FEATURES Adaptive Devices
filled with steel shot, which attaches to the back
of your hand using a velcro wrist strap and elastic
loops that fit over your fingers.
This Hand Weight (the term is trademarked)
was invented by Mary Ann Heinz, an occupational
therapist who started a business named
Handithings 22 years ago. Her son Brian now
owns the company, and I was so intrigued by
the product, I contacted him in Moscow Mills,
Missouri, for a quick Zoom interview.
“Initially my mother worked with special-needs
children who had difficulty using their hands,” he
explained. “But we found that sales of larger sizes
of Hand Weights were going through the roof, and
I started getting feedback from hand surgeons
that people were using them for Parkinson’s
and essential tremors. It’s now our number-one
product.”
Handithings has provoked competition from
medical equipment manufacturers, but Brian
says he’s happy to remain a family business
whose products are made locally. “The people
who sew them for us are five minutes from here,”
he says.
I decided to buy a couple of Hand Weights,
and they actually do make my hands steadier.
They also have a beneficial psychological effect,
because I don’t get so frustrated as a result of
struggling with my poor coordination.
SOFT TIPS
My experience prompted me to revise many of my
habits relating to detail work. When trying to grab
a diode or a 3mm LED, I don’t fumble around with
my finger and thumb anymore. I use very sharp-
tipped pliers such as those in Figure
E
, which
make me less likely to bend component leads
when I insert them into a breadboard. My favorite
pliers came from Michaels, the chain of crafts
stores, which sells them for making jewelry.
“I decided to buy a couple of Hand Weights, and they actually do
make my hands steadier. They also have a benecial psychological
eect, because I don't get so frustrated as a result of struggling
with my poor coordination.”
14 makezine.com
Charles Platt, Akaki Kuumeri
E F
When you can hold the lead of a resistor
precisely, you're less likely to bend it when
inserting it in a breadboard.
Assorted tweezers with chisel-pointed
tips, found on Amazon.
M81_012-15_GetaGrip_F1.indd 14M81_012-15_GetaGrip_F1.indd 14 4/12/22 1:21 PM4/12/22 1:21 PM
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