Steampunk Airship Goggles

By request: My take on goggles.

Often times after piloting my steam dirigible, I arrive at my destination only to find my eyelashes and eyebrows have collected a mass of gnats, fleas, and small birds. What to do? My last three windscreens have been stolen by flying glass pirates, so I decided to make two smaller windscreens and an apparatus to hold them securely to my head. ha HA! Those scoundrels will have to take my head before they they pilfer these!

These are the goggles that I set out to make when I found the Batman character that was the inspiration for my costume.

*note: anytime a say "an inch" or "half an inch" these are really just rough guesses as I didn't actually measure anything

Step 1 Ingredients

OK here's what I used, and I spent under $30:

Leather - leather coat purchased at salvation army for $9
Small buckle - from women's shoes at salvation army $3
Waxed sinew - from leather supplier $5
Metal rings - these I had lying around, I think they came from a craft store $?
Plumbing coupler - Home Depot $3
Plastic sheet - also had lying around

Tools:
Dremel with cutting wheel
Curved needle
Sewing machine
Liquid Nails Clear
Leather punch (you could actually use just a small nail or something, a leather punch just makes nicer holes)

Comments

[tRoy heRman]

How did you connect the ring to the leather?

[black hole]

Cool. Very nice looking.

[shawnon]

I used a slip joint nut instead of a coupler. It comes with a rubber washer that fits on the inside, and I just glued the lens between the nut and washer. It looks the same, and no metal-cutting involved! ^_

[tweetspie]

I'm looking at supplies online to price how much this is going to cost me. What size slip joint nut did you use? 1 1/2? 1 1/4? Bigger?

[shawnon]

I used 1 1/2" and I think they were ~$8, but that was 3 yrs ago so they might be more or less now. Here's some pics in case they help.

[Gmechanic]

couldn't find the exact coupler at any hardware no matter how common it would seem to be so I'm going to look for a slip joint nut or just order online if they don't have that in-store either...can't believe home depot and lowes don't have the coupler though I would think they would, but no, not even on their websites! =( Thanks for the tip!

[shawnon]

I think I got it in the plumbing section... good luck!

[Gmechanic]

no prob, found it in the bath/household section (I was in the industrial plumbing where they keep the galvonized steels, and PVC pipes) of my store. Guys, go look in the bath section since this is not used in industrial plumbing.. -__- they even had the slip joints by themselves, but I wanted threads, so..

[zwilcox1]

I didn't have any coupler things, so I used the top of an old broken Maglite®, Which is nice because then the lens is already made.

[blevine1]

hey, quick question. when you stitched the overlap above the lens holders did u have the holders in when you stitched or did you take them out first.

if you had the lens holders in could you clarify how you stitched with out every thing becoming loose

[ctait]

hey man just a quick clarification XD, how again did you secure the leather cup itself to the lens holder with the lens in it again? Another way of saying it would be you have the lens holder with the lens in it, and you have the leather cup that goes around it, how'd you secure the leather to the lens holder? or is this wrong? thanks again

[aintMichael]

The lens holder is just being held in by the pressure of the leather wrapped around it. Basically I just pulled it tight and sewed it in place. You could glue it or something i guess, but I haven't had any issue with it falling out or anything.

[ctait]

Oh cool, XD thats a lot simpler than I made it, thanks man

[Wildrat]

There is nothing you can wear, eat, buy, that does not kill or has been killed whether it be syntheric or otherwise.Things are here on this earth for us to use. If you don't want to use it then don't, but don't come moaning here about not wanting to use what the author used. There are so many choices for material it's pitiful. Use a synthetic that was made on a machine that a man or women got there arm cut off on in an accident, the machine that is made of steel that caused the death of men mining the ore, or in the foundry or the coal used to fire the furnace, many, many trees and plants died to make the coal, or any fuel that is used, millions of animals died so you can goto the health food store and get your tofu. So amyway, enjoy your goggles if you manage to find anything to make them with.

[castothomas]

Thats for sure, God the father gave it for us to use only thing I want to ask is where did you find the materialso I can get some myself.

[PinUpRetro]

lol

[frogmeetcog]

Word.

You also kill millions of microrganisms each minute by breathing, if that bothers you guys...

[Kozar]

-- Kozar Exhales,

-- 12 Million Kills!

-- Achievement Unlocked!!

[jonpersonals]

I have some advice for you Bright Eyes. Take a few more qkualukdes and drown your self and get off these pages.

[Wildrat]

Who is Bright Eyes?

[fire-fly1]

This looks awesome i so want to try this

[pyrorower]

 The stitching pattern reminds me of the way medical machines display your heartbeat :P

[lbogart]

lol pyrorower

[A good name]

Does anyone know alternatives to leather? (I'm talking something that doesn't involve the slaughtering of animals here) Looks like a great project, but until I can find an alternative, I won't be able to do it.

[greenkush]

the animals been dead for a while now... but yeah some people go like to go against our meat eating nature. do you think no animal should die?

[PepperNetworks]

Glad to see somebody admit that they 'wing-it' on their projects. I plan to go through a bunch of old shoes for the material so that I can get a weather-beaten look. Have to get out the conditioner to revive some of the parts.

Everyone seems to find the metal accents in the oddest places, so that's gonna determine when I start the project. I'm on the lookout. For the lenses, I'm going to use the material from an old set of racquetball safety goggles—nice thick polycarbonate!

