in my right

I play golf right handed

Cricket - I confuse the opposition because I bat right handed but bowl with my left

 

I can't say that I've ever really had issues with modelling, due to being left handed

[Joseph_Pestell]

I'm left handed (but not a leftie )

 

I write left handed

Play tennis, squash, badminton left handed

My left foot is dominant if playing soccer etc

However, I eat with my fork in my left hand, knife in my right

I play golf right handed

Cricket - I confuse the opposition because I bat right handed but bowl with my left

 

I can't say that I've ever really had issues with modelling, due to being left handed

 

Cricket is a confusing sport in this respect. So-called right handed batting is really mainly done with the left hand.

[jbqfc]

all five of us in our house are left handed

the odd thing is the only thing we all do right handed is the use of a knife and fork but use spoons in our left

the one thing i find very hard to do is eat a pudding the needs a spoon and and a fork to eat as i want to put both in my left hand

so our house is a nightmare if you are right handed as the whole house is set out left handed

John

[newbryford]

I'm left handed (but not a leftie )

 

I write left handed

Play tennis, squash, badminton left handed

My left foot is dominant if playing soccer etc

However, I eat with my fork in my left hand, knife in my right

I play golf right handed

Cricket - I confuse the opposition because I bat right handed but bowl with my left

 

I can't say that I've ever really had issues with modelling, due to being left handed

 

I'm right-handed but play golf left. If it's good enough for Phil Mickleson, it's good enough for me.

This is because my elder brother is a leftie and taught me to hold a cricket bat when I was about 3 and it's stayed with me ever since.

 

IMO, left handers playing golf right is mainly down to the lack of availability of left handed clubs. I have a few mates who are lefties but play right, simply because they were lent right handed clubs to try the game out.

Cheers,

Mick

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Another married to a left hander. We were lucky enough to inherit our first kitchen stove with controls ranged conveniently for both across the front, and it was quite a search to replicate this from among the stove tops that had all the other features we wanted when a house move required a new appliance. Drop down front doors on most other appliances, majoring on drawers for storage, and a double sink wih work tops both sides put us on equal footing handing generally in the kitchen.

 

I feel the benefits of being differently handed as a couple are considerable. Whenever there is an awkward task for the dominant hand, the other can supply. And she has become very adept with placing small screws best sinisterly dextrously handled by a lefty on models.

[njee20]

Some controllers that are designed for single hand operation are designed for RH use.

 

Like many others I’m just so used to having everything right handed that it doesn’t really bother me. Thinking about it I guess my airbrush is right handed - the cup is offset to the right, but it’s never really been a hindrance, that’s my shocking lack of ability!

 

I remember being told off for doing ‘ticks’ the wrong way at school, but that’s about it. We were slightly more progressive by the 90s, so although I still tick awkwardly, and on a capital ‘Q’ I do the little ‘tail’ to the left, not the right, I was just left to it!

[boxbrownie]

I write left handed but in all other respects I am right handed......no idea why, I am just so special I guess....

 

As to the disabilities, it is not so much that as I am getting older now and afflicted with poor motor control and I have recently decided to give up 7mm modelling and get back into 4mm, which may seem a bit counter intuitive but the larger and much heavier 7mm models are getting difficult for me to handle without holding them so hard it damages them or I could easily drop them, I find the smaller much lighter 4mm models are easier to handle safely.

 

So basically I am going back to 4mm train set modelling before I fall off the perch, my 7mm grand layout I now know will never be a reality.

[MarkC]

 

 

IMO, left handers playing golf right is mainly down to the lack of availability of left handed clubs. I have a few mates who are lefties but play right, simply because they were lent right handed clubs to try the game out.

Cheers,

Mick

That's possible, Mick, but OTOH I bat right handed, and there is no difference between left and right with a cricket bat! I's so long since I first had a go with a golf club, I genuinely can't remember

[Talltim]

I'm sure I started a thread about a related subject a long time ago, but can't find it. It basically posed the question, if you a visualising a fiddle years to station/yard layout design, do you put the fiddleyard at the left or right? I wonder if left and right handers differ in this, on average?

[njee20]

If I was building a minories type layout that was end-to-end, I'd put the fiddle yard at the right hand end when viewed from the front FWIW.

 

 

 

IMO, left handers playing golf right is mainly down to the lack of availability of left handed clubs. I have a few mates who are lefties but play right, simply because they were lent right handed clubs to try the game out.

Cheers,

Mick

 

I do remember at school we were once let loose on the field to use as a driving range. There were enough clubs in a range of lengths for 2-between-3 type use for all the right-handers. Except for us lefties, we had one solitary club for about 8 of us, which also had to suit all left handers between 11 and 16, and was quite probably too short for most of the former, let alone the latter, as we were at the time... Not picked up a golf bat again!

[sharris]

Some controllers that are designed for single hand operation are designed for RH use.

