Do-it-yourself glasses repair using examples

Glasses

is an optical device used for optical correction of human vision in case it deviates from the norm and protects the eyes from dangerous external influences.

Repairing glasses requires a tool that rarely anyone has at hand. If you do not have the opportunity to repair your glasses yourself, you can contact professionals who will repair them, and if repair is impossible, they will help you choose new ones.

If the screw for fastening the glass or in the hinge for fastening the temple (arm) is simply unscrewed, then even a child can cope with such a repair; just take a watch screwdriver or a knife with a sharp end and tighten the screw, without applying more force, until it stops.

But if the frame of the glasses breaks at the place of the nose, or the temple breaks off at the hinge, then such a breakdown of the glasses is no longer easy to fix; repairs require tools and knowledge of technology.

In modern glasses, the temples are often attached to the hinges using flex. This mechanism is a spring that fixes the temple (arm) in a given position and allows the temples to move apart, in contrast to the standard 100˚ angle of ordinary glasses, by an angle of up to 160˚.

Frames with flexes eliminate pressure on the head when wearing glasses and distortion of the frame when removing glasses with one hand, so glasses with flexes last longer and are more comfortable to wear. But the more complex the glasses are, the more likely they are to break.

How to screw a screw into the hinge of a frame with flex glasses

If it is not difficult to screw in a loose screw in the fastening hinge of simple glasses, then in glasses equipped with flexes it is not as simple a task as it seems at first glance. When attaching the temple, the screw passes through the movable flex bar, and if the screw is unscrewed, the flex bar is pulled into the cavity of the temple and the mounting hole in the frame does not coincide with the hole on the temple. It is impossible to tighten the screw.

When analyzing the breakdown, everything became clear; you need to pull out the flex bar and screw the screw into place. The bar can be easily pulled out using an awl or a needle if you thread it through the hole for the screw, but then there is nowhere to screw the screw. Otherwise, it seems like there’s nothing to grab onto. But if you look closely, it turns out that there is a ledge in the bar protruding from the temple, beyond which it can be pulled out. Only the problem of a lack of hands arises. A vice can serve as a third hand.

The temple is clamped into the jaws of a vice; if the material from which the temple is made is soft, then you need to place a piece of leather between the jaws of the vice. But even with the help of a vice, screwing a screw into the frame of glasses is not easy, since you have to hold the base of the frame with one hand and at the same time, with the same hand, use a small screwdriver to move the flex bar up so that the holes coincide. With your second hand you need to insert a screw into the aligned holes and screw it in. I only succeeded after a few tries.

The original screw was lost and had to be screwed in with a suitable diameter that came from a broken calculator. Before assembling the glasses, you must first tighten the new screw with force, thereby cutting a new thread. In order to prevent the screw from unscrewing again, I riveted it a little on the side where it exits the frame of the glasses.

If a suitable screw cannot be found, it can be replaced with a brass or steel rod of a suitable diameter for fixation by riveting its ends, as described below.

Instructions on how to repair plastic glasses

Glasses are a rather fragile attribute that requires careful handling and proper care.

Even taking all precautions does not 100% protect your glasses from breakage. The first thoughts that come to mind are buying new glasses or contacting a specialist.

There is no need to rush; it is possible to fix a number of faults yourself, quickly and at minimal cost.

The main reasons for glasses failure are:

wear due to long service life;
physical impact.

Repair of flex glasses frames with flex

I received a pair of glasses for repair, the temple of which broke off at the point where the hinge was attached to the flex.

The load on the junction of the temple with the flex is large and repairing glasses with superglue or epoxy resin would not provide a reliable connection. The only option left was the mechanical repair method.

At the end of the temple of the glasses there was a hole with a rectangular groove, and the counter part of the part, which went into this hole and was fixed in the hinge of the frame, was a narrow flat steel strip about 1 mm thick. The only possible reliable method of repair was to connect the parts using a rivet.

There are no industrially manufactured rivets for such minor repairs. But a brass sewing pin with a metal head 0.7 mm in diameter worked well as a rivet. The size of the pin determined the diameter of the holes that needed to be drilled in the parts to be joined.

