I've Got The Modeling Shakes......

Well Mate, I have the same condition - essential tremor, or familial tremor. My sister has it too. I am 63 and it became so bad that I couldn't write, and even had problems typing. I gave up taking photos years ago and had basically stopped modeling. Two years ago I had "deep brain stimulation" surgery. Essentially I now have a couple of electrodes located in my brain, connected by wires to each other and then to a unit in my chest which I have to keep charged up. Booze used to help, but getting boozed to the point where my hands settled down and trying to stay sober enough to complete the work became a problem.

I still drink, Vet affairs has me listed as addicted to and dependant upon alcohol. True enough. But the surgery, whilst not pleasant, worked a treat. Now I just have to stay off the booze, because it undoes all the good work that the surgery achieved. I try to maintain a balance, but its not always easy. I have had the tremor since I was about 48 or 50.

The breathing exercises are good value, as is the advice to rest your hand against something. It will however deteriorate, at which point you will need to consult your doctor. My situation is much improved, but I still have to pick my days.

Good luck old son.

Rob Ferguson 

I completely agree with Don.  Keeping my hands on the bench helps significantly.  I try and plan and build various assemblies where I can optimize this approach.

ThatMixBoy

I also have the shakes, primarily in my left hand. Dr. says it is because of the meds for epilepsy. Cannot do anything about it. I do the best I can by resting that hand on the bench and not using it for small parts placement. Won't keep me from the bench though. I am only 65 so I have a lot of time left. I like the suggestions of deep breathing, whiskey, and soothing music. Keep on truckin' through the fog.

 

I go further with the hand contact bit.  I keep a couple of blocks on my bench so I can raise my left hand a bit above the bench surface.  I hold the model or the assembly I am adding parts to in that left hand touching the bench, or that block.  I then keep my right wrist in contact with the benchtop while holding part with tweezers or fingers.  Having my left and right wrists in solid contact through benchtop helps a lot with shakes.

snapdragonxxx

Everyone has this type of shakes. It is the result of your brain overloading your nervous system. you don't realise this because it is a subconcious thing and is a result of stress and tension. You don't realise it but conciously you recognise that this is a very small and quite often vital area that has to be done right the first time. This has a knock on effect subconciously and causes like a mini riot between nerves and muscles. All the stress and movement messages come streaming down so fast with the messages stay still! tiny movements! stop flexing.... It's like the internet melting down when playboy of the month does a live interview on youtube in the pink and crinklies!

You can minimise this with several techniques including slow deep breathing to calm yourself.

Just let your mind go blank and empty. Try a measure of Whiskey or other DARK spirit. That kind of alcohol will slow your mind down and calm you a little bit. Don't overdo it though or else it will have a negative effect. Just half a standard measure will be fine. Drink it neat and in little sips and give it an hour to get into your system.

Use a magnyfying lamp. this can fool your stressed out brain that things are larger and easier.

When dealing with small painting jobs, limit your time at the bench to just that bit and then walk away for an hour or so. don't try and do it all at once.... it's a stress releving excersise!

ON the other hand.... if you are on a roll and it becomes easy then just keep going.

Put some classical music on in the background. Particulaly Mozart. It is a good and calm distraction.

I have hand shake. some days it is worse than others and it is due to side effects of my heart medication that is keeping me out of a wooden Jaffa box and away from a BBQ!

Some deep breathing and slow release, a sip or two of whiskey and some Mozart on and I am off!

Boiling it down. you are just overthinking this and what you are attempting to do. cut that out, have a drink, some background music and crack on!

 

Everyone has this type of shakes. It is the result of your brain overloading your nervous system. you don't realise this because it is a subconcious thing and is a result of stress and tension. You don't realise it but conciously you recognise that this is a very small and quite often vital area that has to be done right the first time. This has a knock on effect subconciously and causes like a mini riot between nerves and muscles. All the stress and movement messages come streaming down so fast with the messages stay still! tiny movements! stop flexing.... It's like the internet melting down when playboy of the month does a live interview on youtube in the pink and crinklies!

You can minimise this with several techniques including slow deep breathing to calm yourself.