 

 

It just occurred to me that the H&M Duettes were symmetrical about the centre so a very non-hand-specific design, which is quite progressive considering I was told by my teacher I was writing wrong in the early 70s. 

 

On the subject of tools, I find that scalpels can be annoying. I use an X-acto style handle because it's cylindrical and non-handed, but I find the way scalpel blades slot into Swann-Morton handles causes the blade grip and rear corners of the blade to irritate my left index finger when I try using those. 

 

One thing I learned doing electronic engineering practicals during my degree - don't pair up a left-handed and right-handed person for wiring tasks. One will twist the ends of the wires ready for soldering, the other will then go and untwist them. 

[ejstubbs]

Cricket - I confuse the opposition because I bat right handed but bowl with my left

 

"Bowls right bats left" (or vice versa) is not actually that uncommon, at least in the professional tiers.  Plenty of articles and discussions about it online.  This discussion names quite a few top-flight cricketers with that quirk, along with some thoughts about how hand dominance can affect the mechanics of batting.  And it's not unknown for some of the more 'extrovert' batsmen to switch stance during the bowler's run-up (ISTR Derek Randall doing that to my team once during a charity match).

 

In my cricketing days I batted right-handed and bowled not at all (for the good of my team).  I have to say that I can't ever remember, when facing a bowler, thinking back to when they had been batting to work out what their bowling action was going to be.  Given that I usually kept wicket, it was in my interest to be aware of which way the batsman was facing, so if I'd needed to, I could have made the effort to remember.  However, law 21.1.1 requires the bowler to tell the umpire what action they will be using - left or right arm, over or round the wicket.  A ball bowled using a different action without the batsman having being informed of the change should result in a no ball being called.  So there should be little reason for anyone to be confused.

[sharris]

That's possible, Mick, but OTOH I bat right handed, and there is no difference between left and right with a cricket bat! I's so long since I first had a go with a golf club, I genuinely can't remember

 

When I was at school the year's sports calendar was divided into rugby (September - December), hockey* (January - Easter) and cricket (Easter - summer). There's no such thing as a left-handed hockey stick. 

 

_{* the field variety, not ice hockey.} 

[sharris]

I'm sure I started a thread about a related subject a long time ago, but can't find it. It basically posed the question, if you a visualising a fiddle years to station/yard layout design, do you put the fiddleyard at the left or right? I wonder if left and right handers differ in this, on average?

 

My natural inclination would be to put it at the left hand end as viewed from the operating side. 

[Steamport Southport]

Something sinister is going on.....

 

 

I'm mostly ambidextrous, although certain things I do better right handed and others left. Funnily enough sport is one of them. I'm much better playing pool/snooker lefthanded.

 

My handwriting is terrible though and was told that this was because I was taught righthanded rather than lefthanded. Not much of a problem now, but it used to take ages to write when I was at school.

 

 

 

Jason

[Joseph_Pestell]

Although I write left-handed, most of what I do modelling wise is ambidextrous.

 

I play racquet sports right handed, but snooker & archery left handed.

 

I use a saw equally in both hands, likewise a hammer, screwdriver or knife. 

 

At the computer, my mouse is on the right, so I can write with my left hand at the same time, to the left of the keyboard.

 

When playing trains, I use a hand-held controller in my right and operate switches with my left.  Tinner's Forge is poorly designed (by me, for me) as the switches are more easily accessed by the right hand.

 

My wife & 3 kids are all righthanded, all struggle to use the left hand for anything. They all think I'm the odd one...

 

Snooker and archery are both sports where the eye is more important than the hand. If you are left-eye dominant (and a lot of right-handed people are), perfectly logical that you play as you do. Indeed probably an advantage when playing the racquet sports as well.

[Ray Von]

I'm sure I started a thread about a related subject a long time ago, but can't find it. It basically posed the question, if you a visualising a fiddle years to station/yard layout design, do you put the fiddleyard at the left or right? I wonder if left and right handers differ in this, on average?

I'm currently working on a tuning-fork layout (grandly referred to as "design stage.") Have to say all my scribbles have the loco arriving from the left, with the prongs of the fork due east!

 

I own an allotment, and quite often sow a row of seed from the back of a bed to the front - which is fine, except that a week or so later when the next row is due in, I realise I've started on the left-hand side of the bed and should have begun on the right - because now the subsequent rows will all be in the shade of the previously sown one! I do this at least once every year. It's hard to untrain the brain from the "Left to Right" habit it would seem!

[Joseph_Pestell]

When I was at school the year's sports calendar was divided into rugby (September - December), hockey* (January - Easter) and cricket (Easter - summer). There's no such thing as a left-handed hockey stick. 

 

_{* the field variety, not ice hockey.} 

 

Hockey, like cricket and golf, is primarily about the left hand when playing in the conventional right-hand stance. i.e. you can play one-handed using your left arm quite easily. Very difficult to do that with just the right arm.