Before drilling, you need to make markings. The first hole must be drilled in the earpiece (arm), at a point calculated so that it passes through the center of the strip secured in the hinge of the frame.

To do this, the earhook needs to be clamped in a vice. Between the jaws of the vice, so as not to damage the covering of the temples, place pieces of leather and use a core to mark the drilling point.

Next, you need to drill a hole in the earhook. It is difficult to drill a hole with a diameter of 0.7 mm with a powerful household drill without breaking the drill, since it is impossible to feel the pressure on the drill due to the greater mass of the drill and this will lead to inevitable breakage of the drill. For such work, you need a miniature drill, for example, like in a homemade mini drilling machine.

You also need to drill a hole in the flat plate that secures the temple to the frame hinge. Before drilling, you need to mark the drilling point. To do this, the plate is inserted all the way into the groove of the temple located at its end and in this form the assembly is clamped in a vice lined with leather. The temple of the glasses should take a position relative to the frame that corresponds to the glasses being worn on the person’s head.

The hole previously drilled in the temple will serve as a conductor; inserting a drill into it will drill a hole in the plate. You need to drill very carefully, using little force, as the drill can easily be broken.

The holes are drilled, and you can begin the final stage of repairing the glasses, connecting with rivets. The flat plate is inserted all the way into the groove of the temple, and the pin is threaded through the holes.

Using pliers, the pin on the opposite side of the head is shortened so that the protruding part is 0.2-0.3 mm high.

To complete the repair, all that remains is to flare the protruding part of the pin using a small hammer. To do this, you need to press the round head of the pin against the anvil and with light blows, changing the angle, flatten the part of the pin protruding above the temple.

If there is no small hammer, then you can flare the pin with a large hammer, striking weakly on the protrusion of the pin through the metal rod.

As you can see, the repair of the glasses is completed, the connection of the temples with the base using rivets turned out to be neat and did not spoil the aesthetic appearance of the glasses.

While I was repairing the glasses, putting one temple in place, the second one broke. I had to repair it using the technology described above. Now the glasses will last a long time after repair, and time has confirmed this. I tested the technology for repairing glasses with rivets on several types of glasses frames; after the repair, the glasses at the junction of the temples with the console no longer broke.

How to make black glasses with your own hands

A great way to entertain your child and brighten up his leisure time is with crafts that are aimed not only at developing creative abilities, but also those that you can play with!

In this article we want to offer you a very cool children's craft - paper glasses that you can easily make with your own hands. The result is cool, fashionable, stylish, bright and very elegant paper accessories that both girls and boys will love.

Print and create a pair of cute paper glasses using our six fun-shaped glasses templates. You can make regular shaped glasses, a pair of round glasses like Harry Potter, awesome heart and star shaped glasses, flower shaped glasses and a pair of retro glasses!

Materials needed: thick A4 paper, transparent film, scissors, glue, crayons, colored pencils, markers, glitter glue, stickers, rhinestones, glitter, etc.

Print any of the templates given in the article on a sheet of A4 paper

If you chose a black and white template, then color them with markers, crayons or colored pencils. Use one color or make it as colorful as you like. When using paint, add only a little or no water to prevent your paper glasses from curling at the edges.

Cut out all three parts of the template. Cut out holes for the eyes.

Fold the side tabs.

The front frame has a pair of side projections, each of which is delimited by a dotted line. Fold the side tabs.

Glue the ears of the glasses to the side tabs.

Decorate your glasses with stickers, glitter glue, small paper shapes, rhinestones and other materials.

Make lenses from cellophane paper or clear film. Glue the lenses to the back of the frame.

Once the glue is dry, try on your awesome glasses.

Some tips!

Making paper glasses can be a great activity for any children's party or party. Prepare templates and materials for decorating glasses.

Print the glasses onto heavy cardstock if you plan to decorate them with heavier materials, such as buttons, small pom-poms, or wooden beads.

If you need a pair or several of these paper glasses with minimal processing and preparation, print any of the simple templates onto colored or patterned cardstock.

Print any of our stunning colored glasses onto white cardstock. Use them for parties, school events, parades or any fun event.