Just let your mind go blank and empty. Try a measure of Whiskey or other DARK spirit. That kind of alcohol will slow your mind down and calm you a little bit. Don't overdo it though or else it will have a negative effect. Just half a standard measure will be fine. Drink it neat and in little sips and give it an hour to get into your system.

Use a magnyfying lamp. this can fool your stressed out brain that things are larger and easier.

When dealing with small painting jobs, limit your time at the bench to just that bit and then walk away for an hour or so. don't try and do it all at once.... it's a stress releving excersise!

ON the other hand.... if you are on a roll and it becomes easy then just keep going.

Put some classical music on in the background. Particulaly Mozart. It is a good and calm distraction.

I have hand shake. some days it is worse than others and it is due to side effects of my heart medication that is keeping me out of a wooden Jaffa box and away from a BBQ!

Some deep breathing and slow release, a sip or two of whiskey and some Mozart on and I am off!

Boiling it down. you are just overthinking this and what you are attempting to do. cut that out, have a drink, some background music and crack on!

Thanks to all for the replies to this thread - greatly appreciated!

Went to a neuro specialist the other day, and he said the same thing other doctors have told me - it's a condition called "essential tremors", and it's nothing to worry about. Some people display it worse than others, but it'll probably stay at the same intensity that it's at now for probably the rest of my life. Oh well..........

Tanker - Builder

 Now the " Devil's Cut " and the " Couvosier " only come at completion usually .

I have a few customers that "swear" I weatherize BETTER when I have a snort or two of Bourbon in me. (So much so that they bring the bottle!)

Hi Timmy ;

 Yeah , I still smoke too . About 7 a day . Thing is when I get frustrated With the model as it's going , I stop . Step outside and have a cuppa coffee and a cig . Oh , so much better . I use the breathing techniques too .

 Now the " Devil's Cut " and the " Couvosier " only come at completion usually . Sometimes they sneak in when I've finished a particularly hard part . Rare but real .  T.B.

Devil Dawg

I just GOTTA ask this - do you ever get ashes in your paint jobs? 

Not as often as it use to ( my paint job's from the 1990's do have a certain "texture" to them ) It was'nt that I was dropping ash on the model's..... it was a static charge drawing the ash to it. That's when I learned the "trick" of using a brass sheet to discharge the charge.

Havent had ash in my paint since 2002. That's when I started cutting back on my smoking.

( In 2003 I went from a pack and 1/2 a day and gradually got it down to 6 or 7 cigarett's a day......I just cant seem to stop altogether.)

Tanker - Builder

Gary ;

    First and foremost , what brand of coffee or tea do you drink? Change that . Remember I consume a pot or more of Marine grade coffee a day . No Shakes . I recommend as far as tea to switch to Earl grey .It has a hint of Bergamot and a fine flavor .

   Now as to coffee, The Colombians have me hooked ! I just love the dark roast Colombian from Folgers ! Also , I find if you have a sharp workbench on which you prop your arms can do this to you .You are to young to be shakin . Do you Imbibe .Change brands  , I did and it helped . I now like or need less of  "Devils Cut " as far as that goes .My fave has always been Couvosier in two fingered glasses at room temp .

 Now there is another reason .You have gotten high on your glue and the wonderful smell of plastic .More ventilation Young Man !!! LOL.LOL. You'll get the hang of thangs .T.B. 

I think you figured it out with the glue - THAT'S IT!!!    I do love the smell of that stuff! Well, the Testor's tube glue, anyways. And lacquer thinner......

plasticjunkie

Gary

Do you freak out when doing this type of detail work? Sometimes one is so concerned about not shaking or moving and it happens cuz one tries so hard not too.

If you are a coffee drinker the cafeene will have an effect. I know my blood pressure goes up a couple of numbers after a cup. 

My hands rarely shake but it's always good to support it to get better results.

I always say that the best doctor is oneself and if you feel something is not right then get a second opinion just for your own peace of mind.

Hunter

 

stikpusher

I am something of a coffee fiend at times, and when I have more than I should before a bench session, the shakes show up. I counter them by placing my hand against the work bench or some other non moving surface to steady my control.