For the band, I want to figure out some way to hide a little velcro for adjusting the fit. If you have the metal rings on the side, I would recommend paying attention if the goggles have been in the sun. Those rings could be really hot, depending on conditions.

An aside regarding the materials debate:
I have always wondered where vegetarians get their bread from. All wheat that is harvested by machinery gets pulled in along with the birds, snakes, rats & bunnies, etc. that have made their homes in the fields. Is there some cruelty-free grain source that I don't know about?

[TimTheScarecrow]

BUT if you must, (i too was searching for leather). i couldnt find any. and i dont have a car to take me places (im 15) so i stepped into an old abandoned house and i found a fake leather purse. in otherwords. buy a cheap bag or purse. or if you dont want fake leather, umm.. thick denim could work if you want a punkish look.

[TimTheScarecrow]

i agree with morphious69 and aintmichael. having the option to use leather and still turning it down is wasteful

[A good name]

That's like saying I should eat meat because it's already dead. I refuse to use animal products, no matter what shape or form it is (I can rarely eat processed food anymore because almost all of it has animal fat in it). I don't care if it's going to a landfill, I wouldn't wear my family's skin, so I sure as hell won't wear another animal's skin (contrary to popular belief, animal life is just as valuable as humans, if not more, because animals are not ruthless and uncaring. And before anyone asks, no, I don't have a hatred towards the human race)

[TimTheScarecrow]

i wear cotton ;D

[A good name]

:P Alright. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against animal "products" (eggs, milk, wool) just anything that involves killing or putting the animal in extreme discomfort.

[PinUpRetro]

That's the least of it (blood in milk)! Only mother cows produce milk....so they are inpregnanted a few times in their life cycle (around 7 times I think). The calfs are killed for food - I guess the cow is too (hopefully - rather than just thrown away).

Milk is incredibly cruel if you think about it. Vegetarians annoy me! Full respect for Vegans - they believe in something and stick to it. Vegetarians who drink milk, wear leather, eat sweets (where do you think geletine comes from??!!) make me angry - especially the preachy ones!

I always buy my leather from shoe makers (off cuts on ebay) or use scrap from old sofas/trousers/jackets - reuse!

[lbogart]

"PinUpRetro": good advise using scraps. As a vegan, I don't purchase any animal products BUT I knew someone who was going to THROW OUT leather scraps, and I scooped them up: utilizing leather that was going to be thrown away is far more humane than putting it in a landfill AND then going and producing more waste by buying synthetic items.

"A good name": some really interesting thoughts if you ever get a chance to read "The Omnivore's Dilemma". There are many choices we make that are damaging to the environment and to animals even when acting as vegetarian, and some options that meat eaters can choose (such as grass-fed farms) that are actually *beneficial* both to the animals and to the land they are on. I mostly avoid anything with corn products/by products in it now as well as a few other vegetarian foods that are very ecologically damaging, and although I still don't eat anything from an animal (or purchase any NEW products made from animal parts), I will get chickin & milk from a local grass farm for my family. (On special occasions, because "local" still is a two-hour drive.)

Best bet to get leather scraps for a project is Freecycle: you don't have to pay anything, you're reducing waste, and you don't contribute to the death of a cow if that's something that bothers you. Usually someone will offer pretty quickly because artsy people hang onto things we can't use anymore for a long time because it's in our nature not to throw anything out someone might want to use. It's a relief when someone takes it off our hands.

[jk1386]

I'm afraid at this stage, approaching 7 billion humans it is inevitable that even the non-slaughter resources aren't as pure as you'd hope. Milk for example sometimes has to be bleached because coming off the machines it has a pinkish hue from the cow's utters bleeding after being over-milked :(

[randomray]

I don't know if you have any qualms about using the hide of naughas , and in addition to the faux stuff a brocade would look even better then the period canvas look . With brocade you would have many choices . When selecting brocade make sure it isn't too stretchy.

[pocketwatch]

Well, why not buy a PVC or other imitation bag at a charity shop? Personally, once something is being resold by a charity I feel ethically sound purchasing it as I am not contributing directly to death, but if it is just the thought of something's skin on your face that you can't stand I think the pvc, or vinyl, is the best choice.

[greensteam]

You sometimes see very old goggles not of leather but of heavy canvas. I would reccommend that and then use shoe polish, or beeswax to waterproof it. perhaps even old denim would do.

[morphious69]

if you use fake leather you should be aware of the death and discomfort that is caused by the toxic chemicals produced while making these synthetics and realize that the only way to avoid this is oak or similiar vegtable tanned leather. the animals killed for this are being killed anyway for food and it is best not to waste any part of something killed so that another animal will not be killed. just stick to leather from animals used for food only and not exotics. this helps and in the case of these things utilizing smaller pieces of leather you can opt for a place that sells scrap leathers because this is stuff that will end up in a land fill else wise.

[ccb51310]

For anyone looking for leather, check out Tandy Leather factory. There are about 100 of them around the us, and they all take internet orders. If you have any questions, check out the website, and give your nearest store a call. They are always so happy to help out. (And their leathers are all by-products of the meat industry. Every cowhide, aligator skin, rabbit skin, snakeskin, etc. etc. were eaten for food, and the skins would be thrown out...) Tandy doesn't do any tanning themselves, but they deal with tanneries that only get their hides from those sources.

[randomray]

Very good points morphious69 . I strongly recomend recycling from trift shops and yard sales .