Make fun dots, zigzags, stripes and other simple patterns by applying paint with your fingers, a q-tip or a brush. You can also draw them with markers or crayons.

Source

Repairing the temple of glasses with a broken hinge

A neighbor approached me with a request to try to repair his favorite glasses, since a specialized workshop refused to repair him - they advised him to buy new ones.

The arm of the glasses broke at the hinge and at first glance it seemed that it was impossible to repair the glasses. But if you think about it, you can always find a way to repair it.

First you need to unscrew the self-tapping screw and glue the broken part of the loop to the earhook using Super-glue “Contact”. I often use this glue to glue any cracked or broken parts together. But in this case, the fracture area is small and the glue will not hold securely. Therefore, the parts were glued together mainly for the convenience of further repairs.

Next, a bracket was bent from a paper clip, as shown in the photograph, and, using heating with an electric soldering iron, fused in the longitudinal direction of the temple. The middle of the bracket should follow the crack line.

To ensure a secure connection, a second bracket was fused across the temple. To avoid burning your fingers and to fuse the bracket into the desired place on the earhook, it is convenient to hold it with tweezers. It takes up to a minute to warm up the brackets, there is no need to rush here. When the bracket warms up to the melting temperature of the plastic, it will easily fit into it.

After the brackets are fused into the temple, all that remains is to smooth out the protruding plastic and cut off the excess after it has cooled with a knife or grind it off with fine-grained sandpaper. If the bracket appears on the surface, then it can be heated again and sunk deeper.

Now the brackets are no longer visible, the resistance to breakage after reinforcement with steel brackets of the temple has become higher than before. The glasses will no longer break at this point. If desired, the joint can be polished, making it completely invisible.

The repairs have been completed and now the glasses look like new and, if treated with care, will last a long time. When I returned the glasses to my neighbor, he was very surprised that they were able to be repaired, but he doubted whether the temple would break off in this place again. After a month of wearing it, he started asking me what kind of glue I used to glue the glasses together. After all, he did not know that the bow at the site of the breakdown was reinforced with metal brackets.

Possible causes of failure

Over time, frame parts wear out, with the temples of the product especially often suffering. After all, the temple for glasses is a rather fragile part. Under strong mechanical stress, it cracks, deforms or becomes loose. In addition, during operation the design of the device itself may suffer. Thus, there are frequent cases when a bolt falls off or the frame itself breaks.

It's no secret that things should be treated with care. However, it will still not be possible to protect this or that product from breakdown one day. So, if you forget to put the product in the case, then if it falls on the floor, it will certainly break.

However, the case itself also does not guarantee absolute protection. After all, in the event of a strong collision with the floor, the optical device is also susceptible to minor damage. If a similar problem has happened to you, then let's study in more detail the types of breakdowns and ways to repair glasses with your own hands.

Repair of the place where the temple of glasses is attached to the rim

Another pair of glasses with a broken temple went into repair. But in this case, the earhook was intact, but the place where it was attached to the headband was destroyed.

The earhook loop was made of brass so it didn't break. This failure is more likely due to a design flaw in the frames of the glasses, rather than to handling them.

The earhook loop was attached to a rectangular hole made in the frame using one self-tapping screw screwed into the metal of the loop. When wearing glasses, the screw slowly unscrewed, and the load on the plastic increased, which is why it cracked. Ultimately, the self-tapping screw was completely unscrewed and lost, causing the shackle to fall out of the mount.

There was no screw suitable for the size, so I had to use a standard M1.5. To do this, a thread was cut in the hinge bar with a tap.

The plate on the rim for securing the earhook loop had a crack. But installing a metal bracket to strengthen it was impractical, since it was necessary not only to strengthen the plate, but also to increase the support area of the screw head

Therefore, a washer with a ribbed circumference was selected and fused into the plate by heating it with a soldering iron. As a result, the area of support of the screw head on the plastic increased many times over, and the crack partially melted, which also increased its strength.

Next, the mating surfaces of the plates were lubricated with Super-Moment glue, the hinge plate was inserted into the square hole in the base of the glasses and the screw was tightened. At the same time, the broken fragment from the frame was also glued. It did not bear the load and therefore there was no need to strengthen its fastening with a bracket.