Also deep slow breathing can reduce the shaking as well. 

 

LOL...I'm with you Stik, I love my coffee and if I drink too much my paint lines look like a EKG reading off the charts. 

Now, THAT'S funny!

Don Stauffer

When I am doing fine work, like fine painting or tweezer work, I try to keep both hands supported and connected to the same support.  Sometimes I will put a box down on the bench top, with my left hand resting on the box and the paint brush or tweezer in the left hand, also resting on the box.

If that is not pratical, or when the model is sitting on benchtop itself, I will place left hand on bench near where I am working on model, making a fist, and have right hand resting on left, or forearm near wrist, resting on the left hand fist.

I try to make all the motion with the right hand and fingers.  I never to any fine work with neither right wrist area nor elbow supported by workbench.  Sometimes both forearm/wrists resting on work benchtop, model or piece to be worked on in left, tool or brush in right.

I try to rest both hands/arms on something, too, but never thought about using a box to raise it all up a bit. I'll have to give that a try. Thanks, Don!

Griffin25

 When I bear down and really concentrate on a hard to fit part or a really intracit paint job I get shaky right at the most critical time. I suffer from task specific Focal Dystonia in my right hand. It sucks. Perhaps you have a touch of that. Stress makes it much worse. I had to quit playing golf and get by in tennis with a rediculously extreme western grip. I actually have an appointment to go see someone in the next couple weeks. It only took me 25 years this is the first time I'm actually going to do something about it. I read that Parkinson medications or even Botox is a treatment. We'll see. Google  focal dystonia. Get a second opinion for sure.

shamoo

I'm 53 as well and I find the same thing.  Doctor says my problem is mostly the Albuterol I have to use for my COPD.  Besides resting my hands as described above,  I have found that using a breathing technique I was taught in therapy called "pursed lip breathing."  This is basically inhaling calmly through the nose, then exhaling through the mouth with your lips tightly pursed as if whistling, so you can actually feel some back pressure in your chest.  Try to take at least twice as long to exhale as it took to inhale, but the longer the better.  I use this to control shortness of breath, and seems to help calm my shaky fingers down before I start painting, etc..  Might be worth a try, anyway.

Greg

Yes to about everything said above.

Plus I'd like to add that I fine mine starts when I've been "working" perhaps a bit too long and almost too focused. And, as you say, it's always something small and finicky.

My 2 cents is to walk away for a bit, get away from the bench.

It is nice to know I'm not the only one.

templar1099

 

stikpusher

Also deep slow breathing can reduce the shaking as well. 

 

---

Extend this process to all things. Master your breath and you master your mind,the body will follow.

Not sure I can master halitosis........ Sorry! Couldn't resist that one! Too easy.....

Might just hafta give the breathing techniques a try. Hadn't thought about that.

littletimmy

I'm right handed so obviosly that's the "painting hand"

What I do is extend my pinky and rest it on the workbench. It helps.

I'm also a  smoker (I know... I know.... I have been cutting back lately. I'm down to 6 or 7 a day.  Unless I'm in a bar...... then I smoke a pack in an hour...... and come home with my  vocal cord's feeling like hamburger!) So sometimes when I'm about to paint i smoke to lessen the hand tremmer's.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND  A N Y B O D Y  STARTING SMOKING JUST TO EASE HAND TREMBLING !!!!!    ( or for any other reason !!! )

Trembling DOES come in handy for wethering ( just load up the brush with Rust and "twitch" away!

I just GOTTA ask this - do you ever get ashes in your paint jobs? 

Retired In Kalifornia

 

 

Devil Dawg

How many of you out there in modeling land shake quite a bit when you attempt something that involves small, tiny parts, or try to brush-paint a small area? I'm getting to where I shake more than I think I should when doing these things, but the doc says it ain't anything to worry about (my opinion is different).

