Introduction: DIY Prescription Safety Goggles! (plus a Few Extras)

As Someone with awful vision, I always have the problem of needing to have my glasses on to see what I'm working on, but then I either have to fuss with wearing safety goggles over my glasses or the lying to myself that my glasses work as safety goggles, which isn't true and even if they protect my eyes then my glasses end up scratched. I've worn safety glasses over them but I still always end up with dust and shavings getting through the open sides and defeating the purpose anyways. So I decided to make a pair of goggles that allowed me to still see what I'm working on while protecting my eyes much better, than other options I'd tried.

Last time I broke a pair of glasses, I finally bought some online and was amazed at how much cheaper it was.So logically I link jumped to prescription goggles thinking they would also be cheaper--no luck. Then I thought to myself, "Self- Don't you already have a cheap pair of goggles from the costume shop and some broken glasses?" So this is my slapped together prescription goggles, to which I added a small spotlight and a magnifying lens. This is also a great way to get some more mileage out of broken glasses you had to pay good money for.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

Materials

Goggles from a Costume Shop
Broken Glasses with Lenses Still Intact
Reflective concave cup part from broken flashlight
LED flashlight from broken cheapo multiscrewdriver that I stupidly tried to pry something open with. 
Some small electric wire scavenged from various things
Stiff Bendable Craft wire
Old AM antenna. Actually I just used the old AM antenna for the plug at the end and the small electric wire- you can use anything that has those elements, I just have several because i find them a lot dumpster diving.

Tools
Pliers
Needle and Thread
Epoxy
Drill with small bit, roughly the diameter of the bendable wire
Hot Glue Gun
Hacksaw blade
Exacto Knife

Step 2: Disassemble the Goggles and Glasses

First I took my glasses with the broken frames and trimmed away until I just had the lenses in their housing with small tabs left on each side from the nosepiece and from where the sidebars were attached.

Next I unscrewed the plastic ring that holds the clear plastic lenses to the goggles. Then I positioned the lens from my old glasses so they would be properly oriented when the goggles were on my face and marked it with a marker. Using a hacksaw blade and a hobby knife I cut notches wide enough to slide the tabs I left on the sides of the lenses through. At this step I also drilled some small extra vent holes around the edges of the goggles to help prevent fogging.

After pressing the lenses into this new housing, I placed the plastic lenses on top of them and then screwed the plastic rings back down.

If all one was doing was making some cheap prescription safety goggles, then Tah-Dah! thats it. Sure they aren't amazing and bulletproof, but they will keep burs, flecks and dust out of your eyes when your using a Dremel or soldering or what have you.

Step 3: Attaching the Magnifying Glass to the Stiff Wire

I took a cheap plastic magnifying glass and cut the handle short, then I drilled a small hole into the handle to slide the wire into. I then put some epoxy into the hole and on the end of the wire and inserted the wire into the hole, then let dry.

Step 4: Attach the Magnifying Glass to the Goggles

For this step I took one of the side panels that come off the goggles when you want to tighten the straps and drilled two small holes as shown below. Then I slid the wire through the two holes, bent it flush with the surface with pliers. I bent the wire around itself where it came out from the plastic piece. I left another length of wire coming out, in addition to the magnifying lens, to attach the flashlight to.  Next I snapped the side panel back into place and secured it with epoxy. While this means I can't remove the side panel for adjusting the strap, I can still adjust it from the other side just as well.

Step 5: Wiring and Attaching the Flashlight

I wanted to have a small spotlight to illuminate the things I am working on so I used an old LED from my part box of mystery and the battery pack from a broken multitool flashlight.  I used the old plug from an AM antenna I found in the trash as a socket for the LED.  I then wound the electric wire around the flexible wire back to the battery pack/switch and attached the LED leads to the original leads from the battery pack/switch. I stitched the battery pack/switch onto the elastic strap of the goggles as shown.  I then used hot glue to seat the LED/socket in the reflective cup from yet another broken flashlight and to secure the "flashlight" to the end of the bendable wire.

So there you have it, some goggles to wear when you don't want to damage your glasses but still need to see when you're wearing them, plus a use for broken glasses.

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