The next glasses were repaired with our own hands and their use for several months confirmed the reliability of the repairs performed.

Restoration of screw fastening

The main structural element that holds the temples and frames together is a hinge unit, which can have two designs.

In one of them, the bow is attached using a conventional screw connection. A more complex design is the design, in which a special spring-loaded mechanism called a flex is used for fastening.

In the simplest case, when the malfunction is associated with unscrewing a screw from the fastening unit, it is enough to simply return it to its place using a clock screwdriver or a well-sharpened knife. No soldering is needed here.

Repair of a semi-rimless frame with lens fastening on a fishing line

In a semi-rimless frame, the lenses are half mounted in the frame, and the rest of them are held in the frame by a fishing line, half recessed in the bevel (a groove running along the entire length of the end of the lens). Thanks to this method of attaching lenses, glasses have an elegant appearance and are lighter in weight compared to rim frames, especially if the lenses are plastic.

But you have to pay for elegance with a more careful attitude during use, since such a frame, compared to a bezel frame, is less reliable. If you forget to take off your glasses and start to remove a piece of clothing over your head, it may well happen that the glass falls out or the fishing line jumps out of the frame, as in the photo. If the lens falls out, but the fishing line remains securely fastened in the half-rim, then due to the elasticity of the fishing line, the lens can be put back in place. If the fishing line is disconnected from the frame, you will need to replace the fishing line with a new one.

But don’t get upset and run to the workshop; such a breakdown of the semi-rimless frame of glasses is not difficult to fix with your own hands. For repairs, ten centimeters of transparent fishing line with a diameter of 0.8 mm is enough. You can ask fishermen you know for fishing line or ask at any fishing tackle store. They cut off half a meter for me as a thank you.

The first step when starting repairs is to remove the old fishing line from the frame. Usually it is enough to move the fishing line back and forth with force and it will move from the place of attachment. If its melted ends interfere, the line can be cut. It won't be needed anymore anyway.

After freeing the holes from the old fishing line, you need to check whether the fishing line purchased for repair fits well. To do this, you need to bite off one of its ends with side cutters or cut off obliquely so that the end of the fishing line becomes sharp. This will make it easier to insert it into the holes of the frame.

If the fishing line cannot be threaded through the mounting hole of the frame, it needs to be cleaned. This is best done using a mini drill with a drill bit with a diameter of 0.8 mm. But if this is not possible, then you can use a needle or a thin awl; an unbent paper clip will also do.

The holes in the half-rim of the frame are cone-shaped; on the lens side their diameters are 0.8 mm, and on the outer side 1.5 mm. This is clearly visible in the photograph. Thus, by melting the end of the fishing line, you can securely secure it in the frame.

First, the fishing line is threaded through the hole in the nose pad, without a lens. Next, the end of the fishing line is melted using a soldering iron and quickly, before the end of the fishing line hardens, it is pulled into the hole in the nose pad. You need to retract it slowly so that the line does not jump out of the hole.

If you have a high-power soldering iron at your disposal, you can wind several turns of any wire with a diameter of 1-2 mm, copper, aluminum or steel, around its tip. And with this improvised sting, warm up the fishing line. If you don’t have a soldering iron, you can melt the fishing line with a nail heated on the burner of a gas stove. To avoid getting burned, you need to hold the nail with pliers. You can use the sharp tip of a heated electric iron or, at worst, even a small flame from a lighter to melt the fishing line.

After fixing one end of the fishing line in the nose pad, the lens is inserted and the fishing line threaded into the hole on the side of the temple is stretched. Next, the fishing line is pressed with your fingers where it passes through the facet of the lens, and is cut so that its end protrudes from the hole by a couple of millimeters. Next, the lens is removed, the second end of the fishing line is melted and after cooling, its lens is installed in the half-rim.

The remains of the melted fishing line protruding from the holes of the frame must be cut off flush with a sharp knife.

The glasses have been repaired and are like new. The repair took less time than it took to read this article, which I hope was useful to you.