Anyways, what do y'all do to overcome this? I try to rest my holding hand (usually my left hand) against something immovable while using my right hand to manipulate whatever it is I'm using (paint brush; the other part to be attached; applying glue; etc...), and resting the right hand against something steady, too, while doing whatever it is that I'm doing. But, it's reaching the point where this isn't working so well, either. I'm only 53, and I shouldn't be shaking this much (again, my opinion). Luckily, my job hasn't begun to suffer from this.......yet.

Gary

 

 

See another doctor, get 2nd opinion! Caffeine gives me the shakes, stay away from it whenever modeling sugary foods as well. I'm inching towards 70, worry lot over tripping when hauling stuff upstairs; eyesight still very good, do better modeling at night whenever am alert enough to do so.

Unfortunately (for me, anyways!), more than one doctor has already told me this. And I never try to model sugary foods!  

stikpusher

I am something of a coffee fiend at times, and when I have more than I should before a bench session, the shakes show up. I counter them by placing my hand against the work bench or some other non moving surface to steady my control.

Also deep slow breathing can reduce the shaking as well. 

Having "The Twitchie's" does come in handy when you need to mix paint in a rattlecan.

Beer.

Prost!

Gary ;

    First and foremost , what brand of coffee or tea do you drink? Change that . Remember I consume a pot or more of Marine grade coffee a day . No Shakes . I recommend as far as tea to switch to Earl grey .It has a hint of Bergamot and a fine flavor .

   Now as to coffee, The Colombians have me hooked ! I just love the dark roast Colombian from Folgers ! Also , I find if you have a sharp workbench on which you prop your arms can do this to you .You are to young to be shakin . Do you Imbibe .Change brands  , I did and it helped . I now like or need less of  "Devils Cut " as far as that goes .My fave has always been Couvosier in two fingered glasses at room temp .

 Now there is another reason .You have gotten high on your glue and the wonderful smell of plastic .More ventilation Young Man !!! LOL.LOL. You'll get the hang of thangs .T.B. 

Gary

Do you freak out when doing this type of detail work? Sometimes one is so concerned about not shaking or moving and it happens cuz one tries so hard not too.

If you are a coffee drinker the cafeene will have an effect. I know my blood pressure goes up a couple of numbers after a cup. 

My hands rarely shake but it's always good to support it to get better results.

I always say that the best doctor is oneself and if you feel something is not right then get a second opinion just for your own peace of mind.

My problem is backwards.  I had terrible shakes three years ago.  So I took up modeling to use as a therapeutic technique.  I just kept modeling and now my shakes are almost gone.  Breathing (Pranayama) helps a lot.  Yoga helps Me as well.

Toshi

stikpusher

I am something of a coffee fiend at times, and when I have more than I should before a bench session, the shakes show up. I counter them by placing my hand against the work bench or some other non moving surface to steady my control.

Also deep slow breathing can reduce the shaking as well. 

 

I'm 77 and afflicted with the same problems. For years I shrugged it off by saying that every time I'm working on the bench that da** freight train comes rumbling under the bench. The doc says it's partly old age and partly the result of having a graft in my right arm tieing the artery and veins together when I was on dialysis before the transplant. If you touch any part of either hand or arm you can feel my pulse and watch it as the veins jump up and down. Had to give up bowling, and tennis as docs are afraid that shocks to the arm might cause a blood clot resulting in all kinds of terrible things. Resting the hands on the bench while working seemed to do the trick for quite a while but I guess I'm getting used to it and it is slowly coming back. The breathing idea sounds good. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks, anything that keeps me building is great.

Jim  

When I am doing fine work, like fine painting or tweezer work, I try to keep both hands supported and connected to the same support.  Sometimes I will put a box down on the bench top, with my left hand resting on the box and the paint brush or tweezer in the left hand, also resting on the box.

If that is not pratical, or when the model is sitting on benchtop itself, I will place left hand on bench near where I am working on model, making a fist, and have right hand resting on left, or forearm near wrist, resting on the left hand fist.

I try to make all the motion with the right hand and fingers.  I never to any fine work with neither right wrist area nor elbow supported by workbench.  Sometimes both forearm/wrists resting on work benchtop, model or piece to be worked on in left, tool or brush in right.