"Friday" glasses with sparkles

You will need:

- sequins (in stores “everything for creativity” they will tell you what they are) and sparkles; - glue; - parchment for baking; - pencil.

1. Draw the shape of the frame on baking paper. Apply glue generously and sprinkle with glitter. Leave it for a while.

2. Cut out a glitter frame from baking paper.

3. Glue the paper frame onto the regular one.

Happy Friday!

Repairing a broken half-rim of a glasses frame

A few years passed, and my favorite half-rim glasses on a fishing line cracked as a result of a collision with the right angle of a kitchen shelf.

As you can see in the photo, the frame broke in the glass installation area at the narrowest point. To repair it, gluing technology was used, followed by reinforcement of the fracture site with a metal bracket.

In the first step, the frame must be glued with Super-Moment glue or similar, intended for gluing plastic products. To do this, you must first apply a thin layer of glue to the inside of the rim of the frame, which is in contact with the glass along its entire length. Next, also apply a thin layer of glue to the end of the glass in contact with the frame.

After gluing, a small gap was discovered between the glass and the nose pad. To ensure reliable gluing, a small amount of soda was poured into this gap and then soaked in glue.

After such gluing, the frame received sufficient strength, but for higher joint strength, a metal bracket made from a paper clip was additionally installed.

The bracket was fused into the glasses frame using an electric soldering iron. For clarity, the photo shows the bracket not yet completely recessed into the plastic.

Ultimately, the bracket was completely recessed into the plastic of the glasses, the area was cleaned with sandpaper and polished with felt. There are practically no traces of repairs left.

In the same way, you can successfully repair the plastic temples and cracked frames where the nose rests with your own hands.

How to adjust the temples yourself?

Sometimes it happens that after being carried for a long time in a bag or a short-term unsuccessful contact with something heavy, the glasses do not seem to be broken, but they are still not very comfortable to wear: they put pressure on the ears, the bridge of the nose, or, conversely, they constantly dangle and slide down. The reason may lie in incorrect adjustment of the temples and nose pads.

To check whether the nose pads are adjusted correctly, you need to place the glasses on a flat surface and compare their positions relative to each other. To change the height of the glasses, the nose pads should be moved (if the glasses need to be raised) or moved apart (if the glasses need to be lowered).
If your glasses are tight or loose, you need to soak the temples in hot water for a while or heat them with a hairdryer, and then straighten them slightly or, accordingly, bend them more. You must act carefully so as not to melt the arms or break them. This method is suitable for plastic frames. Wire frames are easily bent using small pliers.

With the help of simple devices, you can successfully repair glasses that are broken inappropriately or adjust the frames for maximum comfort.

Repairing a broken plastic rim of a glasses frame

I had to repair glasses with plastic frames, in which one of the plastic glasses fell out of the rim.

Upon closer examination, it turned out that the rim at the bottom was cracked in half. This is one of the glasses breakdowns that you can fix yourself in a few minutes.

To do this, just apply Super glue to the crack and on the inside of the rim a couple of centimeters away from the crack. Next, insert the glass into the rim, squeeze it tightly and hold it there for a couple of minutes.

The rim of the glasses at the crack site does not bear any force load, and therefore there is no need for reinforcement with steel wire. The glasses have been repaired, the appearance has not changed, and now, if treated with care, they will last a long time.

The frame (bridge) on the bridge of the nose is cracked

An equally common failure of glasses is a bridge on the bridge of the nose. After preparing the necessary equipment and glue, you can begin gluing the glasses.

First, you need to clean the broken areas with emery cloth, followed by degreasing the bonding surfaces. For gluing, you will need a piece of ruler or strip with a length equal to the distance between the side parts of the glasses. Thanks to this, it will be possible to fix the glasses, which will make the repair better and more convenient.

To protect the lenses from scratches, they must be covered with paper. The wooden strip is attached to both halves of the glasses using a rubber band. The elastic should ensure a tight fit between the 2 broken parts of the frame.

Repairing metal eyeglass frames with a broken rim

They brought me glasses with metal frames with a broken rim at the bridge of my nose, which the repair shop refused to repair. The breakdown was really serious. Glue, even the strongest one, will not hold in this case, since the area of the end of the rim at the fracture site was no more than a square millimeter.

I, too, immediately thought that this was a hopeless case and it was impossible to repair the glasses, but after a while I suddenly came up with an idea on how to do without welding metal. After all, you can repair the frame by gluing the broken metal frame directly to the lens of the glasses. The area of the gluing surfaces will become large and, thus, sufficient strength of the frame will be ensured after the repair as a whole.

The universal super glue “Contact” is well suited for gluing frames. This adhesive is made on the basis of cyanoacrylate, has great adhesive strength and polymerizes upon contact with water in the air. The higher the air humidity, the faster the glue hardens, so you can glue even damp surfaces. The setting time of the glue, depending on air humidity, ranges from several seconds to several minutes. The glue hardens completely within a day.

By the way, not all home craftsmen know that if you need to quickly repair a crack or chip in hard materials, you can prepare homemade putty by mixing super glue with baking soda.

The lenses of the glasses were plastic, and to protect them from glue getting on the optical surface, strips of tape had to be glued on both sides around the perimeter of the lens. It is undesirable to cover the entire surface of the lens with a single piece of tape, since after gluing it will be difficult to peel it off without damaging the optical surface of the lens. Excess tape on the ends of the lens can be easily removed using fine sandpaper.

If the lenses are made of glass, then there is no need to glue the tape. Super glue is easily softened with acetone, which is safe for glass. Therefore, to remove residual adhesive after repair from the optical surface of the lenses, it is enough to wipe them with a soft cloth soaked in this solvent.

Before gluing, you need to think through all the movements and practice installing the lens in the frame before applying glue to it. When the movements are practiced, you need to apply glue to the end of the lens, accurately insert it into place in the frame and tighten the frame ring with your fingers for a few minutes. I could not take photographs of applying the glue and installing the lens, since only a few seconds were allotted for this operation.

When the glue sets, remove the tape and tighten the frame with thread, tying it as in the photo. The glasses should be left bandaged for a day until the glue has completely hardened. If there is a gap between the rim of the frame and the lens, it is advisable to additionally fill it with super glue.

Checking the glasses frame after repair with gluing showed that it has a sufficient margin of safety for further use. The appearance of the glasses remained without visible changes.

Which glasses can't be repaired?

Glasses with flex lenses cannot be repaired if the necessary spare parts cannot be found. In this case, you will have to buy a new shackle to replace the broken one.

Glasses with metal frames cannot be repaired if there are no tools and materials for welding. The metal can be soldered, but the frame will lose its beauty and strength, and the glasses will become fragile. It's better to just buy new ones.

There are videos on the Internet dedicated to removing scratches from lenses. Thinking that scratched glass can be polished or otherwise restored is a dangerous misconception. The glass can only be replaced. Any grinding changes the optical power of the lens, which affects vision. If you fill the scratch with any substance, the glass will lose its transparency, which will also affect the ability to see.

In most cases, glasses can be repaired in 10-15 minutes by picking up a new screw to replace the one that fell out, or by fixing a broken frame with glue. If you don’t know how to fix the damage, but don’t want to buy new glasses, contact an optician - a specialist will replace the old lenses with a new frame.

Repairing a broken eyeglass frame temple

At the request of a friend, I had to repair glasses where one of the temples had broken in half. The breakdown occurred at the junction of its metal part with the plastic extension.

The metal part of the temple was attached to the plastic part by means of a protruding pin, which was tightly inserted into the hole in the plastic part of the temple and secured with a screw. It was not possible to remove the pin from the plastic after unscrewing the screw, since the break occurred along the line of the plastic, and it was impossible for the tool to catch on the pin. I also didn’t want to grind down the plastic to shorten the temple.

The difficulty of repairing the earhook at first glance was aggravated by the fact that the metal part was covered in openwork holes. But as it turned out, this was a plus. To restore the integrity of the temple, a specially shaped pad was made from a sheet of brass 1 mm thick. I do not give the geometric dimensions of the pad, since all temples are different and the pad for repairing a specific glasses frame will have its own dimensions, depending on the width of the temple at the point of breakage.

As you can see from the photo, two holes were drilled in the cover and three bends were made. The bends are needed to prevent axial swing of the connected parts of the temple. The dimensions of the holes determined the finished holes in the metal and plastic parts of the temple, and were 2.5 mm and 1.5 mm in diameter, respectively.

The metal part of the temple was secured to the pad using a shortened M2.5 screw with a conical head. The screw was used as a rivet.

It was inserted from the outside of the metal part of the temple and riveted from the inside with a small hammer. To ensure that the riveted part of the screw does not protrude into the plate, the hole was pre-countersinked.

The pad was secured to the plastic part of the temple using an M1.5 screw screwed into the previously existing threaded hole in the remaining pin.

The photo shows a view of the pad after installing the screw and rivet on the inside of the temple.

And in this photo is a view from the outside of the temple after connecting its broken parts.

All that remains is to attach the earpiece to the frame of the glasses using a standard screw and the repair can be considered complete.

This is what the glasses looked like after the repair. If you don’t look closely, it’s difficult to notice the restored place on the temple, it’s not noticeable. But the earhook has become much stronger and now it will definitely never break in this place.

Glasses design

The main element of any glasses is lenses made of glass or plastic. The lenses are inserted into a frame, to which using hinges . The hinge has a fixed part, fixed in the frame, and a movable part, welded to the metal core of the earhook and fixed in its plastic part. Some models use a headband or elastic band instead of temples.

Repairing a plastic eyeglass frame with a broken rim and earhook loop

Glasses with frames made of thermoplastic plastic are easier to repair, since it melts easily when heated, adheres well, and is dissolved by certain types of solvents, for example, dichloroethane or benzene.

I was faced with the repair of glasses with plastic frames, which were broken in three places at once. The right ear hook of the frame was broken off.

Also, as can be seen in the photo, part of the rim on the side where the temple was attached to the base was broken off. Apparently, the glasses were accidentally sat on or stepped on.

The repairs had to be carried out in two stages. First, using super-glue “Contact” using the technology described above, used to repair a metal frame of glasses with a broken rim at the bridge, the broken plastic part of the rim was glued to its original place.

In the glasses being repaired, the temples were equipped with flexes, which, during use, would create a large load on the glued part of the rim. Therefore, to ensure sufficient strength of the rim, two steel brackets, bent from a paper clip, were additionally installed at the gluing site, fused into the plastic.

To fuse a paper clip, you need to take it with tweezers and apply it to the place with the crack, as shown in the photo. Next, use a soldering iron tip with a power of 12-40 W to heat the bracket, lightly pressing on it from above. This usually takes a few minutes. There is no need to rush here.

When the bracket has entered the plastic a little, you can remove the tweezers and then, pressing, continue to heat the bracket until it is completely sunk into the base of the glasses.

Next, the soldering iron tip smoothes out the plastic squeezed out by the bracket so that the bracket is completely hidden. After the plastic has hardened, the resulting unevenness is ground off with a file or sandpaper, and the roughness is removed by polishing with felt. After this, you can begin repairing the hinge joint.

First, you need to remove the remaining loop with side cutters and use a file to level the surface of the junction of the temple with the base of the glasses.

You need to bend a rectangular loop from copper or steel wire ∅1-1.5 mm. The photo shows a loop made from electrical wiring wire. Copper, unlike steel, bends easily and has sufficient strength.

Based on the size of the base, the ends of the loop are shortened to the required length and moved apart. This shape of the loop will ensure its reliable fixation in the plastic case of the glasses.

Next, the eyelet is placed on a flat surface covered with a soft cloth and pressed down with a heavy object. The base is placed close to it, as in the photograph. All that remains is to fuse the homemade eyelet into the base body of the glasses using the technology described above for the bracket. After cooling, the hinged joint made will hold quite tightly and work well. If the plastic at the melting point loses its shine, then you can cover this place with a thin layer of liquid transparent nail polish. Varnish is usually solvent-based, which softens the thermoplastic plastic.

As you can see in the photo, the repaired hinge joint of the glasses turned out to be quite neat.

From the outside, traces of repair of the plastic frame are practically invisible. The glasses have been repaired and are ready for further wear.